DDT “MITSUI CHOJI CO., LTD. PRESENTS CHIBA CITY MONORAIL WRESTLING”, 12/01/2019 Chiba City Monorail Car 24 Fans – 100% Boarding Rate
1. Falls Count Anywhere Throws Prohibited Battle Royal: HARASHIMA defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Hiroshi Yamato, Konosuke Takeshita, Ippanjin Munenori Sawa, Akito, Yuki Iino, HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Yuki Ueno, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Nobuhiro Shimatani, Isami Kodaka, Chinsuke Nakamura, Gota Ihashi (36:30).
1a. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo and Nobuhiro Shimatani eliminated Konosuke Takeshita, Akito and Yuki Iino by Monorail Out (12:3).
1b. Isami Kodaka eliminated Chinsuke Nakamura with the Zeyyari (17:34).
1c. Isami Kodaka and Tetsuya Endo eliminated Gota Ihashi by Monorail Out (19:07).
1d. Isami Kodaka and Yuki Ueno eliminated Hiroshi Yamato, Toru Owashi and Antonio Honda by Double Ladder Pin (28:21).
1e. Sanshiro Takagi eliminated Soma Takao with a Diving Body Press from a Ladder through a Table (30:33).
1f. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Sanshiro Takagi and Ippanjin Munenori Sawa with a Moonsault from the Platform Stairway (31:10).
1g. Isami Kodaka eliminated Tetsuya Endo with a School Boy (31:21).
1h. Yuki Ueno eliminated Nobuhiro Shimatani with a Cradle (32:52).
1i. Yuki Ueno eliminated Isami Kodaka after a Brainbuster from HARASHIMA onto a stairway (35:35).
1j. HARASHIMA eliminated Yuki Ueno with the Somato (36:30).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chinsuke Nakamura defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with a School Boy (7:38pm). *Chinsuke Nakamura becomes the 1,343rd champion.
A packed monorail train of 24 fans got to take a trip with DDT across the Chiba line. The Battle Royal began with Sanshiro Takagi, Hiroshi Yamato and Konosuke Takeshita duking it out as the monorail left Chiba Station. With slams prohibited for the safety of the monorail and everybody onboard, the wrestlers had to think up of other ways to fight. Takeshita quickly came up with the idea to hang off of the train handles to Dropkick his opponents without having to land on the floor.
When the monorail made its first stop at Chiba Park Station a salaryman walked on board reading a newspaper. It was Ippanjin Munenori Sawa! Takeshita attacked Sawa and purposely ripped the sleeve on Sawa’s suit jacket. Sawa however used one of the train handles to trap Takeshita in a Wristlock.
Akito & Yuki Iino entered the match at Sakusabe Station. Iino put Yamato in an Argentine Backbreaker while Akito traded Anklelocks with Sawa.
Chaos broke out when another man in a suit started attacking the wrestlers and acting lewd. It was Danshoku Dieno! The wrestlers were put into a linked chain of Headscissors for Dieno to do the Danshoku Nightmare along the entire monorail.
With no eliminations yet the car got even more packed when DISASTER BOX got on board at Anagawa Station. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno got caught up in Dieno’s shenanigans. It still continued when Takeshita hit Dieno with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title belt. Dieno just fell into Iino and got his hands all over him even more.
ALL OUT were so focused on Dieno that they didn’t see DAMNATION coming on board at Dobotsukoen Station. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani kicked every member of ALL OUT as well as Dieno out of the monorail and the doors closed on them, eliminating ALL OUT from the match!
Isami Kodaka was ready for a fight when the monorail reached Mitsuwadai Station. For a few moments we got the dream matchup of HARASHIMA Vs Kodaka inside a monorail. Meanwhile Ueno put Endo in a Cobra Twist.
Familiar music played at Tsuga Station for the entry of the one, the only, Chinsuke Nakamura! Kodaka hit Nakamura with a knee to the back of the head and pinned him for the quick elimination. YeahOh!
Gota Ihashi got on board at Sakuragi Station. The other wrestlers welcomed Ihashi by forming arches with their arms for Ihashi to walk through. The arches guided Ihashi to the door at the other end of the monorail. Kodaka and Endo then kicked him out before the door closed to eliminate him.
Chaos broke out again when everyone decided to gang up on Shimatani. Even Takao and Endo got involved even though Shimatani is on their side! Takagi and Sawa also clashed with each other during the melee.
The final entrant was Antonio Honda at Chishirodai Station. He immediately wanted to give up because he was standing out in the cold for so long. Yamato dropped his guard while listening to the story so Honda used Gongitsune to pinch him in the nipple.
The monorail was still at the Chishirodai Station so some of the wrestlers took the fight outside to the platform. Yamato, Owashi and Honda found a ladder then suddenly began singing a song from Galaxy Express 999. This lured DJ Nira out from the shadows to grab the ladder with the other three and join in with the song. Kodaka and Ueno jumped on top of the group and used the ladder to pin all of them at the same time for the three count.
Nearby Sawa hit Takao with the Shining Wizard and placed him on a table. Takagi climbed a ladder beside it and put Takao through the table with a Diving Body Press. That was enough for Takagi to eliminate him by pinfall.
The eliminations then came thick and fast on the platform. Endo did a Moonsault from the stairway railing onto Takagi and Sawa to pin both of them.
Kodaka then rolled up Endo with a School Boy to pin him with some extra help by HARASHIMA & Ueno.
Shimatani dashed from one end of the platform to the other yelling “I am Nobu!” Whatever he wanted to do didn’t happen because Ueno rolled him into a Cradle for the three count.
Kodaka went and found a tag team partner to face HARASHIMA & Ueno. It is the Chiba Monorail mascot Mono-chan! HARASHIMA was surprised to discover how easily Mono-chan overpowered him.
Kodaka tried to Brainbuster HARASHIMA down a flight of stairs but HARASHIMA reversed it! Kodaka tumbled down the steps while Ueno chased after him. When Kodaka reached the bottom it was an easy three count for Ueno.
So the match came down to HARASHIMA and Ueno as the final two. Ueno shook HARASHIMA’s hand but it was a trap to roll him into a pin. HARASHIMA got out of it and hit Ueno with a High Kick. He then hit the Somato to win the match!
The match was over but HARASHIMA was suddenly approached by an exhausted looking Takeshita. He ran the entire way from Dobotsukoen Station chasing after the monorail! Chinsuke Nakamura snuck up behind Takeshita and hit the Low Blow. Chinsuke then pinned Takeshita with a School Boy to become the new Iron Man Champion! Chinsuke ran off yelling “YeahOh!” HARASHIMA called today the best wrestling match on a type of transportation DDT has done yet.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike (8:12).
2. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango when Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee (7:49).
3. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Kuishinbo Kamen with the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow (16:57). Order Of Elimination: Sanshiro Takagi, Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed), Atsushi Maruyama, Makoto Oishi, Hen China and Kuishinbo Kamen.
4. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto defeated Kota Umeda with the Shining Wizard (11:50).
5. New Year! 3 Way Tag Ladder Match: MAO & Jun Kasai defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda and Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase when MAO grabbed the Otoshidama (12:33).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION! ~ Lucha Libre Rules: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King when HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato (15:13).
7. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) defeated Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) by TKO with a Left Hook (R3 1:14). *V1 for Shinya Aoki.
