A little bit of worrying news comes from today’s Gatoh Move show. CDK were defending the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles against Shin Suzuki & Choun-Shiryu. During the match Shiryu gave Chris Brookes the Chinese Gory Special Bomb and Brookes injured his shoulder, stopping the match. Suzuki & Shiryu were declared the winners and Masahiro Takanashi handed them over the championship belts because the result counts as a title change. Takanashi reappeared later in the show to tell the fans that Brookes was on the way to the hospital for a diagnosis and his message to everyone is he’s feeling fine. The last thing DDT needs right now is another injury, especially to one of the headliners for their next Sumo Hall show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 04/06/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Wakana Uehara Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
2. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Toga
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Shino Suzuki
4. Hyper Misao Vs HIMAWARI
5. Mizuki & Suzume Vs Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami
6. Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
The strongest trio in Tokyo Joshi Pro lately are Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku. Can they keep their run of success going against Daydream & Arisu Endo? Especially if Rika Tatsumi & Endo figure out how to summon back their heel gimmick from “HYPE!” and go act violently again. Miu Watanabe is too cheerful for that life though.
DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2023”, 25/06/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai, Hideki Okatani & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Ryota Nakatsu, Yuki Ishida, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. International Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Nick Wayne
3. DDT Extreme Title: MAO Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima Vs X & X
Over the weekend Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima made appeals to DDT asking to be one of the teams fighting for the vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles. With ShunMao stepping aside and vacating the belts, Kojima wanted his team with Ueno to represent The 37KAMIINA in the championship match. Despite losing his recent matches, Kojima impressed management enough to grant his request.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23”, 08/07/2023 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Sawyer Wreck
2. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nyla Rose
2. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Maki Itoh
When Yuka Sakazaki announced her plans to graduate TJPW at the end of the year, she said one of her remaining wishes was to wrestle somebody from AEW at “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’23”. The invitation was accepted and AEW is sending over Nyla Rose! The former AEW Women’s Champion has wrestled in Japan before but this will be her first time in TJPW. They’ve been opponents in tag matches on Dark before and they also once fought each other in a Triple Threat match along with Riho. This match however is the first time they will face off one on one.
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II”, 09/07/2023 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Miyuki Takase
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Isami Kodaka
The biggest show of the year for Ganbare☆Pro will be headlined with an inter-promotional match against BASARA with their biggest prize on the line. Mizuki Watase is defending the Spirit Of Ganbare Title against Isami Kodaka and both men will be carrying the flag for their respective promotions. The fighting talk between the two from yesterday suggests this won’t be the end to the rivalry. Watase has promised to continue defending the SOG Title against BASARA wrestlers after he beats Kodaka. In return Kodaka has offered to do the same with GanPro talent if he beats Watase for the belt.
Almost one year after she joined GanPro, Yoshiko Hasegawa gets a special singles match against her senpai Miyuki Takase. Hasegawa owes a lot to Takase for taking care of her during her absence away from wrestling. The best way she can pay her back is to show how much she has grown under GanPro and beat her in their first singles match against each other.
Freelance wrestler Kuma Arashi has suddenly offered to wrestle on GanPro shows after attending yesterday’s shows and being impressed with the company’s passion. He had a match in GanPro once before in 2020 back when he was signed to WRESTLE-1. The atmosphere he felt yesterday reminded him of W1 and convinced him to give this place another shot. He also wants to form a tag team with Ken Ohka while he is here.
The summer is winding down and it’s been a whirlwind of international appearances for Konosuke Takeshita and Miyu Yamashita in particular. Things might calm down a little going into the Autumn when Takeshita returns home to Japan for DDT. His plan is to go back for just under two months before continuing his excursion. He is definitely falling in love with America and wants to make the country his second home. But as you will see in the upcoming appearances section below there is a whole wide world out there to explore.
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Alex Windsor with the Skull Kick (15:28).
