DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023”, 26/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 680 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. MJ Paul & KANON defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda when KANON submitted Honda with the Just Cobra Twist (5:08).
0. 2 Vs 6 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Fuminori Abe, Toru Owashi, Gota Ihashi, Saki Akai & Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (8:52).
1. D GENERATIONS CUP 6-Man Tag Match: Keigo Nakamura, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi defeated Hideki Okatani, Yuki Ishida & Ilusion when Nakamura pinned Ilusion with a Diving Headbutt (7:54).
2. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power defeated Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask when Power pinned Mask with a Cradle Cutback (7:47).
3. International Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford), Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno defeated Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi when Sabian pinned Oishi with the Deathly Hallows (10:13).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kip Sabian defeated Penelope Ford (c) with a School Boy (12:19 pm). *Kip Sabian becomes the 1,558th champion.
4. D GENERATIONS CUP – Final: Takeshi Masada defeated Yuya Koroku with the Samurai Driver ’01 (8:26).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) when Aoki pinned Okada with a High Angle Rotating Cradle (13:08). *BURNING fails in V2. Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine become the 50th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Kip Sabian (c) with a Sleeper Hold (13:03 pm). *Kip Sabian becomes the 1,559th champion.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida when MAO pinned Machida after the Oretachi no Mad Max (14:22). *V3 for ShunMao.
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger Decision Match: Yukio Naya defeated HARASHIMA with the Back Drop (17:55).
The main event of DDT’s 26th Anniversary show is going to be two friends and tag team partners fighting each other for the company’s biggest prize. Today Yukio Naya defeated HARASHIMA in the main event to set up the biggest match of his career against Yuji Hino with the KO-D Openweight Title on the line. He survived HARASHIMA’s battleplan of targeting the legs by being too tough. Despite all of the attacks to Naya’s legs, he used them to block HARASHIMA’s Swan Dive Somato. HARASHIMA then tried to use a Cross Knee Lock, striking at the knee for extra damage but that did not work either. Naya got a nearfall with a Choke Slam then tried to hit the Back Drop. HARASHIMA blocked the move only for Naya to switch over to a German Suplex. Naya finally got the win by using the Back Drop with no chance of it being countered.
After the match Naya called HARASHIMA the ace of DDT and said to leave the 26th Anniversary main event to him. Yuji Hino entered the ring and Naya talked to him about how much his pro wrestling life changed since the two met each other. He asked Hino to accept his challenge so they can fight for the best of DDT! Hino accepted and said he enjoyed watching the main event because it made him feel like a fan. He cannot promise the match will be as great as a certain retirement that happened recently but he will do his best to have a match that will live on in everyone’s hearts. They shook hands and Naya told the fans they will see a heavyweight battle that no other company can match! Backstage Naya said there was no way he would lose to HARASHIMA with so many fans cheering for him. HARASHIMA admitted he could feel Naya’s strength and desire to win. He is disappointed to lose but will continue to train and push even harder for everyone who supports him.
Two well earned KO-D Tag Team Title defences in three days for ShunMao. After coming out of Burlesque Tokyo with the titles still around their waists, they faced a new and completely different challenge today. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida rushed in with submissions and strikes to break down the champions. MAO tried to fight back against Machida’s punches by using Palm Strikes. He struggled to match the kickboxer blow for blow, needing Shunma Katsumata to break the pin after MAO took the God’s Right Knee and Iai Punch. But MAO recovered and lured Machida into a Michinoku Driver. Katsumata took out Sakaguchi with a dive out of the ring and then ShunMao regrouped to pin Machida with the Oretachi no Mad Max.
The two teams praised each other after the match until ShunMao’s next opponents made themselves known. Both Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu from Harimao entered the ring to declare their challenge. MAO said he used to be afraid of Nakatsu back when they wrestled in DNA because his first singles loss was to him. Nakatsu pointed out at least he wasn’t as serious as Kota Umeda. MAO agreed. MAO is also afraid of turning down the challenge so he accepted it. ShunMao won’t be able to create a new pro wrestling landscape if they cannot get over their DNA past. MAO and Nakatsu shook hands and so did Katsumata and Higuchi. The match will take place on 21st March.
A big upset happened in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles when BURNING lost the titles! They were unexpectedly beaten by Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine thanks to some unusual tactics. Aoki took Yusuke Okada’s yellow entrance jacket and wore it in the ring to distract him. Okada got it back after he Dropkicked Aoki from behind. Kotaro Suzuki and Yuki Ueno fought to a stalemate with neither getting the upper hand. Tetsuya Endo did some Keiji Muto tribute moves on Sasadango but Sasadango then blocked the Burning Star Press with his knees. Sasadango then unmasked himself, placed the mask over Okada and hit him with a Lariat. Okada tried to scramble back but ended up being pinned by Aoki in the end for the title change.
Sasadango said the probabilities of his team winning today was at 0%. There was a reason why he put this plan together to win the KO-D 6-Man Titles from BURNING and now is the time to reveal it. He wants to face Jun Akiyama again! He called Akiyama down to the ring and said he just beat three of BURNING’s strongest wrestlers. On 16th April DDT will have a show in Sasadango’s hometown of Niigata. He wants to defend the 6-Man Titles against Akiyama on that show to make the event as important as possible. Akiyama agreed and later said his tag partners for the match will be Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku.
It took a long detour to get here but Takeshi Masada is finally bound for Hollywood! He defeated Yuya Koroku in the final of the D GENERATIONS CUP, countering Koroku’s arm submissions with High Kicks. A Triangle Kick got Masada a two count so he followed up with a Buzzsaw Kick and then the Samurai Driver ’01 to win. Not only is Masada now going to America for the DDT shows in Los Angeles, he got a bonus prize for winning the tournament. On 12th March Masada will go one on one against Akiyama! Masada celebrated by demanding a first class ticket for his flight to America. Backstage Masada said he was able to win the tournament because his feelings were just a little bit stronger than the rest of the field. He also wants to leave a lasting impression on Akiyama with their match. Meanwhile Koroku swore revenge on Masada, promising he will make him give up the next time he traps his arm in a submission!
The international trio won their second match in a row, continuing what’s been a dream tour for Kip Sabian & Penelope Ford. The match saw Ford interfere again, this time doing a Flying Hurricanrana to Naruki Doi. Later Chris Brookes took out Doi with a Cutter while Hagane Shinno knocked Yuji Hino out of the ring with a Swan Dive Missile Dropkick. Shinno then took out both Hino & Doi with a Moonsault out of the ring. That left Sabian in the ring to pin Makoto Oishi with the Deathly Hallows. Backstage Shinno called the trio the World Good Looking Guys.
That wasn’t the end of Sabian & Ford’s adventure though. Sabian surprised his wife after the match by pinning her with a School Boy to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title! Backstage an upset Ford tried to get an explanation from Sabian then walked off in a huff. Sabian shrugged it off because he was happy being the champion. Then suddenly Yoshihiko burst out of a nearby locker and grabbed Sabian in a Sleeper Hold! Sabian had no choice but to tap out, losing the belt to Yoshihiko and getting left in the locker room all alone.