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) when Takeshita pinned CIMA with the Fable (19:18). *#STRONGHEARTS fails in V1. ALL OUT becomes the 37th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
ALL OUT kicks off 2019 by winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from #STRONGHEARTS! The invading force led by CIMA has been a thorn in ALL OUT’s side for over three months. Today ALL OUT got their absolute victory over them. CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan were a handful at first and Akito took the brunt of the champion team’s offence. That was until Yuki Iino used his power to clear the ring, leading to CIMA facing off with Konosuke Takeshita once more. CIMA hit the Thrust Kick only for Takeshita to shake it off and Lariat him. Takeshita avoided the Schwein and stuck CIMA with his knee. Then the finish happened. Takeshita used the very move he was inspired to create after losing to CIMA at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Takeshita hit the Fable and pinned CIMA to win the titles for ALL OUT!
After the match Takeshita said that after he wins the KO-D Openweight Title he can take the challenge to defend it against CIMA, T-Hawk and Yingnan. CIMA mentioned that he’s been wrestling for the same number of years that Takeshita’s been alive. He accepts defeat for the entire unit today, not just in the main event but also from the opening match. #STRONGHEARTS are going to go have a meeting to figure out where to shake things up next in 2019. CIMA said his goodbyes and it seems that for now #STRONGHEARTS’s time with DDT has come to an end.
The show ended with the confirmed matches for “JUDGEMENT 2019” at Sumo Hall on 17th February. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Title is the main event. Also Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito will face Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha in a Hardcore Match! Sasaki and Takeshita faced off in the ring to close out the show.
A round system was added to the DDT Extreme Title match by Tanomusaku Toba’s request. The match could have lasted for 15 rounds of three minutes each but Shinya Aoki only needed three to knock Toba out. Apparently Hayato “Mach” Sakurai knew all of Aoki’s weak points but Toba was unable to hear his instructions during the match. HARASHIMA approached Aoki after the match to ask for a title rematch. Aoki agreed and it was decided it will take place at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. Aoki said he and HARASHIMA will show a strong side of DDT that only those two can do.
Puma King and Toru Owashi both asked for the 10-Man Tag Match between DAMNATION and DISASTER BOX to be held under Lucha Libre rules. All hell broke loose in the ring until HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato. Sasaki wore a Shuji Ishikawa shirt for the match and placed it in the middle of the ring when it was over. He invited Ishikawa down to the ring to give everyone the sad news. Since Ishikawa has now signed a contract with All Japan, Sasaki thinks that means he will also be leaving DAMNATION. Tetsuya Endo was asked to give his favourite memories with Ishikawa but he didn’t have any. Ishikawa walked away from the ring so upset that Mad Paulie followed to console him. Sasaki switched the subject to Puma King having his last match in DDT today. It is now time for DAMNATION to rebuild. Suddenly “Matsuken Samba” played and Paulie came out dancing. Ishikawa came back out wearing a DAMNATION shirt singing about how “Shu-chan” won’t quit DAMNATION! Sasaki hit him over the head with a microphone to make him stop. If Ishikawa isn’t quitting then that means “DAMNATION, Forever!”
The new year tradition of otoshidama (an envelope filled with gift money) hung above Korakuen Hall for the 3 Way Tag Ladder match. MAO gave Jun Kasai some bananas to get on his good side but Kasai rejected them because he is tired of eating them. Kasai put Kazusada Higuchi through a table with a Flying Body Press (doesn’t count as the Pearl Harbour Splash because he wasn’t wearing his goggles). MAO used the bananas to lure Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda into a ladder trap at the corner, incapacitating them. Mizuki Watase was knocked off the ladder onto a plastic box that Kasai placed below him. That allowed MAO to grab the otoshidama and win the match. MAO opened it up to see how much was inside and found only a single 500 yen coin. However, Hisaya Imabayashi then told MAO he could also make one wish. MAO asked for a Round One entertainment centre to be built in Aoyama. He was only joking. Instead MAO wishes to create his own kind of hardcore wrestling in DDT. MAO asked Kasai to help him. Kasai will but only on a bigger stage because DDT is too cheap to give them proper prize money. Kasai then kicked MAO and ran off with the 500 yen.
Kota Umeda continues to be winless in his trial series. Match 6 of 7 was against Daichi Hashimoto in a match dominated by kicks. Hashimoto did the deal with a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. The Shining Wizard afterwards ended the match. Hashimoto said he had a lot of fun doing the the kicking duel with Umeda. With one match left in Umeda’s trial he found out who his opponent will be on 27th January. It’s Shuji Ishikawa! Umeda approached him for a handshake but instead slapped Ishikawa across the face. Ishikawa returned a slap of his own and left the ring.
DDT’s search for the next breakout comedy wrestler took place with Sanshiro Takagi and Makoto Oishi holding a Battle Royal. Hen China was the first entrant but he spent most of his time attaching glow sticks to the ring ropes death match style. Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) outwrestled Oishi with his dazzlingly flabby Tiger Mask style. Gorgeous Matsuno’s singing entrance was cut off by Kuishinbo Kamen reading his children’s picture book to the audience. The final entrant Atsushi Maruyama was annoyed that DDT booked him in this match instead of something major. Matsuno used Rocket Punches to eliminate the field until it was down to him and Kamen. The rest of the wrestlers stuck around to do comedy spots. They kept encouraging Matsuno to do the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow to Kamen over and over to make it look cool. It made Matsuno so tired that he had to crawl really slowly to cover Kamen. He still got the three count and everyone piled on top of him to celebrate his win.
Shuten-dōji were victorious over their ragtag collection of opponents in the 8-Man Tag Match. Yukio Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee.
The other #STRONGHEARTS defeat today came at the hands of Nobuhiro Shimatani of all people! He pinned El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike crucifix slam. Lindaman played a good sport after the match until he gave Shimatani a Low Blow and left the ring. That won’t upset Shimatani though. He’s starting off the year with a win. Everything’s coming up Nobu!
The show began with news that DDT has formed a partnership with the English promotion Fight Club: PRO. FCP co-owner Martin Zaki joined Takagi, MAO and Mike Bailey in the ring for the announcement. Takagi wants DDT to appeal across the world in 2019 so he’s joining in with the Japanese scene’s growing ventures to the UK. Both companies will be sending wrestlers back and forth to each other throughout the year. Zaki says this is a big opportunity to bring talent rich in personality, both male and female, over to the UK. It also gives British wrestlers the opportunity to learn both the spiritual and physical elements of pro wrestling in Japan. Maybe even a new style combining British and Japanese wrestling philosophies can be discovered through this.
Yukio Naya from Real Japan will compete at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. He is the grandson of the legendary sumo wrestler Taiho Koki. Naya has only been wrestling for over a year and says he will be honored to wrestle in Sumo Hall.
Danshoku Dieno’s newest creation OsuMAN Dankon is debuting at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. I don’t know what it is. I don’t think I want to know what it is.