We start off in Spain where Yamashita travelled over to wrestle for RCW. She was the big draw of the show with the event’s name being a combination of her and the album “Motomami” by Rosalía. She took on Alex Windsor a week before Windsor went on to win the International Princess Title over in Japan.
PWG “NINETEEN”, 03/07/2022 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Yuka Sakazaki defeated Masha Slamovich (9:22).
2. PWG World Title: Daniel Garcia (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (23:19). *V1 for Daniel Garcia.
July turned out to be a rocky patch for Takeshita in the win-loss department. He got to fight for the PWG World Title against Daniel Garcia but couldn’t win the belt from him. Yuka Sakazaki had a better night, winning the first women’s match held in PWG in over a decade against Masha Slamovich. She left quite the impression on everyone for sure.
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 06/07/2022 (Aired 08/07/2022) Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York, USA
1. Eddie Kingston defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Spinning Backfist (11:56).
Eddie Kingston made it no secret his dream is to wrestle Jun Akiyama some day. Akiyama passed down the Jumping Knee Strike to Takeshita so this match brought Kingston one little step forward toward that goal. The two smashed each other to bits and both were practically done by the time the match was over. It could have ended in a double knockout had Kingston not fallen on top of Takeshita to get the pin.
JCW “THE GREAT AMERICAN BIRTHDAY BASH”, 10/07/2022 Phil Sheridan Building, Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cole Radrick with the Zahi (15:19).
Takeshita and Cole Radrick finally wrestling each other is like when two pen pals meet in person for the first time. To think it all started when Takeshita used Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse 3 years ago.
AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/07/2022 Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia, USA
1. Interim AEW World Title Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Bulldog Choke (13:13).
Takeshita’s biggest match in America so far took place in AEW when he took on one of their biggest stars Jon Moxley! It was a non-title match but a win would have catapulted Takeshita into an automatic shot for the Interim AEW World Title. Unfortunately despite another heavily praised performance, Takeshita ended up submitting to the Bully Choke. It was at this point when Takeshita realised he has not won an AEW match on Dynamite or Rampage yet. He made it his next goal to get “one big win” on TV.
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 1”, 16/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
Next stop was Seattle for a DEFY doubleshot. In the main event of Night 1 Takeshita beat the veteran journeyman of the indies Davey Richards.
DEFY “THE WORLD IS YOURS NIGHT 2”, 17/07/2022 Washington Hall, Seattle, Washington, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Schaff (10:34).
Then on the second night Takeshita beat Schaff. I’m really low on details about what happened on the DEFY shows at the moment so let’s move on.
AEW “DARK ELEVATION”, 20/07/2022 (Aired 25/07/2022) Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated JD Drake with the Jumping Knee Strike (3:40).
Takeshita has no problem picking up wins on AEW’s Youtube shows. He beat JD Drake in the main event of an episode of Dark Elevation.
TERMINUS “TERMINUS 3”, 21/07/2022 Oasis Event Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
1. Jonathan Gresham defeated Konosuke Takeshita by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Octopus Hold (14:55).
Takeshita paid a visit to TERMINUS, the promotion that Jonathan Gresham had been championing while Ring Of Honor was in limbo. The match almost lasted the full 15 minute time limit but the last minute and a half consisted of Gresham locking Takeshita in an Octopus Hold and then finding more ways to torture him. The referee finally called for the bell in the last few seconds, giving Gresham the win. But Takeshita never gave up and even threw an Elbow Strike while in a dazed state right after Gresham let him go. This would not be the last time they were in the ring together this month.
PRESTIGE “NONSTOP FEELING”, 22/07/2022 Hawthorne Theater, Portland, Oregon, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kevin Blackwood with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (16:55).
Here is where Takeshita started to develop something different. Kevin Blackwood is a pretty tough dude and showed his guts by taking everything Takeshita could throw at him and still kick out of his pins. Takeshita ended up using Radrick’s move the Lil Sebastian’s Curse to finally get the win. Fans want Takeshita to name his version of the move Cinnabomb but he likes the name that Radrick originally gave it.