The masked seafood wrestlers Shishamo Power and Unagi Mask made their return to promote DDT’s sponsorship with the Yamada Suisan company. The match itself went by without incident with Shishamo pinning Unagi. But afterwards Higuchi suddenly turned on Shishamo and attacked both wrestlers with a Brain Claw Slam and a Stunner! Why did Higuchi do this? Because he is a meat eater! Shishamo was shocked. He couldn’t believe that Higuchi eats meat instead of fish. He demanded a match between meat eaters and fish eaters to take place on 23rd April.
The six wrestlers who couldn’t reach the D GENERATIONS CUP final were put into a 6-Man Tag Match. Keigo Nakamura had his hand raised in the end after he pinned Ilusion with a Diving Headbutt. Even though the tournament has ended today, Nakamura has unfinished business with a lot of people in his generation. For one, he wants a rematch with Toi Kojima. Then there is Kojima wanting to fight everyone who was in the A Block like Hideki Okatani. While all of this is going on, Kazuma Sumi wants to use his disappointing results as a springboard for his growth.
One of the dark matches was changed when Sanshiro Takagi attacked Pheromones before it began. It was supposed to be a 4 Way Tag Match but it was changed into a 6 Vs 2 Handicap Match instead. Takagi got the other teams to agree by promising them a spot on the America shows if they could beat Pheromones. That was easier said than done. Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno fought off Takagi & Fuminori Abe. Then they fought off Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata. By the time they got to Saki Akai & Gota Ihashi the numbers game became too much and Pheromones looked to be done for. Then suddenly Ihashi paused the match to declare his love for Akai and how they will travel to America together. The delay allowed Pheromones to recover and set up a bare butt tower over the turnbuckles with Ihashi in the middle. Yumehito Imanari threw different wrestlers into them including Akai. The attacks got so lewd that the match had to be stopped. Dieno protested backstage, saying Pheromones aren’t trying to destory DDT anymore but to make it change. Meanwhile Takagi is worried about how Pheromones will act in America. He has contacted AEW asking for a superstar to team up with against Pheromones on the 30th March show.
The other dark match had MJ Paul & KANON beat Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda. Paul blocked Honda’s Bionic Elbow with a Lariat and KANON made him submit to the Just Cobra Twist.
During the show Ilusion and El Unicorn gave everyone an update about their futures. Both wrestlers are graduating from the DDTeeeen!! project on 21st March to become full time members of the DDT roster! Ilusions recently turned 20 years old so he is no longer a teenager. El Unicorn is still a teen but was recently accepted into his choice of high school. His goal is now to win the KO-D Title and wrestle in America while he is a high school student. Ilusion said there won’t be any changes from him just because he is graduating from DDTeeeen!! He still wants to wrestle against opponents like Vent Vert Jack and Raimu Imai more often.
Saki Akai announced her plans this year to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of her pro wrestling debut. First she will have a singles match against Masahiro Takanashi on 21st March. Takanashi was a part of Akai’s debut match in 2013. Then she will be getting two anniversary shows later in the year, one in Korakuen Hall on 13th August and another in Kyoto KBS Hall on 30th September where she promises there will be beautiful pro wrestling in front of the beautiful stained glass windows.
Trainee Rukiya Ikeda will make his debut on 9th April. He is from the same class of trainees as Takeshi Masada and Kazuma Sumi. Ikeda wants to surpass the both of them.
More matches were announced for the 26th Anniversary show on 21st March. The five hour show will include Kazuki Hirata’s 13th Anniversary Match where he will team with Yoshihiko against Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao. Also on the card Sasadango & Honda will take on a mystery “Super Powerhouse Tag Team”. Finally, Kenta Kobashi will be at the show to see the KO-D Title main event.
DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2023”, 18/02/2023 Aichi Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall 398 Fans
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Takeshi Masada (4) defeated Toi Kojima (4) with the Samura Driver ’01 (8:21).
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Yuya Koroku (6) defeated Hideki Okatani (4) with a Running Elbow Butt (9:39).
3. 4 Way Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Saki Akai defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Gota Ihashi & Keigo Nakamura when Akai pinned Ihashi with the Rookie Award (11:38).
4. Kotaro Suzuki, Yukio Sakaguchi & Yusuke Okada defeated Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi when Suzuki submitted Sumi with a Crab Hold (10:46).
5. International Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford), Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ueno & Yuki Ishida when Sabian pinned Ishida with the Deathly Hollows (14:18).
6. DDT Extreme Title – Master Of Environment Match: Jun Akiyama (c) defeated Akito with a Wrist-Clutch Inside Cradle (11:08). *V3 for Jun Akiyama.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Penelope Ford defeated Saki Akai (c) with a School Boy (7:38 pm). *Penelope Ford becomes the 1,557th champion.
7. Nagoya Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Yukio Naya defeated HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Shinya Ishida when Naya pinned Takao with the Back Drop (10:30).
8. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) defeated KANON with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (19:21). *V1 for Naruki Doi.
1. Takeshi Masada (4)
-. Toi Kojima (4)
3. Yuki Ishida (2)
-. Keigo Nakamura (2)
Promises were made by Naruki Doi and KANON that their DDT Universal Match would be just between them with no bystanders around the ring, let alone any interference. Obviously that turned out to be a lie. KANON did walk out to the ring on his own and fought by himself for a while. But once Doi had everything going his way MJ Paul burst out of hiding to interfere in the match. Luckily for Doi, Toru Owashi made his way to the ring to counter Paul and return the match back to a level playing field. In a fair fight KANON did his best but two Bakatare Sliding Kicks back to back left Doi retaining his championship.
After the match Doi said he could tell KANON was being unusually emotional and realised he really did try to win the title off of him. Doi hates guys like KANON and Daisuke Sasaki but he will always want to fight them too so they should have another match sometime. At this point in his victory speech, Doi noticed that nobody was heading down to the ring to challenge him for a title match. So Doi decided to call out Tetsuya Endo! It had to be explained to him that Endo wasn’t at the show today because of a fever so the show ended with that potential match hanging in the air. Endo did tweet out later he would like to do the match.
Yukio Naya had a face off with HARASHIMA after their 6-Man Tag Match. Backstage Naya said he knows HARASHIMA’s strikes are strong but he was the winner today. He is confident he will be the winner against HARASHIMA at Korakuen Hall too on 26th February. HARASHIMA admitted he can feel the momentum and strength coming from his opponent is higher than ever before. It only makes him look forward to the match even more!