In Tokyo Joshi Pro news Natsumi Maki appeared on this show to confirm her debut with TJPW on tomorrow’s Korakuen show.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2018 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,242 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino defeated Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda (w/ Jaki Numazawa) when Sekimoto submitted Honda with a Scorpion Lock (6:26).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata when Okabayashi submitted Hirata with the Argentine Backbreaker (6:57).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi (w/ Brahman Shu) when Miyamoto submitted Takanashi with a Cross Armbreaker (5:53).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey defeated Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara when Ueki pinned Kojika with a School Boy (6:44).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuya Aoki & MAO defeated Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo when Aoki pinned Yoshino with a Modified Backslide Pin (7:37).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki) when Hashimoto pinned Takagi with the Shining Wizard (1:22).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao when Higuchi pinned Takao with a Cradle (5:38).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA defeated Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno when Takeda pinned Ueno with a One Man Conchairto (6:50).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino when Sakaguchi pinned Iino with the God’s Right Knee (9:50).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey when Miyamoto submitted Ueki with a Heel Hold (9:21).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuya Aoki & MAO when Sasaki submitted Aoki with the Cross Facelock (9:14).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
12a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA defeated Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi when HARASHIMA pinned Higuchi with a Jackknife Pin (0:41).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki when Okabayashi pinned Hashimoto with the Golem Splash (10:07).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
14a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA when Takeshita pinned HARASHIMA with a Rolling Leg Clutch (1:54).
15. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi when Takeshita pinned Sakaguchi with the Fable (13:10).
The annual New Year’s tradition of a massive inter-promotional tournament in Korakuen Hall is back again. The teams all contained one Big Japan wrestler and one DDT wrestler although a few had an extra wrestler aiding them from ringside one way or another. Let’s get through this marathon.
Round 1
Muscle Wolf Vs Hama Ton Antonio Honda was able to poke Daisuke Sekimoto in the eyes with Gongitsune but Yuki Iino was one step ahead and countered Honda with a nipple pinch when the attack was aimed at him. This is the point where Ryota Hama thinks his team lost the match. From there Sekimoto gave Honda an Atomic Drop and then submitted him with a Scorpion Deathlock. Jaki Numazawa was in Hama & Honda’s corner for the match. He blames himself for the team losing.
Bald & Blonde Vs ☆Team Nomura☆ Takuya Nomura came out dressed like Kazuki Hirata. The two were about to dance for their entrance when Yukio Sakaguchi immediately attacked Hirata. Nomura stood up to his opponents with his kicks but his momentum was purposely stopped by Hirata so he could tag in. Hirata’s knock out chop worked against Yuji Okabayashi although it took a few moments for it to take effect. Nomura & Hirata got to do their dance but unbeknownst to them, Okabayashi & Sakaguchi got up behind them also wearing Hirata Go glasses! The bald and blonde wrestlers beat up their opponents along to the music until Okabayashi submitted Hirata with the Argentine Backbreaker. Nomura said he doesn’t remember anything after he put on the glasses. He also never learned Hirata’s dance and blames that for the loss. On the bright side, Hirata thinks there are infinite possibilities for them together as a team. He hopes they work together again so he can harness that power to beat Sakaguchi!
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Toryumon Refugees
This year Yuko Miyamoto has been promoting himself as the strongest Joshi wrestler in Japan. In the opening round he was going to prove it by transforming himself into Shinobu Kandori! He entered to Kandori’s song “GET IT BACK” and wore an identical costume to hers. Maybe she would have found it funny but she was too busy losing her shit at a Brazilian She Hulk over at the RIZIN show during this time. Masahiro Takanashi and the Brahman Brothers also paid a tribute of their own to their mentor Ultimo Dragon by entering to his music. Brahman Shu was also wearing an Ultimo Dragon mask. The usual Brahmans plunder came out like their suitcase and bowling ball. Konosuke Takeshita threw the briefcase at Takanashi then handled the Brahmans while Miyamoto scrambled with Takanashi. Miyamoto rolled Takanashi into a Cross Armbreaker for the submission victory. He and Takanashi then gave the Brahmans a taste of their own medicine by doing the bowling ball spot on them. Backstage Takanashi & Brahman Kei begged Shu/Dragon for forgiveness. Kei/Dragon demanded they become Toryumon trainees againt and pay the tuition fees along with it.
Japan-US 4 Dimensional Combination Vs Team Let’s Go Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey got along great, screaming “Let’s Go!” at everyone and each other for the entire match. Bailey was also wearing his own Ueki’s style shirt with his name on it. Sammy Guevara gave both of them the middle finger and The Great Kojika did the same later. Kojika got into a strike exchange with Bailey until Ueki snuck in a School Boy to pin him. Kojika enjoyed teaming with Guevara and wants to do it again next year. Guevara asked Kojika how old he was. Kojika said he was 60…
2nd Generation Party Boys Vs Cherry Boys On The Run Tetsuya Endo wasn’t eager to team with Tatsuhiko Yoshino. He had to be encouraged down to the ring by Yoshino and Kota Sekifuda. During the match MAO put Endo in a Crab Hold and Endo couldn’t move. Sekifuda got into the ring and along with the audience taught Endo how to reach the ropes. Endo tried to follow the instructions but MAO dragged him back into the centre and Yoshino had to break up the hold. When Yoshino got tagged in the match became more cheeky when he pulled down the back of Yuya Aoki & MAO’s tights, exposing their backsides. Endo & Yoshino would end up having the back of their tights pulled back too. Aoki put an end to the match by backsliding Yoshino into a pin and bridging over on top of him for the pin. Endo told Yoshino he would be muting him on Twitter because of what happened.
Super Fighting Three Musketeers Vs Black Tri-Stars
This was weird. Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki came out doing a mashup act of The Three Musketeers: Daichi’s father Shinya Hashimoto, Masahiro Chono and Keiji Muto. They were supposed to fight Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi with Hideki Suzuki in their corner but they were nowhere to be found. Instead the Black Tri-Star Gundams appeared! They circled around Korakuen Hall until they finally attacked. Sasaki grabbed their cannon and struck them with it. Hashimoto then channeled Muto and his chronic knee pain to hit the Shining Wizard and win the match. The Black Tri-Stars fled but not before attacking Mita Sayoko at the commentary table along the way.
Team Katagi Vs MudNATION Yasufumi Nakanoue carried a wooden sword to the ring and acted like Kazusada Higuchi’s mentor for the match. Nakanoue tried to strike Soma Takao with the sword but he moved and Higuchi took the blow. Minoru Fujita grabbed the sword and tried to attack Higuchi. Higuchi also moved out of the ring and Takao got hit. That allowed Higuchi to cradle Takao for the three count. Both Fujita & Takao said they couldn’t hear each other during the match and would have needed subtitles to communicate better.
Team A Line Vs Crazy Smile Yuki Ueno got in the death match mood by dressing up like Ryuji Ito and asking for the match to be held under Hardcore rules. On the other side, Masashi Takeda wore one of HARASHIMA’s ring jackets for his entrance and wanted to wrestle a normal match. Chairs were brought into the ring anyway and were used a lot. Ueno didn’t hesitate to hit his DISASTER BOX leader HARASHIMA with a chair but that meant HARASHIMA also would not hold back when the roles were reversed. Takeda wasn’t able to hit the Reverse U-Crash, Ueno countered it into a Cradle for a nearfall. Takeda instead placed a chair on top of Ueno’s face then hit it with another chair to keep Ueno down for the pin count. Ito & Ueno admitted they did not communicate with each other much before the show. They only shared 4 or 5 direct messages with each other. If they team up again they promise to message each other more.