GARDEN STATE PRO “WELCOME TO EDEN”, 23/07/2022 The Heart Ballroom, Newark, USA
1. 3 Way Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Billie Starkz and Janai Kai when Yamashita pinned Starkz with the Skull Kick (6:53).
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Josh Alexander ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
Takeshita did end up getting into a time limit draw against Josh Alexander. It was a non-title match but he left holding his head up high over going the distance against the Impact World Champion. Yamashita was thrown into a hectic 3 Way Match against Billie Starkz and Janai Kai. Those young wrestlers have become two of the more familiar names in women’s wrestling on the American indies. The chaos worked out in Yamashita’s favour when Starkz unintentionally knocked Kai out of the ring, leaving her open for the deadly Skull Kick.
AEW “DYNAMITE ~ FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN”, 27/07/2022 DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
1. AEW Women’s World Title: Thunder Rosa (c) defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Fire Thunder Driver (10:02). *V5 for Thunder Rosa.
The big reason for Yamashita’s return to America was for this. A shot at the AEW Women’s World Title she earned from beating Thunder Rosa in Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier in the month. The late part of the rematch almost became a mirror of the TJPW bout with the Attitude Adjustment being countered into a Cradle only to get reversed into another one. This time however Rosa kicked out and caught Yamashita with her own High Kick. Rosa then hit her version of the Fire Thunder Driver to avenge the loss and successfully defend the title. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great match. They weren’t on the same page in the first half and although they got back in track with Yamashita’s German Suplex spot, the rest of the match was pretty much a repeat of what they did in TJPW.
BLACK LABEL PRO “THE GANG CROSSES THE LINE”, 29/07/2022 Nashville Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Nick Wayne with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse (12:40).
Takeshita ended his month over at the Starrcast convention for two matches. The first took place in Black Label Pro against the highly regarded youngster Nick Wayne. Even though Takeshita won, he was so impressed by Wayne that he passed down his nickname of “The Future” to him!
SETUP “SETUP EP.8”, 30/07/2022 The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand
1. Hoshitango defeated Bital Hasdin with the Midnight Buenos Aires (8:34).
2. Asia Dream Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Terry Diesel & Monomoth when Brookes pinned Monomoth after the Super Kick & Praying Mantis Bomb (23:40). *V4 for CDK.
Time to go a completely different direction over to Thailand where CDK went off on an adventure. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi were part of a Gatoh Move related group of wrestlers taking part in a SETUP show. CDK successfully defended the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles against two of SETUP’s best in Terry Diesel & Monomoth. Also taking part was Hoshitango. He gave the local super rookie Bital Hasdin his first loss in pro wrestling. There was even a DJ Nira sighting at some point during the show.
JCP “RIC FLAIR’S LAST MATCH”, 31/07/2022 Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
1. PROGRESS World Title #1 Contender – 4 Way Match: Jonathan Gresham defeated Alan Angels, Nick Wayne and Konosuke Takeshita when Gresham pinned Angels with an O’Connor Roll (5:40).
Takeshita was added to the undercard of Ric Flair’s dedicated attempt at turning the final scene of “The Wrestler” into reality. He took part in a 4 Way with previous opponents Gresham and Wayne along with former AEW wrestler Alan Angels.
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Upcoming Appearances
AEW “BATTLE OF THE BELTS III”, 05/08/2022 (Airing 06/08/2022) Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
1. ROH World Title: Claudio Castagnoli (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
He couldn’t win the PWG Title so let’s go after the ROH World Title! Takeshita takes on Claudio Castagnoli himself in an absolute whopper of a match on paper. As mentioned above, Takeshita wants his first AEW win on TV to be a big one and this would fit the bill.