The Master Of Environment Match had two green ropes stretching across the ring with one attached to the middle ring ropes and the other attached to the bottom ropes. The turnbuckle pads were also removed. Akito came up with these moves to test Jun Akiyama’s mobility as well as give the two wrestlers more ways to leverage pinfalls and submission holds. The limited space caused Akiyama and Akito to get tangled in the green ropes in multiple ways. Yukinori Matsui also had trouble moving around and tripped out of the way at one point. Akito used that as an opportunity to add a third green rope. When Matsui noticed the extra rope and went to remove it, Akito crotched Akiyama and cradled him for a nearfall. Akiyama then grabbed Akito in the Exploder Suplex position and began to set him up for the Wrist-Clutch version. Akito grabbed a green rope to keep himself grounded but Akiyama then rolled him over with an Inside Cradle to get the three count. Akito later blamed the green ropes for betraying him and making him lose. He’ll never fight in this kind of match ever again!
After the match Akiyama announced his who his next DDT Extreme Title challenger is going to be. He called down Kotaro Suzuki! There was a pause until Suzuki came down to the ring. Akiyama joked about him being late and having bad timing. He also pointed out that Suzuki often wrestles by different rules because of his freelance status. Wouldn’t being a champion make him even more attractive as a freelancer? If he can beat Akiyama in a hard hitting, no nonsense match then Akiyama will let Suzuki stay here in DDT! Suzuki accepted the challenge and the match will take place at DDT’s 26th Anniversary show on 21st March.
The arrival of Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford to DDT is already paying off for the couple. Sabian’s first match here had him spearheading an international trio with Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno. Ford wasn’t afraid to get involved either because she gave Kazusada Higuchi a Hurricanrana and Yuki Ishida a Missile Dropkick whenever the ref wasn’t looking. She even played into the result, giving Sabian aid to set up his Deathly Hallows finisher to Ishida. Backstage Shinno was full of praise for Sabian, telling the media there are so many amazing wrestlers like him in AEW. According to Shinno, maybe we will see more of them in DDT soon? Sabian talked about how when he saw the Kenny Omega Vs Kota Ibushi match at Budokan Hall eleven years ago, he knew from that day on he wanted to come to DDT. Today he finally made it and he got to team up with Brookes again for the first time in years. Now he has his eyes set on next week’s appearance in Korakuen Hall.
That’s not all though. Ford got even more attention backstage by becoming the new Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion! Sabian & Ford spotted Saki Akai walking backstage and hatched a plan. Sabian distracted Akai by introducing himself to her and starting a conversation. Ford then gave Akai a School Boy, got the three count and the couple ran off with the belt!
The last block matches in the D GENERATIONS CUP have now set up the final on 26th February. The A Block had two unbeaten wrestlers left, Hideki Okatani and Yuya Koroku. A Running Elbow Butt from Koroku turned out to be the difference maker sending him right into the final. Over in the B Block Takeshi Masada had to fight from behind against Toi Kojima to win the match. Due to the head to head result that means Masada just barely makes it to the final, keeping his Hollywood dream only one more step away from finally becoming a reality.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 11/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Wakana Uehara Vs HIMAWARI
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo
4. Yuki Arai Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Hikari Noa & Janai Kai
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe & Suzume
7. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
Yuka Sakazaki is back in Japan after her latest AEW tour and Janai Kai is in the country as well. Julia Nagano will also be at the show despite being unable to wrestle because of her finger injury.
There will be three announcements happening before the show begins. We know there are still a few trainees that have not debuted yet (Shino, Haru, Momo and Toga). Also The Up Up Girls social media has been teasing new music involving the Pro Wrestling arm of the unit.
DDT “DDT YOKOHAMA UNLIMITED VOL. 1”, 11/02/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Yuya Koroku (2) Vs Ilusion (0)
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura (2) Vs Toi Kojima (0)
3. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Yuki Ishida (0) Vs Takeshi Masada (0)
4. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Chris Brookes, Akito, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida
6. Special Single Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Sanshiro Takagi
7. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs MJ Paul & KANON
8. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya
Noriyuki Yoshida usually only appears in DDT shows whenever they are in Sapporo. Getting the opportunity to team with BURNING is enough to make him travel to Yokohama.
GANBARE☆PRO “ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD 2023”, 25/02/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Shota Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Yumehito Imanari & Kabuto Mitomi Vs Soma Takao & Yuki Kanzaki
3. GanJo Special Tag Match: Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Special Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Keisuke Ishii Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Hartley Jackson
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
Match #4 sounds like a nice, friendly kickabout on a Saturday night.
Does the name Kabuto Mitomi sound familiar? He used to appear regularly in Ganbare☆Pro and other places as Masayuki Mitomi. In 2019 he formed P.P.P Tokyo and changed his ring name to Kabuto Mitomi two years ago. His appearance here with Yumehito Imanari continues the growing relationship between GanPro and P.P.P.
The “Young Ganbare” wrestler takes on a member of the “Monthly Young Communication” generation when Munetatsu Nakamura faces Shota.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023”, 26/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. D GENERATIONS CUP 6-Man Tag Match: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block
3. International Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Naruki Doi & Makoto Oishi Vs Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford), Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno
4. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Shishamo Power Vs Jun Akiyama & Unagi Mask
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs X & X
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) Vs Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger Decision Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Naya
DDT is being sponsored by the Yamada Suisan seafood company again which means the return of the masked wrestlers Shishamo Power and Unagi Mask. The two of them were on the same team last time but now will be opponents the next time they step into the ring together. DDT will be doing a wrestling show with Yamada Suisan in April so don’t be surprised if some meat eating tough guys appear and provoke our seafood loving grapplers.
The international trio of Kip Sabian, Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno have another trios match together but this time they have the two big singles champions opposing them along with Makoto Oishi!
Everybody in the D GENERATIONS CUP who do not qualify for the final will take part in a 6-Man Tag Match.
GANBARE☆PRO “SHOOTING IN THE COLD RAIN, A GUN FOR PROMISE 2023”, 05/03/2023 Takashimadaira Ward Community Center
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Takuya Wada
2. GanJo Special Single Match: YuuRI Vs Miyuki Takase
3. GanJo Special Tag Match: HARUKAZE & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moeka Haruhi & Asahi
More preparation going into the Ganbare☆Joshi restart in April. Asahi and Miyuki Takase are here to take on the home team joshi. Also, what does Moeka Haruhi make of all of this? She remains freelance and can sit on the fence while YuuRI and Yoshiko Hasegawa try to figure out how to relaunch a division.
1. Jado Alert Issued! Current Blast Jado Missile 6-Man Tag Team Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata
Warning! Warning! Jado alert! I’d be saying that if it referred to the pro wrestler but in this case Jado stands for “Japan-Danger-Onita”. It is an emergency system that will be installed into the wrestling ring for this exploding death match. When the system’s button is pressed, a countdown will begin warning the residents of Tsurumi that a missile is about to be launched into the ring! When the missile hits its target there will be a massive explosion.
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko
2. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
3. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno
Two new matches added to the card. First is ShunMao taking on the odd pairing of Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko. After that is a rematch from the D-Ou Grand Prix now set for Los Angeles. Joey Janela beat Tetsuya Endo in an upset last November.