Round 2
Muscle Wolf Vs Bald & Blonde
Big lads collided a bunch to kick off the second round. In the dying seconds of the match Sakaguchi hit Iino with the God’s Right Knee to get the win. Iino thinks he pulled a muscle in his leg after doing the Spear. However he says he learned a lot teaming with Sekimoto and will use it to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in DDT on 3rd January. Iino and Sekimoto also promised to keep in touch through DMs.
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Team Let’s Go
Ueki came up with the perfect plan to counter Miyamoto’s Shinobu Kandori tribute. He came out dressed as Aja Kong! Bailey also joined in by having his face painted like Kong’s. The Kandori Vs Kong match up was historically accurate until Ueki lost his temper and pulled out his gun. Ueki then crotched himself on the top rope and Miyamoto submitted him with a Heel Hold. Ueki admitted that Miyamoto really is the world’s strongest male Joshi wrestler.
Cherry Boys On The Run Vs Super Fighting Three Musketeers
Hashimoto continued the Muto tribute by putting Aoki in the Figure 4 Leg Lock. Sasaki was put in danger after MAO dove onto him. However Sasaki avoided Aoki’s Tiger Suplex and trapped him in the Cross Facelock. Aoki fought to reach the ropes but Sasaki rolled him back into the centre and made him tap out. MAO felt regretful because their elimination from the tournament means the Cherry Boys’ youth has come to an end and they now have to become adults. Maybe it’s not all bad though. MAO heard that a 23 year old’s sex drive is bigger than an 18 year old’s. So maybe he can still work hard when he reaches the ripe old age of 23…
Team Katagi Vs Crazy Smile
The first time limit draw of the show happened here. This time HARASHIMA got into Takeda’s state of mind by wearing Takeda’s entrance gear to the ring. He held Higuchi in place for Takeda to stick a bundle of bamboo skewers into his head. Higuchi then got revenge by sticking skewers in HARASHIMA’s head. They scrambled for a pin but the 10 minute time limit was reached. The match restarted with One Count Pinfall rules to determine the winners. Higuchi went for the Doctor Bomb but HARASHIMA countered it into a Jackknife for the one count victory. Backstage Higuchi took responsibility for the “scandal” of his team losing. He is blessed to have a “big brother” like Nakanoue looking over him. Nakanoue then told him the team was disbanded and he walked out of the room, leaving Higuchi all alone.
Semi Finals
Bald & Blonde Vs Super Fighting Three Musketeers
The semi final lottery paired Okabayashi & Sakaguchi against Hashimoto & Sasaki. Things kicked off literally with Sakaguchi and Hashimoto laying into each other with kicks. Okabayashi blasted Sasaki with a Lariat then added another Lariat with the God’s Right Knee to combo Hashimoto. Sakaguchi kicked Sasaki away while Okabayashi pinned Hashimoto with the Golem Splash. Sasaki blamed Hashimoto for drawing a Muto Kitty on his shirt instead of the Muto Bear. He then came up with an idea to go drink at Seiji Sakaguchi’s house. Hashimoto tried to follow him but he still had Muto’s knee pain to deal with.
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Crazy Smile
Miyamoto ditched the Shinobu Kandori jokes and wrestled as his normal self for the rest of the show. Takeshita also wore custom made Yankee gear to match with his tag partner. Another time limit draw happened this time with 15 minutes not being enough to get a result. Sudden death did not immediately begin because the draw happened minutes before 2018 ended and 2019 would begin. The locker room emptied out for the countdown and everyone celebrate the New Year! Overtime then began and HARASHIMA went for the Somato on Takeshita. Takeshita moved and HARASHIMA crashed into the corner. Miyamoto then hit a Somato to HARASHIMA from behind and Takeshita used a Rolling Leg Clutch to pin HARASHIMA for the one count! Takeda & HARASHIMA both had fun teaming together. Takeda was praised for the big success he is currently achieving. HARASHIMA hopes to reach a similar level in 2019. Takeda also talked about Abdullah Kobayashi who was originally supposed to team with HARASHIMA on this show before suffering a shoulder injury.
Sumo Hall Announcements
The first big news of 2019 is DDT and Big Japan announcing a Sumo Hall double header happening this November. DDT runs Sumo Hall on 3rd November and Big Japan has their show on the 4th. Both Sanshiro Takagi and Eiji Kosaka acted like they didn’t expect the other to make their announcement. Yukinori Matsui went ahead with setting up the ticket sales for both shows anyway. Both companies see the situation as friendly competition. They would like to make hundreds of millions of yen this year but may need something like a donation from Floyd Mayweather to make that happen.
Final
Bald & Blonde Vs Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man
Is this definitely the first pro wrestling match of 2019 around the world? Let’s go with that until somebody says otherwise. With no time limit, a winner must be decided definitively. Takeshita got rid of Okabayashi with a German Suplex followed by a Somato from Miyamoto. Sakaguchi aimed the God’s Right Knee at Takeshita but it was blocked and turned into a Reverse Implant Driver. Takeshita ended the night by hitting the Fable on Sakaguchi to win the tournament! Takeshita thanked Miyamoto for helping him reach the final for the 4th year in a row. Miyamoto promised to get his own custom Takeshita gear to return the favour for Takeshita’s costume. Takeshita ended the show by saying both DDT and Big Japan will do their best not to lose against the larger pro wrestling companies this year. The Sumo Hall double header in November will show that.
Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards
There was a break after the 2nd Round for the Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards ceremony to be held. Masashi Takeda dominated the contest by winning the MVP award and being featured FOUR times in the Best Match category! He hopes to become a triple champion in 2019. Isami Kodaka wants to win Best Bout again in 2019 but this time as the match winner. El Lindaman accepted the Best Unit Award on behalf of #STRONGHEARTS. He said 2019 will be an important year not just for the unit but also OWE. He personally also wants to win another championship so he can be a double champion. Best Newcomer Syuuou Fujiwara couldn’t be at the show but he was able to send in a video message. In the message Fujiwara said he is upset that Mita Sayoko is being physically given the award instead of him. He threatened to come down to Samurai! TV studio to take it back. When Eiji Kosaka accepted the Best Show Award for BJW’s Sumo Hall show, he promised to protect Mita from Fujiwara because she is his favourite Mita.
Best Bout
1. Masashi Takeda Vs Isami Kodaka (Big Japan, 20th June)
2. Hideki Suzuki Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan, 11th November)
3. Masashi Takeda Vs Violent Jack (FREEDOMS, 2nd May)
4. Masashi Takeda Vs Jun Kasai (Jun Kasai Produce, 28th August)
5. Masashi Takeda Vs Masaya Takahashi (Big Japan, 11th November)
Best Unit
1. #STRONGHEARTS
2. Kobayashi-gun
3. Arrival
4. DAMNATION
5. 3rd Generation Bloody Brothers
Best Box Office
1. Big Japan at Sumo Hall, 11th November
2. DDT at Sumo Hall, 21st October
3. Jun Kasai Produce at Korakuen Hall, 28th August
4. Masahiro Takanashi Produce at Ryogoku KFC Hall, 8th July
5. Guts World at Shinjuku FACE, 15th April
Best Newcomer
1. Syuuou Fujiwara
2. Yuya Aoki
3. Koju Takeda
4. Yoshihisa Uto
5. Ayame Sasamura
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 2,018 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani when MAO pinned Shimatani with the Cannonball 450° (11:40).