WIDE BAY PRO “RAMPAGE”, 06/08/2022 Maryborough State High School, Sussex Street, Maryborough, Australia
1. Interstate Title: Mitch Ryder (c) Vs Shota
Here’s an unexpected addition. Shota is gearing up for an American excursion in a few month’s time but this month he is heading over to Australia for a one-off appearance in Wide Bay Pro. He is going to challenge one of their champions Mitch Ryder (not the American one who died two years ago).
DPW “BELIEVE THE HYPE”, 06/08/2022 Gov. James E. Holshouser Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
1. Mizuki Vs Emi Sakura
2. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Andrew Everett
Back over to the maniac matchmaking of Deadlock Pro. On one of their recent shows Andrew Everett called out Takeshita for a match! If that isn’t enough to tickle your fancy, DPW somehow put together the rare matchup of Mizuki against Emi Sakura! It will be Mizuki’s first ever appearance in America and also Sakura’s first US booking outside of AEW ever since she worked with the company.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 137: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COPPERHEAD”, 13/08/2022 O2 Academy, Sheffield, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Robbie X
Robbie X is a journeyman of the British wrestling scene who seems to be finally breaking through and climbing up the ladder. He is Takeshita’s first opponent when he travels over to England.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 1”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs X
That Itoh’s first GCW match hasn’t been announced yet makes me think she’ll be added to a Scramble 6 Way. She’ll have a busy day nonetheless.
JCW “AFTER HOURS 2”, 13/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Billie Starkz
GCW’s sister promotion JCW will be running a show in the same venue afterwards. Itoh is taking part by having a match against Starkz. She got along well with Yamashita. If Itoh takes a liking to her too then maybe a tour of Japan is in Starkz’s future. It will do her a world of good if she ever wants to develop as a pro wrestler.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 138: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – COTTONMOUTH”, 14/08/2022 Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Dean Allmark
Dean Allmark is another longtime British wrestler going beyond the indie scene. He’s been through the infamous schedule of wrestling at summer camps across the country.
GCW “HOMECOMING PART 2”, 14/08/2022 The Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
1. Maki Itoh Vs Dark Sheik
Now here is someone with an attitude that Itoh will appreciate. “Fuck The Fans” is a motto that Dark Sheik lives by even though she is pretty cool towards her fanbase. Hoodslam is her home but she’s gotten comfy wrestling in GCW lately too.
PRESTIGE “PERSEVERANCE”, 17/09/2022 The Glass House, Pomona, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs X
2. Maki Itoh Vs Sandra Moone
Yamashita & Itoh are heading back over to Prestige in September. Itoh has an opponent announced in the form of Sandra Moone. Yamashita is still waiting to hear who she will be against. Taya Valkyrie and Trish Adora are both advertised for the show. Either of them facing Yamashita would be an attention grabber. Just saying.
PROGRESS “CHAPTER 142: DEADLY VIPER TOUR – CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN SNAKE”, 25/09/2022 O2 Academy, Birmingham, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
There’s some extra slightly DDT related news for this show. Shigehiro Irie is being booked for it.
PROGRESS “RETURN OF THE FLY”, 27/09/2022 The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, England
1. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
CDK have another PROGRESS show to go to. The naming of it seems to match Brookes’ interests too.
WXW “WORLD TAG TEAM FESTIVAL 2022”, 01/10/2022 – 03/10/2022 Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, Germany
1. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Fuminori Abe & Shigehiro Irie Vs X
2. World Tag Team Festival 2022: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs X
A couple more teams have been added to the World Tag Team Festival but nothing related to what I’m doing here. Probably going to stay that way until the tournament takes place.
DDT “ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2022 THE FINAL!!”, 27/02/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 573 Fans – No Vacancy
-. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – A Block: Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani (2) Vs Shuji Kondo & Kazuki Hirata (0) is a Double Forfeit.
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ishida with a Crab Hold (6:34).
0. Dark Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Hiroshi Yamato ended in a No Contest (5:44).
1. Toru Owashi & Shuji Kondo defeated Soma Takao & Kazusada Higuchi when Kondo pinned Takao with the King Kong Lariat (9:16).
2. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (4) defeated Shunma Katsumata & MAO (2) when Brookes pinned Katsumata with the Praying Mantis Bomb (7:03).
3. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – B Block: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura (6) defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (4) when HARASHIMA pinned Iino with a Forward Rolling Cradle (12:30).
4. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama (6) when Takeshita submitted Endo with the Plus Ultra (24:09).
5. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul defeated Yuji Hino, Akito & Yukio Naya when Sasaki submitted Akito with La Mistica Crossface Lock (13:23).
6. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Maya Yukihi defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai when Yukihi pinned Akai with the Snowton Bomb (12:23).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Ultimate Tag League 2022 – Final: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno when Yoshimura pinned Ueno with the Modified Shonenba (20:14). *DISASTER BOX becomes the 72nd KO-D Tag Team Champions!
It was an unusual idea put forth by HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura to vacate the KO-D Tag Team Titles before the Ultimate Tag League. But they made their point by entering the tournament as challengers on an even playing field with everyone else, then winning the entire thing to regain the belts! They topped their group and then faced The 37KAMIINA in the final. The match came down to former Nautilus teammates Naomi Yoshimura and Yuki Ueno fighting each other. They were evenly matched while HARASHIMA and Konosuke Takeshita did what they can to tip the balance in their team’s favour. In the end, Ueno’s Frankensteiner pin was destroyed by the Somato from HARASHIMA. Yoshimura hit a Power Bomb and a Lariat but Ueno still kicked out. He was finally put away with a Modified version of the Shonenba.
Yoshimura was satisfied with winning the tournament and regaining the tag titles like he had intended. However there was one team DISASTER BOX did not beat in the group stage. He called out CDK, who came to the ring carrying the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles they won in ChocoPro yesterday. HARASHIMA challenged them to a KO-D Tag Titles match at the 25th Anniversary show on 20th March! Masahiro Takanashi admitted DISASTER BOX are the best tag team in DDT but the tag titles should belong to the most dramatic and dreamy of tag teams, which is himself & Chris Brookes! Yoshimura closed out the show giving a shoutout to Kazuki Hirata. He and HARASHIMA had a pair of Hirata GO! glasses with them for both of their matches today.
Maya Yukihi got the better of Saki Akai in their latest preview match ahead of Sumo Hall. She teamed with Sanshiro Takagi, who himself is fired up for his matches at Ryogoku weekend, to beat Akai & Yukio Sakaguchi. Yukihi was also eager to fight Sakaguchi and that possibly kept her sharp enough to pin Akai directly with the Snowton Bomb. Yukihi told Akai afterwards she wants to drag out her emotional side to make their singles make even more fierce. Whether that happens or not, Yukihi is certain she will win. She also came up with a team name for her and Takagi. They can be called Fire Snow! Akai feels she let herself down because she wanted to prove to Takagi and Sakaguchi she can carry DDT on her own. She thinks this because she will be on her own against Yukihi at Sumo Hall and she wants to be the last one standing and smiling at the end.
Preparations are going well for DAMNATION T.A even if there is somebody trying to get their attention. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul were a well oiled, greasy team bending all the rules to beat Yuji Hino, Akito & Yukio Naya. After the match Sasaki attacked the referee while MAO appeared at the top of the entrance gate watching on. He tried to get Sasaki’s attention but Sasaki kicked the gate until MAO fell. He then walked off leaving MAO lying on the floor. Backstage, Sasaki asked who the current KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions are and got confused when he found out it is Pheromones. He wants to challenge them for the titles. He also said Fujita had been spying on Jun Kasai so Sasaki now knows everything about him. His plan to defend the DDT Universal Title in the Hardcore 3 Way Match is going along nicely.