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
2. Blake Christian Vs Kazusada Higuchi
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
Freshly announced while I was typing this up is the next GCW Vs DDT match. Kazusada Higuchi takes on a man currently without any friends on the GCW side. Blake Christian has been undefeated in GCW singles matches so far this year. Beating Higuchi will be a big accomplishment to add to his momentum.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2023 IN YOKOHAMA”, 03/05/2023 Yokohama Budokan
1. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs X
There will be both a KO-D Openweight Title match and a DDT Universal Title match at the big Yokohama Budokan show.
DDT “HEAT WAVE OVER FLOWERS 2 ~THE WORLD THAT EVERYONE DOES NOT KNOW~”, 14/02/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura (2) Vs Yuki Ishida (0)
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Kazuma Sumi (0) Vs Ilusion (0)
3. Special Tag Match: Akito & Sakura Hirota Vs Tetsuya Endo & Kazuki Hirata
4. SeaSaunaShack Presents ~The World Unknown To Toi~: Toi Kojima Vs Yasu Urano
5. Anshin Oyado Presents ~The World Unknown To ShunMao~: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga (Special Referee: MEN’S Teioh)
6. sauna line Presents ~The World Unknown To Yuki~: Yuki Ueno Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Gabai Ji-chan
7. Final Set – Naniwa Kenko Land Yu~topia Presents ~The World Unknown To The 37KAMIINA~: MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuki Ueno Vs Toi Kojima
The mystery man Gorgeous Matsuno warned Yuki Ueno about has been revealed. It’s… Gabai Ji-chan? Are we sure Ueno is the one fighting against the odds in this match and not his elderly opponents?
Keigo Nakamura has a chance to take the lead in the D GENERATIONS CUP B Block. Yuki Ishida already lost his first match and cannot afford to lose another. Over in the A Block Kazuma Sumi will try to avoid ending his tournament with three defeats in a row. Ilusion’s next match is happening on 11th February so where he stands on the 14th will be very different depending if he wins or loses that match. He may be fighting for the top spot or his match with Sumi could end up becoming the wooden spoon match of their group.
A bunch of sauna related brands are sponsoring many of the matches on the show. The winners of each sponsored match will receive a prize such as free sauna passes and branded clothing.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT WINTER ~NAGOYA PERFORMANCE~”, 18/02/2023 Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall
1. Miyu Yamashita & Yuki Arai Vs Aja Kong & Moka Miyamoto
2. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Janai Kai
One of the big matches taking place at “GRAND PRINCESS ’23” in March is Yuki Arai against Aja Kong. Before that match takes place they will meet in a preview tag match in February. This will also be the first time Kong fights against Miyu Yamashita. Their only previous match together was as a tag team back in 2020. Moka Miyamoto teamed with Kong once before in 2021.
GANBARE☆PRO “GRINDHOUSE 2023”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Shota & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Soma Takao & YuuRI
2. Ken Ohka Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
3. Punch Drunker Vs Battle Socrates: Tyson Maeguchi Vs Yasu Urano
4. Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada Vs Keisuke Ishii, Yumehito Imanari & Shinichiro Tominaga
Takuya Wada returns to Ganbare☆Pro for a second go around. His second visit is going to be very different this time because he will be in the middle of the build up for Mizuki Watase Vs Shinichiro Tominaga.
Tyson Maeguchi Vs Yasu Urano is a first time ever match.
The mixed tag match on this show mashes together the ROMANCE DAWN rivalry with the two faces of Ganbare☆Joshi’s upcoming relaunch.
GANBARE☆PRO “MOONRISE KINGDOM 2023”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yasu Urano
2. YuuRI Vs Rina Amikura
3. Special Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
4. Secret Captain’s Fall Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE Vs Ken Ohka, Shinichiro Tominaga & Moeka Haruhi
In the main event when you eliminate the captain you win the match. But the captain’s identity is a mystery and won’t be revealed until they are eliminated!
Perhaps some of the opponents YuuRI and Yoshiko Hasegawa will be facing in the next two months will suggest who will be on the GanJo relaunch show in April. Like Rina Amikura here.
GANBARE☆PRO “GANBARE☆PRO WRESTLING PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PERFORMANCE”, 23/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. 3 Way Match: YuuRI Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Hong Kong International Policeman
2. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Moeka Haruhi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Takuya Wada & Yuki Kanzaki Vs Shinichiro Tominaga, Tyson Maeguchi & Munetatsu Nakamura
4. The Return Of LariPro 2023: Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Ken Ohka & Shota
It’s going to be a busy day for Munetatsu Nakamura. He’s getting singles matches against Ken Ohka and Yasu Urano. Then after that he will be thrown into a crowded 6-Man Tag Match along with Yuki Kanzaki.
“BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS VOL. THREE”, 07/03/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
1. WTF?! Tag Team Match: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei Vs Drew Parker & Death Worm
2. Special Singles Match: Chris Brookes Vs Maya Yukihi
3. Special Tag Team Match: Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga Vs MAO & Chie Koishikawa
The third Baka Gaijin + Friends show has Maya Yukihi and The Brahman Brothers as the visiting guests this time. Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga will mix it up with MAO & Chie Koishikawa. Brookes takes on Yukihi one on one. Drew Parker finds himself teaming with Death Worm. Last but not least, Lingerie Muto will put on a performance of some sort.
DDT “HANAMI PRO WRESTLING 2023”, 12/03/2023 Saitama Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park Outdoor Stage
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino Produce Match: X Vs X
2. Kazuki Hirata Produce Match: X Vs X
3. Tetsuya Endo Produce Match: X Vs X
Four of the participants who competed in the No Fee Rumble have impressed DDT enough to get booked for their outdoor show in Saitama next month. They are Great-GO-Khan, Dopyu♡McIntyre, Macho Gallows and “Mother’s Child” Mazakon Kid. That means the four of them are going to get paid this time!
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuki Ueno
The match promised for the Tokyo Joshi Pro show in Tampa back in 2020 will now happen in Los Angeles. Konosuke Takeshita and Yuki Ueno gave DDT fans a taster of what they could do in their 10 minute draw last month. Fans attending the show will get to see the whole thing!
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
The Japanese talent coming over for the TJPW show are Yuka Sakazaki, Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi, Maki Itoh, Mizuki, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Yuki Kamifuku, Hikari Noa, Raku, Nao Kakuta, Suzume and Arisu Endo. International talent are still to be announced.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT WINTER ~OSAKA PERFORMANCE~”, 04/02/2022 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. Suzume Vs Wakana Uehara
2. Kaya Toribami Vs HIMAWARI
3. Mizuki Vs Raku
4. Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Haruna Neko Vs Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Yoshiko Hasegawa
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
6. Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Moka Miyamoto Vs Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Arisu Endo
The first Tokyo Joshi Pro show of the month happens tomorrow. It’s been a while since they were in Osaka too.
DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2023 IN OSAKA”, 05/02/2023 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Yuya Koroku (0) Vs Kazuma Sumi (0)
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Hideki Okatani (2) Vs Ilusion (0)
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Shunma Katsumata & Maku Donaruto
4. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Toi Kojima (0) Vs Yuki Ishida (0)
5. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Naruki Doi & Toru Owashi Vs MJ Paul & KANON
6. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Chris Brookes Vs Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi
7. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuki Hirata
8. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
Sunday’s show has turned into a bigger test for Yukio Naya because his match is now the main event! Meanwhile Yuji Hino and Kazusada Higuchi face off again fresh off of their KO-D Openweight Title match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE 3RD “FUTARI WA PRINCESS” MAX HEART TOURNAMENT”, 11/02/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Arisu Endo
2. Wakana Uehara Vs HIMAWARI
3. Yuki Arai Vs Pom Harajuku
4. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino Vs Hikari Noa & Janai Kai
5. Yuki Kamifuku, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Miu Watanabe & Suzume
7. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Final: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
Yuka Sakazaki returns from her latest American tour and is back teaming with Mizuki. Is the unbreakable bond between The Magical Sugar Rabbits still solid or will cracks begin to appear as we get closer to their Princess Of Princess Title match.
The TJPW debut of Janai Kai has her teaming with Hikari Noa.
Either Wakana Uehara or HIMAWARI will get their first singles win. Unless a draw somehow happens.
Juria Nagano will not be on the show because of a left finger injury.
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Yuki Ishida (0) Vs Takeshi Masada (0)
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura (2) Vs Toi Kojima (0)
3. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Yuya Koroku (0) Vs Ilusion (0)
4. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Chris Brookes, Akito, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida
6. Special Single Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Sanshiro Takagi
7. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs MJ Paul
8. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya
Higuchi invited an close friend of his to join Harimao and bolster up the unit while Naomi Yoshimura is out injured. Ryota Nakatsu from BASARA was Higuchi’s rival in DNA and is more than happy to give Harimao some reinforcement. He also doesn’t want people to think he is only filling in for Yoshimura because he is a fully fledged fourth member of the stable. Meanwhile DAMNATION T.A is still working out as a focused force even with Daisuke Sasaki still missing. Just like every other show that’s being advertised since his absence, the card can change if Sasaki appears at the show and is able to wrestle.
DDT “HEAT WAVE OVER FLOWERS 2 ~THE WORLD THAT EVERYONE DOES NOT KNOW~”, 14/02/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuki Ishida
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Kazuma Sumi Vs Ilusion
3. ~The World Unknown To ShunMao~: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga (Special Referee: MEN’S Teioh)
4. ~The World Unknown To Toi~: Toi Kojima Vs Yasu Urano
5. ~The World Unknown To Yuki~: Yuki Ueno Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & X
6. Special Tag Match: Akito & Sakura Hirota Vs Tetsuya Endo & Kazuki Hirata
7. Final Set ~The World Unknown To The 37KAMIINA~: MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno, Toi Kojima
DDT received a message from Gorgeous Matsuno earlier today about his singles match against Yuki Ueno. Matsuno warns there is another wrestler out there who wants to fight Ueno as much as he does so Matsuno is bringing him to the show. Matsuno also wants the match to turn into a 2 Vs 1 Handicap Match because of this. Ueno accepts the challenge, thinking Matsuno is so little of a threat that it may as well still be a singles match.
DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2023”, 18/02/2023 Aichi Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Toi Kojima (0) Vs Takeshi Masada (0)
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Hideki Okatani (2) Vs Yuya Koroku (0)
3. 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamura
4. Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi
5. Nagoya Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Shinya Ishida
6. International Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford), Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ueno & Yuki Ishida
7. DDT Universal Title: Naruki Doi (c) Vs KANON
8. DDT Extreme Title – Master Of Environment Match: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Akito
Once again Jun Akiyama is allowing his challenger to come up with the match stipulation for a DDT Extreme Title defence. This time it is Akito as the opponent and he came up with the Master Of Environment Match. All four corner turnbuckle pads will be removed and two green straps will criss cross the ring. Akiyama and Akito will fight under normal rules with the ring in this state. The green straps do not count as rope breaks. Akito was inspired by Gaia’s fight against Sikorsky in Baki The Grappler to come up with the match idea. That fight was all about how to use the environment as a weapon and Akito thinks he has a much better chance of beating Akiyama under a similar scenario. The concept might backfire though because Akiyama himself admits he does not move a lot in his matches. The restrictions caused by the extra ropes across the ring may not even matter in the end. Akito wants to return the Extreme Title belt back to purple if he wins it but accepts that it is the champion who gets to make that decision.
Proof of DAMNATION T.A still being a well oiled machine can be seen from how KANON is dealing with Naruki Doi. KANON & MJ Paul attacked Doi backstage after his match last weekend. Today at a press conference KANON approached Doi and apologised for his behaviour. Doi wanted to make sure if the DDT Universal Title defence against KANON is only going to involve those two and no one else. That means no Sasaki and no Paul in KANON’s corner while Doi will not have Kazuki Hirata in his. Doi then hesitantly shook KANON’s hand until KANON gave him a low blow! He told Doi his title reign won’t make it past its first defence in Nagoya!
Let’s see how this AEW relationship works out. Kip Sabian makes his DDT debut and Penelope Ford is by his side for extra danger. His first match here has him teaming with both Chris Brookes & Hagane Shinno as an international trio. Shinno recently had his own little excursion in AEW over the winter.
BASARA “BASARA 211 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 24~”, 18/02/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Isami Kodaka & Daiki Shimomura (c) Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
The new IRON FIST Tag Champions are going up against former champions in their first defence. Isami Kodaka is now a double BASARA champion and Daiki Shimomura wants to hold the tag titles long enough for the “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL 2023”. That’s if he is chosen as BASARA’s representative of course. He may have jumped the gun on that. Aijin Tag lost the belts to the previous champions and had already planned to challenge them to a rematch. Now that Sento Minzoku have the titles, Aijin Tag had to change their target.
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Dark Sheik Vs Saki Akai
2. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne Vs MAO & Mike Bailey
We have our first two matches for the GCW Vs DDT show! The Moonlight Express reunite to take on The East West Express. The show will also pit GCW’s Dark Sheik against DDT’s own Saki Akai.
A partial lineup of other wrestlers have been announced. Team DDT so far consists of Kazusada Higuchi, Jun Akiyama and Yoshihiko. The first crop of GCW wrestlers showing up are Joey Janela, Blake Christian, EFFY and Allie Katch. The last two are being advertised together as Bussy (adding that to the taglist is going to be a dangerous game) so that means we have at least one other tag match happening.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023”, 29/01/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 777 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Dark Match – Bonno Dai Shacho Presents No Fee Rumble: Fuminori Abe defeated Sanshiro Takagi with a School Boy (12:29). Order Of Elimination: Mori Haruomi, Tsutenkakuka, Honagi Takemoto, Tezuka awesome Ichiro, Ariji Akinori, Shinya, Shosaku Inoue, “Mother’s Child” Mazakon Kid, Macho Gallows, Dopyu♡McIntyre, Dick Zlater, Thick And Hard Kankuro Hoshino, BRA-VO, Kaijin Mukuro 696, Hen China, Big Bear, Crusher Inoba, ASHUKA, Tadaki Toronomi, Great-CO-Khan, Kim Yocchan, Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed), Gundan Hitori, Fuck Takeda, Great-GO-Khan, Takuma Joshiba, Fat Kobashi and Sanshiro Takagi.