2. Muscle Offer Match ~ M-Ou GRAND PRIX 2018 Total Victory Decision Battle Royal: Antonio Honda defeated Choun-Shiryu with a School Boy (7:10). Order Of Elimination: Yasu Urano and Makoto Oishi, Pedro Takaishi, Super Sasadango Machine, Choun-Shiryu.
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (9:49).
4. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda (w/ Hideki Suzuki) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) ended in a No Contest (5:08).
5. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka defeated Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda when CIMA pinned Iino with the Meteora (13:06).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara by TKO when Sasaki knocked out Yoshimura with the Pedigree (13:02).
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Go Shiozaki with the German Suplex (23:07). *V? for Konosuke Takeshita.
Konosuke Takeshita has booked his ticket for Sumo Hall next February because he is the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix winner! There was an uncomfortable vibe inside Korakuen Hall before the main event because of what happened to Naomi Yoshimura in the previous match (more on that below). Takeshita encouraged everyone to cheer for Yoshimura while he was on his way to the hospital. When they were done he then told Go Shiozaki not to hesitate fighting him at full force because of what happened earlier. Shiozaki didn’t hold back with his Chops and Lariats, leaving their mark on his opponent. Takeshita kicked out of the Go Flasher and did what he could to combat the Strong Arm Lariat. Takeshita successfully used the Fable then followed with a German Suplex to win the match and the Grand Prix. Since he is also the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion that also means a successful defence but that’s kind of a low priority from the list of accomplishments today. Takeshita now gets a KO-D Openweight Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2019” on 17th February.
After the match Takeshita said he never imagined he would ever wrestle against Shiozaki. But today near the end of Heisei era, Takeshita got to fight a member of the strongest class of pro wrestlers. He has never felt such pain or suffering before but he wants to go through it again. Takeshita’s pecs will always be ready to take Shiozaki’s Chops. The show ended with the people who made the most impact in DDT this year talking about their summaries of 2018. MAO said he did a lot of weird things this year and wants to do more next year. Meiko Satomura talked about winning the KO-D Title. HARASHIMA said 2018 was a good year because he is still smiling at the end of it. Takeshita gave the last word. He promises to bring fun and exciting pro wrestling with all of DDT in 2019!
The semi-main event was stopped after Naomi Yoshimura spiked his head against the canvas from Daisuke Sasaki’s Pedigree. Yoshimura was knocked out from the move and Yukinori Matsui called off the match so he could get stretchered out. Sasaki got on the microphone, called Yoshimura a waste of scrap that should be sent back home and left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi later gave everyone the update that Yoshimura could move his legs and was regaining his grip strength. Hours after the show was over it was announced that Yoshimura was diagnosed with a cervical sprain. There is no timetable yet for his return. The KO-D Title match scheduled for 3rd January has been cancelled and will be replaced with a DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION 10-Man Tag Match. Sasaki is annoyed because he was thought he now had free time to take a vacation to Hawaii.
#STRONGHEARTS have the upper hand over ALL OUT with today’s win. Yuki Iino was cut off by El Lindaman’s German Suplex. That allowed CIMA to hit the Schwein and the Meteora for the three count. Outside the ring Kota Umeda and Seiki Yoshioka had a face off after the match. CIMA noticed this and said that the difference between Umeda and Yoshioka is the same as the difference between Shunjuku and Ikebukuro. CIMA talked about the upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles defence on 3rd January. He has now beaten Takeshita and Iino. All that’s left for him to beat is Akito! Although he thinks T-Hawk can do that for him. Or maybe Duan Yingnan can leave his mark in DDT history by beating Takeshita?
When #STRONGHEARTS left the ring one by one, El Lindaman was the last to move until he was suddenly attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani! They faced off then stood back to back in a height measuring contest. Both men declared themselves the winner.
Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda brought along Hideki Suzuki to be their cornerman to even the odds against Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai by their side. This led to chaos when Okuda provoked Sakurai leading to a fight with his own partner Aoki! Okuda, Aoki and Suzuki fought each other among the audience until they found their way back into the ring. Things calmed down and Hisaya Imabayashi asked Aoki to pick the stipulation for his DDT Extreme Title match against Toba on 3rd January. Aoki told Okuda to pick for him and another fight broke out. When that brawl ended Aoki told Toba that they will have a Boxing Gloves Match!
It was an exciting day for Kazuki Hirata because he had a brand new pair of Hirata Go! glasses to show off to everyone. Yukio Sakaguchi didn’t care and tried to break the glasses by placing them on a chair and asking the other wrestlers to sit on it. They survived Saki Akai sitting on them but were crushed underneath Gota Ihashi. Hirata was devastated because if the glasses break then so too does his music. Hirata broke down into tears until Toru Owashi & Meiko Satomura put on their own pairs of glasses and sang “TOKYO GO” to him. Hirata danced along to it until Sakaguchi kicked him to oblivion. Sakaguchi then placed a fresh pair of glasses on Hirata’s body and imitated a line from the Hazuki Glasses commercial.
The D-Ou Grand Prix wasn’t the only big event on the show today. The return of Muscle to promote the sub-brand’s Sumo Hall show on 16th February led to a Battle Royal to determine who gets to be in the main event. The goal of the match is for a wrestler to phone the opponent they wish to face while pinning another wrestler. The winner would get that match as well as up to 1,000,000 yen to book that wrestler and 30% of that to be taken in as a booking fee. Antonio Honda wanted to book his father Tetsu Watanabe, Choun-Shiryu wanted to book Jackie Chan “of the Hong Kong International Police Department”, Pedro Takaishi wanted to book Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Yasu Urano wanted to book the comedian Kuro-chan. We didn’t hear who Makoto Oishi wanted because when he said he was going to book someone from K-DOJO he was cut off by the return of Amon Tsurumi! Tsurumi said he’s been gone for so long because he was busy producing movies. While doing this he discovered that ultra low budget movies can make good profits due to word of mouth. That means you don’t need to blow out your budget getting a big name in order to create a big success. He cancelled the Battle Royal and announced the start of the M-Ou Grand Prix round robin tournament! Urano complained that they don’t have time to do that. Everyone agreed on doing a normal Battle Royal after Tsurumi poked everyone in the eyes. Honda ended up winning the match. His prize was a briefcase representing his right to main event the Muscle show in February. Honda noticed it was heavy so he opened it up. Inside was a pile of unsold tickets for the show! Tsurumi said because Honda is main eventing the show it is now his responsibility to sell the remaining tickets. Only 780 tickets have been sold so far!
The Moonlight Express now have the perfect momentum for their Double Titles match on 5th January. They along with HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi were victorious over DAMNATION in the opener. The Express want to be the best tag team of 2019 so they are already planning appearances inside and outside of DDT. They will be at Fight Club: PRO’s Japan debut on 7th January and also K-DOJO’s next Korakuen show on the 13th no matter the result of the Double Titles match.
Ten minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner between Yuki Ueno and Mizuki Watase in the pre-show bout.
The big summer show in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 15th July will be called “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. DDT is asking fans to choose the Twitter hashtag for the show. The options are either #PeterPanDDT, #DDTPeterPan, #DDTWPP or #WrestlePeterPan.