The final block matches of the Ultimate Tag League made up the early portions of the show. Takeshita & Ueno reached the final be beating BURNING to top their group. It was a big preview of the upcoming Ryogoku main event between Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo. Takeshita took out Jun Akiyama with the very Jumping Knee Strike that was passed down to him. He also blocked the Burning Star Press before making Endo tap out to the Plus Ultra. Both teams ended with 6 points but this result meant The 37KAMIINA advanced thanks to the Direct Confrontation rule. Endo was angry at himself for giving up. However he and Akiyama both agree there is still one thing he can use to beat Takeshita. Whatever it is, Endo didn’t expand upon it any further. Instead he said he will beat Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Title at Sumo Hall.
DISASTER BOX won their block but had to get an unwanted eye-full of Pheromones to do it. A No Contest would have created a 4 Way tie for first place so both teams wanted to win. Yes, even Pheromones. They complained Yuki Iino’s shoulder was up while HARASHIMA pinned him with a Victory Roll. Danshoku Dieno later accused DDT of bribing the ref so they would lose. Yumehito Imanari was more concerned about the size of Yoshimura’s thighs. He never seen anything like them and thinks they should be used in his movies!
There was only pride on the line for the ShunMao Vs CDK match. Both teams were already eliminated from contention. ShunMao’s teamwork blew up in their own faces when Shunma Katsumata accidentally hit the Sauna Trance Splash onto his own partner. With MAO taken out that way, CD hit a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb combo to pin Katsumata. ShunMao still believe they did well in the tournament. They had to wrestle under normal rules and were still able to entertain the fans. Now they will wait for offers to wrestle anywhere, even somewhere abroad like America or Finland. Takanashi used one of the Asia Dream Tag Title belts to block a punch from MAO during the match. He later found out the punch broke one of the plates! He swore revenge on them as soon as he finds some tape to fix the belt.
Both Kazusada Higuchi and Shuji Kondo found themselves without their regular tag partners because of covid. Their Tag League match was declared void and neither team got points out of it. Instead, Higuchi teamed with Soma Takao to face Kondo & Toru Owashi. The Toryumon flavored team came out on top which makes Owashi think it was fate for Hirata to get sick and make himself team with Kondo. It may be the start of something new or it may not. The one thing Owashi is sure of is Kondo won the match for Hirata.
Dark match? More like After Dark match! Danshoku Dieno’s bout against Hiroshi Yamato aired live on DDT’s Youtube channel so Hisaya Imabayashi warned them not to go overboard. They did anyway by trying to strip off each other’s wrestling tights. Imabayashi called off the match and finally had enough. When Dieno tried to attack him he fought back and gave Dieno a Stunner! Imabayashi then kicked Yamato out of the ring and ordered the staff to disinfect everything before the main show could begin.
The other dark match was a much cleaner affair. Yusuke Okada submitted Yuki Ishida. The youngster hit his Sumo Slaps and kicked out of a Brainbuster but the Crab Hold defeated him in the end.
The complete card for “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~” on 20th March was revealed at the end of the show. Isami Kodaka sent in a video promising to be there. He and Yukio Sakaguchi will face Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata on the show. Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani are the team that will face Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori. There will also be a pre-show matches with the past, present and future of DDT invovled.
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 20/03/2022 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion Vs Toui Kojima, Yuki Ishida & El Unicorn
0. Dark Match – Time Admission Tag Battle Royal: Tomohiko Hashimoto & Seiya Morohashi Vs Soma Takao & Shota Vs Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Gota Ihashi Vs Andreza Giant Panda & Super Sasadango Machine
1. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Naomi Susan)
2. LiLiCo Retirement Match: LiLiCo, Ryohei Odai & Akito (w/ Junretsu) Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
3. Special Tag Match: Isami Kodaka & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
4. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Maya Yukihi
5. Jun Akiyama 30th Anniversary Match: Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani
6. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Michael Nakazawa
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
8. DDT Universal Title – Hardcore 3 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Jun Kasai Vs MAO
9. KO-D Openweight Title – Japan Bakery Marketing Presents: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 