0. Dark Match – 4 Way Tag Match: MJ Paul & KANON defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Akito and Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida when KANON submitted Honda with the Cobra Twist (7:11).
1. D GENERATIONS CUP – A Block: Hideki Okatani (2) defeated Kazuma Sumi (0) with the Double Arm Suplex (5:22).
2. D GENERATIONS CUP – B Block: Keigo Nakamura (2) defeated Takeshi Masada (0) with a Modified Crucifix Pin (7:10).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Thanomsak Toba, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida when Aoki submitted Toba with a Modified Ground Cobra Twist (8:20).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya defeated Naruki Doi, Jun Akiyama & Soma Takao when HARASHIMA pinned Takao with the Somato (10:02).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada (c) defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda when Endo pinned Dieno with the Burning Star Press (12:08). *V1 for BURNING.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi when Katsumata pinned Oishi after the Oretachi no Mad Max (14:59). *V1 for ShunMao.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino defeated Kazusada Higuchi (c) with the Fuckin’ BOMB (26:27). *Kazusada Higuchi fails in V6. Yuji Hino becomes the 80th KO-D Openweight Champion!
1. Keigo Nakamura (2)
2. Toi Kojima (0)
-. Yuki Ishida (0)
-. Takeshi Masada (0)
For the first time in over a decade Yuji Hino is the KO-D Openweight Champion! All month long Hino and Kazusada Higuchi have been chopping each other back and forth in their matches with neither wrestler backing off. Other moves were used in this match but the chop battles continued here. It’s been claimed by DDT that 220 chops were thrown in total between them today! Someone eventually had to break and it happened to Higuchi in the end. Hino got the upper hand with one more barrage of Chops and hit the Fuckin’ BOMB to become a two time KO-D Champion! After the match Hino said he was always confident he would win the KO-D Title no matter who the champion was but winning today’s match has made him more happier than he thought he would be. That’s because Higuchi was stronger than he imagined. He wants to do the match again and the two wrestlers paid respect to each other.
Higuchi left ringside while Hino told Hisaya Imabayashi he does not care who his first challenger will be on 21st March as long. His only preference is he wants the opponent to be a big guy because if it’s a small guy Hino is worried he would kill him. Yukio Naya entered the ring and said his wrestling life did a 180 since meeting Hino. He wants to beat Hino for the championship and become the strongest wrestler in DDT! However HARASHIMA then entered the ring and said he wants to fight for the KO-D Title on 21st March because it is DDT’s 26th anniversary. He’s not a big guy like Hino wants but he will prove he is still the centre of DDT! Hino couldn’t decide who to choose so Imabayashi booked Naya against HARASHIMA in a No. 1 Contender’s match on 26th February. Hino accepted the conditions and said if DDT can bolster their heavyweight division and mix it in with everything else that they do, it can become the number one wrestling promotion in Japan!
It was a show of two halves for Ω. Hino was able to win the KO-D Title but Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi couldn’t live up to their task of winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Instead the masters lost out to their students. They did the Cactus Flower to Shunma Katsumata but MAO broke the pin. Oishi & Asahi then tried to do an Avalance Cactus Flower but MAO cut them off again and later hit the Cannonball 450° on Oishi. The champions followed up by giving Oishi the Oretachi no Mad Max for the victory. After the match Oishi & Asahi congratulated ShunMao and wrapped the tag belts around their waists.
Imabayashi then told ShunMao their next title defence will be at Korakuen Hall on 26th February. Sanshiro Takagi & Fuminori Abe came out and challenged them for the belts. But before Imabayashi confirmed the match, Takagi told him it won’t be taking place in Korakuen on the 26th. Instead it will be a Falls Count Anywhere match happening three days earlier inside a Roppongi burlesque club! ShunMao Vs Bonno Dai Shacho for the tag titles will be at Burlesque Tokyo on 23rd February! Whichever team wins the match will have to defend the titles in Korakuen three days later.
The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match briefly turned into a Handicap Match thanks to some Pheromones trickery. They wanted Tetsuya Endo to join their side and Danshoku Dieno used the Lip Lock to convince him. Endo turned into Tetsuya “Hercules” Endo and he turned on Yusuke Okada, throwing his poor partner into the usual Pheromones attacks. Kotaro Suzuki tried to snap Endo back to normal and had to do something desperate. He gave him the Lip Lock! Endo recovered, realised he wasn’t wrestling in his tights anymore and pinned Dieno with the Burning Star Press.
A video message was shown to BURNING after the match. It was from Super Sasadango Machine and he has put together an impromptu unit to challenge for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles. The unit is himself, Shinya Aoki and Yuki Ueno! He explains that even though it looks like the three of them have nothing in common, they are all radio personalities outside of wrestling. Therefore they can use their upcoming radio appearances to promote the title match on 26th February. Back in the arena Ueno & Aoki entered the ring and asked BURNING for the title shot face to face. Endo was more concerned about trying to cover himself with the title belts so he accepted.
Future opponents HARASHIMA and Yukio Naya were on the same team earlier in the show. They along with Chris Brookes beat the trio of Naruki Doi, Jun Akiyama & Soma Takao. What happened backstage afterwards was a little more noteworthy. Doi was hyping up his DDT Universal Title defence against KANON on 18th February when KANON & MJ Paul ambushed him! Kazuki Hirata came to the rescue only to also get beaten up by DAMNATION T.A. KANON threatened to win the title and take it with him to Hollywood. He & Paul then ran off when Toru Owashi arrived on the scene.
A potential new team could be in the making coming out of Match #3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Machida worked well together against Aoki. It should have put their team on track towards winning the match but Aoki caught Thanomsak Toba in a Cobra Twist and rolled him onto his shoulders to escape with a win. Backstage Machida said he and Sakaguchi both come from martial arts so he wants to learn from him while he is still being taught how to wrestle by Toba. Sakaguchi is gets the idea but believes Machida has a long way to go before they can become a tag team together. Meanwhile Aoki asked Toi Kojima if his monthly salary has gone up since they last met. Kojima said it hasn’t but thinks it will double when he wins the D GENERATIONS CUP. Aoki joked that if you double zero you still get zero.
Speaking of the D GENERATIONS CUP it began today with two block matches. Keigo Nakamura gets an early lead in the B Block by beating Takeshi Masada. He kicked out of a Perfect Driver, dodged a Triangle Kick and caught Masada in a Crucifix Pin for the three count. Masada thought this would be a fresh start for him but he just lost his opening group match due to underestimating Nakamura. Meanwhile Nakamura is ecstatic!