Shuten-dōji’s self-produced show that they won from the Dramatic Election will be held in Shinjuku FACE on 17th April. They will bring in a lot of wrestlers associated with the unit and promise to deliver a ridiculous show. KUDO wasn’t there for the announcement so Shota took his place dressed just like Masahiro Takanashi. It was enough to make Sakaguchi laugh.
Shunma Katsumata is planning to return from his orbital injury this February. He had successful eye surgery on 11th December.
Jason “The Gift” Kincaid returns to DDT on 13th January. Space Monkey makes his debut on the 27th.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE GOD OF PRO WRESTLING “MY ARMS FELL!” BLURRY CONFESSION”, 27/12/2018 Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall 239 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Hyper Misao defeated Pom Harajuku with the HiPami Returns (5:29).
2. Shoko Nakajima & Yuna Manase defeated YUMI & Haruna Neko when Nakajima pinned Neko with the Northern Lights Suplex (10:09).
3. Veda Scott defeated Yuki Aino with the Fisherman Suplex (8:15).
4. DDT Offer Match: HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda when HARASHIMA pinned Honda with the Somato (11:31).
5. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Hinano defeated Nodoka Tenma, Yuki Kamifuku & Raku when Mizuki pinned Kamifuku with the Diving Foot Stomp (11:52).
6. Miyu Yamashita, Reika Saiki & Mina Shirakawa defeated Maki Itoh, Hikari & Miu when Yamashita pinned Miu with the Crash Rabbit Heat (12:52).
In the final preview battle before 4th January, Miyu Yamashita’s team were victorious over Maki Itoh’s side. Itoh hit both Reika Saiki & Mina Shirakawa with a Double Headbutt and Hikari followed up with a Missile Dropkick. But Yamashita escaped from Miu’s Canadian Backbreaker to pin her with the Crash Rabbit Heat. Itoh was held back from breaking the pin so Yamashita taunted her by raising three fingers up to her face. She told Ito after the match that she looks forward to seeing her driven to the limit at Korakuen Hall.
Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Hinano all came out with their hair in twintails until Hinano said hers were cuter than Sakazaki’s.
Antonio Honda wanted to tell his lewd Gongitsune joke but Yukinori Matsui told him he couldn’t because they were at a joshi show with a different audience. Honda told the joke anyway. After the match HARASHIMA called the new venue clean and fresh and easy to wrestle in. He looks forward to DDT running a show here soon.
Hyper Misao dressed in a 90’s style Harajuku schoolgirl costume to combat Pom Harajuku’s fashion sense.
DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018”, 23/12/2018 Tochigi Koyama City Cultural Center 145 Fans
1. Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase with the Perfect Driver (10:31).
2. 3 Way Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Mad Paulie and Gota Ihashi when Takanashi pinned Ihashi with an Oklahoma Roll (7:25).
3. Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Antonio Honda & Veda Scott when Oishi pinned Honda with the Nekodora (11:12).
4. Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Bailey pinned Shimatani after the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:45).
5. Koyama Specialty! Lucky Town Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda when Sasaki submitted Umeda with the Cross Facelock (15:30).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno when Takeshita pinned Ueno with the Fable (21:15).
Konosuke Takeshita promoted both the D-Ou Grand Prix final on 30th December and ALL OUT challenging for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 3rd January. For the Grand Prix, Takeshita wants to be Go Shiozaki on behalf of DDT. For the 6-Man Tag Titles match, it will be a win for ALL OUT no matter if it’s Takeshita, Akito or Yuki Iino that scores the pin.
Danshoku Dieno & Naomi Yoshimura came out to taunt Daisuke Sasaki after Match #5. They brought out dumplings to eat and jokingly asked if Sasaki wanted some. Sasaki then dove out of the ring onto Yoshimura and the two began fighting. Sasaki brought a chair into the ring but Yoshimura hit him with a Lariat. When Yoshimura picked up the chair, Sasaki Dropkicked it into his face. Sasaki then smashed the chair over Yoshimura’s head and left him laying among the remains of dumplings around the ring.
A story between Makoto Oishi, Shiori Asahi and the Moonlight Express was brewing over the weekend. Mike Bailey & MAO approached the other two at a K-DOJO show yesterday asking for a STRONGEST-K TAG Title shot. Oishi & Asahi would only accept the challenge if the KO-D Tag Team Titles were also put on the line to make it a Double Title match! Both teams agreed on the stipulation and it will take place in DDT on 5th January. Today Oishi approached them after their mask to give an answer. He said he was disappointed that they did not bring their own belts to the show that day because today Oishi pulled up his hoodie to show that he was wearing his STRONGEST-K TAG belt underneath. Oishi and MAO were about to shake hands for a fair fight when Oishi spat in his face. He physically manipulated MAO into putting Bailey into a Reverse Indian Deathlock then gave MAO a Russian Leg Sweep, hurting both of the Express. Oishi then posed with his tag belt along with one of the KO-D Tag belts.
Antonio Honda now has a homemade Gongitsune sock puppet. Veda Scott made it for him. He and Makoto Oishi ended up fighting over Scott’s giant cat head.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN NANTO”, 01/12/2018 Toyama Nanto City Fukuno B & G Ocean Center 308 Fans – Super No Vacancy
Ken Ohka Local Triumph! Nanto Specialty How Surprising Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN SHINJUKU”, 30/11/2018 Shinjuku FACE 342 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Scramble Bunkhouse Musical Match: Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Umeda pinned Hirata with a PK (8:25).
1. Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuki Ueno when Endo pinned Ueno with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (6:38).
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Masahiro Takanashi (2) defeated Soma Takao (0) with an Official Endless Waltz Cutoff (8:33).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Puma King (2) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (0) with the Puma Kingdom (13:34).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Shinya Aoki (2) defeated Sammy Guevara (0) with a Reverse Cross Armbreaker (3:52).
5. Akito, Yuki Iino, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno defeated CIMA, El Lindaman, Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel when Akito submitted Lindaman with the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock (13:00).
6. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Mike Bailey (2) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) (0) with the Flamingo Driver (16:56) *Mike Bailey becomes the 1,338th champion.
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Go Shiozaki (2) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (0) with the Strong Arm Lariat (16:05).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: MAO (2) defeated HARASHIMA (0) with a Jackknife Pin (16:20).
A Block
1. MAO (2)
-. Go Shiozaki (2)
-. Puma King (2)
4. Akito (0)
-. HARASHIMA (0)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (0)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (0)
The second D-Ou Grand Prix kicked off with a packed show where the Moonlight Express both earned significant victories over DDT’s most accomplished wrestlers. MAO swept away from HARASHIMA’s Somato, allowing MAO to hit HARASHIMA with a Screw High Kick and then roll him up in a Jackknife to get the surprise three count. HARASHIMA lowered his head to MAO after the match to accept the result. MAO said that his momentum and hot passion will not be stopped. He will win the A Block, Mike Bailey will win the B Block and together these two idiots will put on a foolish final!
Go Shiozaki immediately made his mark in the tournament by turning Kazusada Higuchi’s chest raw with Chops. This was a rematch from their NOAH Global League match from earlier this month and the result was the same. Shiozaki knows just how powerful Higuchi is and he is relieved to get this match over with first in the Grand Prix. Higuchi is disappointed that he wasn’t able to use the lessons learned from their first match to get a different result today. The match was closer this time but he still suffered a complete defeat to Shiozaki twice now.
Speedball joined MAO in the victory circle by beating his former teammate Konosuke Takeshita, winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title in the process. Bailey figured he had to do something new to beat Takeshita and boy did he find it. After a Tornado Whirlwind Kick in the corner, Bailey lifted Takeshita onto the turnbuckle and placed him knees first onto his shoulder. Bailey then walked into the centre of the ring and flipped Takeshita down into a driver to get the three count. The move is called the Flamingo Driver and Bailey knew he could win with the move because of how much damage it inflicts on the opponent. Backstage Bailey said the result wasn’t luck. He is a man with brains, skills and worldwide experience. Now he’s a double champion too.
Who would have guessed that STRONG HEARTS would meet their match in the form of Gorgeous Matsuno? Sure, sure, Akito was the one to make El Lindaman submit while Yuki Iino cleaned house, giving ALL OUT some momentum against the outsiders. But CIMA just couldn’t figure Matsuno out even with Matsuno wrestling with a back injury. Antonio Honda threw everyone off even more by telling his Gongitsune joke in English. Iino Speared CIMA while Akito trapped Lindaman in the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock to win the match. CIMA made the excuse that he didn’t take the match seriously then brought up how nobody in DDT challenged STRONG HEARTS at the last Korakuen Hall show to a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. Afterwards he was told by Lindaman to look up Akito on the internet. There he found out that Akito is owed a title match by DDT for finishing second in this year’s Dramatic General Election. CIMA wants Akito to use that shot against STRONG HEARTS and to also include Konosuke Takeshita on the team. Akito accepted but added that Yuki Iino will also be on the team because Shunma Katsumata is injured. CIMA doesn’t care about Katsumata. Takeshita is who he wants to fight again. Tetsuya Koda confirmed the match will take place on 30th December. Hisaya Imabayashi cut in and told Koda that Takeshita and Akito can’t be booked for that date yet because one or both of them might be in the Grand Prix final that day. Imabayashi asked CIMA when T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan can next be available for DDT. CIMA said 3rd January. That’s the date of the match then. With that over with, CIMA moved the spotlight over to The Rascalz because the 30th December will be their last match in DDT for this tour. The crowd responded favourably when CIMA asked if they would like to see The Rascalz come back next year.
Back to the Grand Prix and the most unusual pairing in the tournament provided the most unusual match. Sammy Guevara constantly taunted Shinya Aoki by kicking him off the apron and insulting him over the microphone. When he gave Aoki the middle finger, Aoki grabbed his arm and made him tap to the Cross Armbreaker. Aoki didn’t care if he didn’t mesh with Guevara. This is a long tournament for him so starting off with a quick win is a good thing. Guevara couldn’t process what happened, it went by so fast. From his point of view he offered a handshake to Aoki and everything went into a blur from there.
Puma King’s first appearance in DDT could not have gone any better. A clean win over the KO-D Openweight Champion should catch the attention of any DDT fan. Daisuke Sasaki tried to stop King by pulling at his mask but the luchador couldn’t be held down in the Cross Facelock. Sasaki went to the top rope for an Avalanche Pedigree but Puma countered it with a Super Power Bomb for the upset victory. Puma King says DDT has plenty of talented wrestlers and by coming here he can become a world star. Puma King wants to be known all around the world. He was happy to wrestle with Sasaki because they are friends who learned from the same mentor. Sasaki however did not give any interview after the match.
Masahiro Takanashi wanted to put his focus only on Soma Takao but Nobuhiro Shimatani annoyed him from ringside. Takanashi reached his breaking point and attacked Shimatani outside the ring. He then took his DAMNATION sign and attacked Takao with it! When the match went back to normal both wrestlers tried to do the Takatonic to each other. Takao turned the tussle into the Official Endless Waltz but Takanashi stopped it long enough to pin Takao. Afterwards Takao complained about Takanashi not being disqualified for attacking him with the sign.
A strong demand from Kazuki Hirata created a new match for DDT, the Scramble Bunkhouse Musical Match. A pair of Hirata GO! glasses was hung lowly over the ring with the idea that both teams will fight each other for it. Instead Hirata was the only person who ran down to it while everyone else fought with each other around ringside. Hirata later put the glasses on but instead of dancing, he was kicked to oblivion by Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase in time to his music.
With Danshoku Dieno absent and becoming less reliable, DDT is now on the lookout to recruit new comedy wrestlers. They will hold an audition called the New Year’s Day Burst Out Laughing Rumble to find the next Dieno. Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi will be the judges.
Meiko Satomura, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata will team together on 30th December.
Match #6 for Kota Umeda’s Mad Dog Trial will be Daichi Hashimoto on 3rd January.
DDT “SOUKEN HOLDINGS PRESENTS DDT SPECIAL 2018”, 25/11/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,312 Fans – Super No Vacancy DDT Dramatic General Election Ranking In Parentheses
0. Under Match: Gota Ihashi (#22) & Makoto Oishi (#23) defeated Mizuki Watase (#21) & Yuki Ueno (#24) when Oishi pinned Watase with a Back Drop Switchover (6:26).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tetsuya Koda (c) with a Low Blow (11:26 am). *Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 1,337th champion.
1. 3 Way Match: Toru Owashi (#19) defeated Antonio Honda (#12) and Saki Akai (#14) when Owashi pinned Honda with La Magistral Cradle (5:29).
2. Tetsuya Endo (#6) & Soma Takao (#8) defeated Keisuke Ishii (#10) & Yumehito Imanari (#11) when Takao pinned Imanari with a Perfect Driver (7:58).
3. Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel defeated KUDO (#15), Shunma Katsumata (#16) & Kazusada Higuchi (#17) when Wentz pinned Katsumata with the Hot Fire Flame (7:00).
4. DDT Special Four Great Singles Match – Hardcore Rules: Jun Kasai (#20) defeated MAO (#9) with the Vertical Drop Reverse Tiger Driver (12:30).
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – DDT Special Four Great Singles Match: Konosuke Takeshita (#13) (c) defeated Maki Itoh (#3) by Knockout with a Zahi (11:53). *V1 Konosuke Takeshita.
6. DDT Special Four Great Singles Match: Akito (#2) Vs Danshoku Dieno (#7) ended in a No Contest (12:04).
7. DISASTER BOX Vs #STRONGHEARTS: CIMA & El Lindaman defeated HARASHIMA (#4) & Kazuki Hirata (#18) when CIMA pinned Hirata with an Egoist Driver (14:17).
8. KO-D Openweight Title & 1,000,000 Yen Prize Money ~ DDT Special Four Great Singles Match: Daisuke Sasaki (#5) (c) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (#1) with the Sasaki Hurricanrana (21:56). *V1 for Daisuke Sasaki.
Guess who is a million yen richer? Daisuke Sasaki, that’s who! His win over Masahiro Takanashi not only marks his first successful defence of the KO-D Openweight Title but he also wins the cash prize Takanashi originally earned from the Dramatic General Election. Sasaki used the Flash Hurricanrana early for a nearfall but his second attempt twenty minutes later sealed the deal. Inbetween that time, Takanashi used everything from the Takatonic to the Laphroaig to even KUDO’s Diving Double Knee Drop to win. Although Sasaki was the one who had his hand raised, he showed a rare moment of compassion for his opponent by calling him back to the ring. Sasaki asked if the scene around him was what he wanted to see, a packed Korakuen Hall cheering for him. Sasaki said today was an important story and together he and Takanashi can bring in a new era for DDT. He offered out his hand but Takanashi turned around and left the ring.