The A Block opening match had Hideki Okatani going off to a strong start. He withstood Kazuma Sumi’s quick attacks, cut him off with a Running Neckbreaker and pinned him with the Double Arm Suplex. Okatani is letting his ring work do the talking because all he told reporters afterwards is to keep watching him. Sumi admitted he felt the gap in ability and experience with the most experienced young wrestler in the tournament.
The pre show matches probably had more people involved than the entire main card put together! DAMNATION T.A won a 4 Way Tag Match. Hirata took a beating when he got caught between Yuya Koroku and Yuki Ishida but he eventually knocked both of them out with Tegatana strikes to their necks. Akito’s leg work led to a ring of Leg Holds forming around Antonio Honda in the middle of the ring. KANON wanted nothing to do with the Gongitsune joke and he made Honda submit to the Cobra Twist.
Then there was the No Fee Rumble. Oh boy this was something. Takagi and Abe invited accepted a whole bunch of amateur pro wrestlers to enter a Royal Rumble style match. Due to safety reasons entrants would be eliminated if they were knocked out of the ring no matter if it was over the top rope or not. Among the competitors were tribute acts for Asuka, Tiger Mask, Great-O-Khan and Kenta Kobashi. There was also a child, a Super Sentai and 2AW wrestler Takuma Joshiba. Takagi and Abe complained about his entry because Joshiba is an actual pro wrestler. A bunch of participants were all eliminated at the same time when a group attempt to skin the cat failed in spectacular fashion. Abe was the last man standing after he pinned Takagi with a roll up. Takagi liked Great-CO-Khan in particular and thinks he can become the next Chinsuke Nakamura.
Yuki Ueno will get to face Samuray Del Sol at “JUDGEMENT 2023” on 21st March after all. The match was announced during the show.
“BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS VOL. TWO”, 24/01/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa 50 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Special Singles Match: Fuminori Abe Vs Death Worm
2. Thai Boxing Vs Death Match: Thanomsak Toba Vs Drew Parker
3. Special Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Onryo Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA DAY 2”, 05/11/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall 280 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
2. Yukio Sakaguchi Produce Match ~ 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Pokotan & Gota Ihashi Vs Saki Akai, Hideki Okatani & Kazuki Hirata
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (0) Vs KANON (2)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (3) Vs Joey Janela (2)
5. Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (2) Vs RSP (4)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) Vs Yuji Hino (4)
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. TWO: THE DREAM WARRIORS”, 24/01/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa 50 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Special Singles Match: Fuminori Abe defeated Death Worm with the Modified Manjigatame (8:33).
2. Thai Boxing Vs Death Match: Drew Parker defeated Thanomsak Toba with a Ladder Crush (7:07).
3. Special Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Onryo defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Onryo pinned Takanashi with the Onryo Clutch (18:41).
The first Baka Gaijin + Friends was such a big success that a second one was never going to be far behind. This time around the headline match was CDK taking on the 666 pairing of Onryo & Ram Kaichow. This was the first time Chris Brookes would confront the ghostly tag team since last year’s King Of Street Wrestling tournament. Once again the match found its way up to the windowed roof of ARENA Shimokitazawa. Kaichow sprayed Brookes with ectoplasm up there before returning back downstairs. She then took out Brookes with a Satellite DDT and ducked a punch from Masahiro Taknashi. Onryo threw ghostly powder into Takanashi’s eyes, Kaichow gave him a Rainmaker and Onryo then pinned him with the Onryo Clutch for the win. After the match Drew Parker announced there was going to be one more match but Brookes chopped him down. The show was over but Brookes revealed there will be a third one taking place on 7th March.
Death Match defeated Muay Thai in the second match of the show. Thanomsak Toba had the early advantage because of his striking game so Parker brought out his own pair of boxing gloves to even the odds. It didn’t work so he ditched the gloves and took out skewers instead. That backfired too when Toba dug the skewers into Parker’s head and tried to make them stick by punching them. Parker smashed a plastic box over Toba’s head then brought out a small ladder. He wanted to do a Swanton off of it but Toba got up and punched him in the jaw. It was a knockout blow but Parker fell on top of Toba and ended up pinning him for the three count!
The return of Death Worm was a terrifying challenge for Fuminori Abe. It’s hard shell acted as armour towards Abe’s strikes. Takayuki Ueki was there as a bystander who found himself getting involved after one of Death Worm’s attacks missed Abe and hit him instead. Ueki threw a punch at Death Worm but also missed. However instead of hitting Abe, Ueki hugged him instead. Abe then accidentally hugged Death Worm which made Ueki jealous. The two teamed up using the power of love (provided by Antonio Honda singing on the microphone) and Abe submitted Death Worm with the Manjigatame.
Ueki performed stand up comedy before the main event. He originally wanted to do a manzai routine with MAO but MAO is currently in America. He introduced himself as a “propolice” which is a combination of pro wrestler and policeman. His main story was about a talk he once had with Daisuke Sekimoto. He impersonated Sekimoto to give both sides of the conversation.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU ~FIRE!~”, 13/01/2023 Shinjuku FACE 241 Fans
1. Keigo Nakamura Comeback Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated HARASHIMA, Hideki Okatani & Keigo Nakamura when Endo submitted Nakamura with the Modified Yurikamome (10:57).
2. MJ Paul & KANON defeated Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi when KANON pinned Sumi with the Sleepy Hollow (5:22).
3. Shunma Katsumata Pheromones One Day Experience Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Shunma “Chunma” Katsumata defeated Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Yuya Koroku when Katsumata pinned Hirata after the Assisted Bubba Bomb from Iino (7:58).
4. Special Single Match: Kotaro Suzuki defeated Soma Takao with the Endless Waltz (8:51).
5. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi defeated MAO & Toi Kojima when Kojima pinned MAO with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (8:48).
6. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Fuminori Abe defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when Abe submitted Masada with the Manjigatame (9:31).
7. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Hino submitted Ishida with the King Kong Sleeper (10:01).
8. DDT Universal Title – Survival 3 Way Match: Naruki Doi defeated Yuki Ueno (c) and Daisuke Sasaki (20:59).
8a. Yuki Ueno eliminated Daisuke Sasaki with a Sasaki Hurricanrana Return (17:49).
8b. Naruki Doi eliminated Yuki Ueno with the Muscular Bomb (20:59). *Yuki Ueno fails in V3. Naruki Doi becomes the 9th DDT Universal Champion!
A bomb of muscular proportions was dropped on DDT after Naruki Doi became the new DDT Universal Champion! The result of today’s main event completely changes the blueprint Yuki Ueno had planned for the rest of the Spring. He had a schedule that would take him all the way to America with the belt but that’s been ripped to shreds by Doi. Daisuke Sasaki was the first elimination in the Survival 3 Way Match. He gave Ueno the Hurricanrana but Ueno maneuvered himself into rolling over on top of Sasaki to pin him out of nowhere. Ueno then tried to land the WR on Doi but it was blocked and Doi instead pinned Ueno with the Muscular Bomb for the title change. In just three months Doi has already won two of DDT’s championships. He called Ueno a wrestler who symbolizes the present and future of DDT. Doi’s role is to interfere with it. Now he wants to be the one to defend the Universal Title in Hollywood this March! Hisaya Imabayashi is not so eager on the idea. He is hoping that Doi’s freelance status will allow him to bring the Universal Title to other promotions in Japan and raise the belt’s prestige. Doi accepted the proposal.