With that out of the way, Sasaki turned to his future plans. His next scheduled title defence is at Sumo Hall on 17th February against the winner of the D-Ou Grand Prix but he thinks that is a bit too far to wait. He’d rather have a title defence sooner and he also wants nominate his own challenger. The DDT GMs Tetsuya Koda and Hisaya Imabayashi consulted with each other and decided a title match can happen on 3rd January for the first episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER”. Sasaki said he will pay attention to the entire Grand Prix and choose his opponent from his research. Suddenly Tetsuya Endo pushed Sasaki and told him he’s going to win the Grand Prix. Well, either him or Soma Takao. Takao told Endo to calm down and then asked Sasaki if he can have the prize money because Sasaki used the Gin And Tonic in the main event without his permission. Think of it as a rights fee. Sasaki said no. It was his birthday this week so he’s off to spend the money at a bar to celebrate.
El Lindaman was worried that Kazuki Hirata’s entrance would bring back some horrible memories for CIMA so he made CIMA wear an eye mask and headphones until Hirata finished his dance. Hirata instead Dropkicked CIMA while his guard was down. He would then taunt CIMA by giving Lindaman a Gyrating Frankensteiner. To everyone’s surprise, CIMA did his own Gyrating Frankensteiner to Hirata in response. Lindaman dove out of the ring onto HARASHIMA while CIMA tried to take care of Hirata. There was a moment where Hirata caught CIMA in the Miracle One Shot Cradle but CIMA kicked out of it. CIMA got the win when he pinned Hirata with the Egoist Driver. Turns out CIMA has gotten over that piece of his past. After the match CIMA talked about STRONG HEARTS recently getting a new member from WRESTLE-1. Maybe they should get a member from DDT and it should be Hirata! CIMA offered Hirata a handshake but Hirata turned him down. Hirata looked a bit hesitant over his decision as he walked back to the locker room.
Nobody wanted Danshoku Dieno to get his memory back more than Akito. Today was meant to be a dream match for the lad but Dieno just wasn’t himself. Instead of kissing fans in the audience, he just shook their hands. Every time Akito blatantly put himself in position for one of Dieno’s trademark moves Dieno would do something else instead. Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine got involved desperately trying to cure their friend’s amnesia. Nothing worked and it drove Oishi mad to the point that he grabbed a chair. Oishi swung the chair at Dieno but he ducked and Akito got hit instead. Dieno grabbed the chair and swung at Oishi but missed. The chair bounced off the ropes and smashed back into Dieno’s face! Suddenly Dieno began to stir and the lights went off. When they came back on Dieno was naked with his lose tights covering his junk! He gave Akito the Lip Lock and a naked Danshoku Driver while everyone else at ringside tried to block it from the audience’s view. The match ended in a no contest while Dieno rampaged through the crowd to the back.
The match between Konosuke Takeshita and Maki Itoh became more interesting when Takeshita won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title at the beginning of the show. So now Itoh had a chance to win back the title. Itoh gave Takeshita the middle finger but struggled to do much against her opponent. However that only charged Itoh up. Takeshita begun to get worried when Itoh started banging her head off the turnbuckles so he removed one of them. That backfired when Itoh was able to throw Takeshita head first into the exposed turnbuckle. Takeshita grabbed the title belt from ringside to use it as a weapon but Itoh stopped him with a DDT. Itoh was later pushed into the steel but she landed onto Takeshita’s crotch for an unintentional low blow. Itoh tried to give Takeshita another middle finger but he grabbed her hand and smashed her in the face with an elbow strike. Takeshita stomped on Itoh’s hands and then hit the Zahi Knee Strike. Yukinori Matsui started counting Itoh out but she slowly started to get up. At nine she gave Takeshita one last middle finger and collapsed, losing the match by knockout.
As Ito was being helped to the back, Takeshita scolded her for giving him the middle finger so many times. He thought they could be rivals but unfortunately admits it is too much of a mismatch. However he wants Ito to continue on the path she has chosen. That is the pro wrestling way. You can go as far as you like when you do things your way as long as you try your hardest. Ito gave him the middle finger and walked off. Michiaki Nakano from Souken Holdings entered the ring and handed the Iron Man Title to Takeshita. Nobuhiro Shimatani and Gota Ihashi both tried to ambush Takeshita with School Boys but Takeshita kicked out of both of them. Nakano then tried to do one but couldn’t even get Takeshita off his feet. Takeshita, Shimatani and Ihashi all stomped on Nakano until he was pulled out of the ring.
MAO has had a crazy 2018 and considered today’s match with Jun Kasai as his final boss battle. He wasn’t able to win but he thinks having a Hardcore Match with Kasai will open new doors for him. They slammed each other through plastic boxes and skewered each other’s heads with bamboo skewers. MAO kicked out of the Pearl Harbor Splash but was put away with the Vertical Drop Reverse Tiger Driver.
STRONG HEARTS were also victorious earlier in the show when Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel beat the mixed DDT team of KUDO, Shunma Katsumata & Kazusada Higuchi. The home side were unprepared for the fast paced moves presented by The Rascalz which included a triple dive to the outside. When Higuchi tagged into the match his team were able to take control but eventually Katsumata was singled out. Wentz got the pin with the Hot Fire Flame, a move where he does Standing Moonsault next to his opponent and Xavier pushes him over to the target in mid-air!
The DAMNATION duo of Endo & Takao were able to beat Ganbare☆Wrestling’s pair of Keisuke Ishii & Yumehito Imanari without much trouble. Endo gave Imanari the Swivel Torture Rack and Takao got the three count with the Perfect Driver. Was that done intentionally because CIMA was on the show?
When Toru Owashi put Saki Akai in a Mexican Stretch it had the unintended effect of making Antonio Honda too hyper actively aroused to wrestle. This happened again when Honda was ready to do a Shining Wizard to Akai only to stall when Akai moved herself into a seductive pose. Owashi used the distraction to pin Honda with La Magistral Cradle.
In the pre-show match Makoto Oishi was able to counter Mizuki Watase’s Back Drop into a Cradle to nab the three count.
Takeshita was able to win the Iron Man Title from Tetsuya Koda at the beginning of the show when the two were in the ring for the opening announcements. Takeshita was there to promote the New Year’s Eve wrestling show. He said that he’s been in the final of the annual tournament for the last three years so he has to make it four in a row. When it was Koda’s turn to talk, Takeshita gave him a Low Blow and pinned him to win the title. After he left the ring, Michiaki Nakano climbed in and jumped on top of Koda. Hisaya Imabayashi had to tell him Koda was no longer the champion so nobody was going to count his pin
Chigusa Nagayo’s match at the 17th Febuary Sumo Hall show will be a 6-Person Tag Match. She will be teaming up with Sanshiro Takagi & Ryuji Ito against a trio to be announced later. Nagayo, Takagi & Ito have teamed together once before way back in March 2005 as part of an event produced by Nagayo in Differ Ariake.