KANON then entered the ring and said he was waiting for Sasaki to win the title so he could challenge him for a shot. Doi ruined those plans too but KANON is demanding a title match anyway. Doi Vs KANON with the belt on the line will happen in Nagoya on 18th February. Backstage after the show Sasaki approached KANON and told him he will be disappearing for a while because today’s result has left him in despair. Sasaki also said he is leaving DAMNATION T.A to KANON while he is gone. KANON could not tell if this was just Sasaki’s usual behaviour whenever he loses. He is now determined to win the Universal Title from Doi so Sasaki can find his smile again. Meanwhile Ueno said he has no regrets over what led to this result happening. He had wanted to wrestle both Doi and Sasaki at the same time and got it. He does not know if Samuray Del Sol still wants to wrestle him when he appears in DDT this March because Ueno is no longer the Universal Champion. However Ueno is keeping his chin up and promises to carry DDT on his back in 2023.
Kazusada Higuchi and Yuji Hino left their marks on each other with another big Chop-off during their tag match. Yuki Ishida also showed some progress by pulling off some power moves on the much bigger Yukio Naya. Hino cut him down to size though and used a Hanging Dragon Sleeper called the King Kong Sleeper to win by submission. Hino was happy with how fun the match was and told Higuchi they have a lot more prelim matches with each other before the KO-D Openweight Title bout on 29th January.
The debut of Bonno Dai Shacho met some resistance but can be qualified as a success. Birthday boy Sanshiro Takagi had to deal with Takeshi Masada again but this time the rookie had Chris Brookes backing him up. Fuminori Abe was the difference maker and got Masada to submit to the Manjigatame. After the match Takagi told Abe it is up to them to change the wrestling world which is why they are throwing out a challenge to the entire Japanese wrestling scene! Bonno Dai Shacho will break down the barriers by hosting a No Fee Rumble match on 29th January. They want teams from the indies, local federations, amateur groups and even college clubs to come forward and face their challenge. It will cost participants nothing to enter but they also will not be paid anything if they lose. Anyone is welcome except for actual fighters because Abe fears those will be too strong. Further details on how to apply will be announced soon.
MAO learned first hand just how dangerous of a team Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi are. The two of them immediately gave MAO the Cactus Flower at the start of their match and Toi Kojima (in new gear) had to break the pinfall. Kojima came to MAO’s rescue again by stopping a second attempt of the Cactus Flower. MAO got a little bit of revenge by using the Miracle Ecstasy on Oishi for a nearfall. Oishi got the last laugh by catching MAO in the Jikiden Tornado Clutch for the win. Asahi asked MAO after the match if this brought back any memories for him? Backstage MAO said Oishi on his own is not difficult to deal with but Oishi & Asahi together is a much stronger enemy. The Asahi of today is also not the Asahi he remembers fighting years ago. MAO wants Shunma Katsumata to break Oishi’s nose tomorrow.
You can’t beat the original. Soma Takao had wanted to beat Kotaro Suzuki with the Endless Waltz but the opposite happened instead. Suzuki countered the move with his own, cradling Takao over and over until he got the three count. He had fun wrestling Takao despite the match being short and explained he gave permission let Takao use the move all those years ago (which is why it is called the Official Endless Waltz when Takao uses it). He’ll be glad to wrestle Takao again someday but not anytime soon. Suzuki will be busy showing Pheromones just how sexy he is! Takao finds himself in limbo with DDT at the moment but today he decided his next goal is to beat Suzuki and also team up with him.
Today was when Katsumata had to spend all of 24 hours experiencing life as a member of Pheromones. The unit nicknamed him “Chunma” like Yuki Iino always does and introduced him as Tokyo Sexy Land’s newest attraction. He spent the match acting like a dog and being treated as one. Following the rules, Katsumata was obedient the entire time and joined in on the usual Pheromones spots. He even scored the pin on Kazuki Hirata thanks to an assisted Bubba Bomb from Iino. After the match Danshoku Dieno told Katsumata he fits in pretty well so would he be interested in officially joining Pheromones? Suddenly Toi Kojima got into the ring and tried to convince Katsumata not to by doing the NeppoWER pose. When Katsumata started to snap out of his current state, Dieno ordered him to ignore Kojima and perform a ritual of licking Iino’s backside to be accepted into Pheromones. Katsumata instead Super Kicked both Iino and Dieno to show he returned back to normal. He also Super Kicked Akito because it was Akito’s fault he got into this mess in the first place. Katsumata said it wasn’t bad being a member of Pheromones for a day but he’s just not meant to be with them. They will go their seperate ways but maybe one day “Chunma” will mingle with them again. Dieno then reminded him that the stipulation is still active for the rest of the day so he has to be “Chunma” for the meet and greet after the show.
Maybe KANON has what it takes to be in control of DAMNATION T.A while Sasaki gone missing. MJ Paul likes teaming with him and the two of them beat Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi pretty handily.
Keigo Nakamura is back in the ring after being absent for a long time due to injury. The date of today’s match means a lot to him too because 13th January last year was when he had surgery for a torn ACL. He started off the match with Yusuke Okada but got to spend time in the ring with Tetsuya Endo and Jun Akiyama as well. Naturally he took the fall by submitting to Endo’s Yurikamome hold. Endo congratulated Keigo “Darkness” Nakamura on his return and joked about how the “Darkness” version of him sank into the Hokkaido sea. Akiyama encouraged him to get fired up for the D GENERATIONS CUP so he can reach the same level of his competition. Backstage HARASHIMA said he worked with Nakamura during the recovery phase to help him prepare for his return today. Hideki Okatani reminded Nakamura that while he is happy to see him come back, they are now going to be opposition in the D GENERATIONS CUP.
There were contract signings for two championships matches at the start of the show. The DDT Extreme Title match on 21st January needed a stipulation. The champion Akiyama suggested PWF Rules but Honda complained the result would be so obvious it will kill the entire wrestling business. He instead suggested a Monoboke Death Match. Every time Akiyama kicks out of a pin or escapes a submission hold he gets to tell a joke. If he can make Akiyama laugh three times then Honda wins the match! On the other side, Akiyama will have to pin or submit Honda three times to be declared the winner. Akiyama accepted the rule once he figured out he can just beat the hell out of Honda a bunch to win.
The KO-D Tag Team Titles match also had its contract signed by all participants. Asahi said this will be his third chance to win the belt. He does not often get that many opportunities to fight for another company’s championship. Oishi said a high percentage of ShunMao is made up of Oishi DNA. The belts they hold should belong to him. MAO said he knows a lot about Asahi from the times The Moonlight Express fought him as well as by watching his DVD collection of Men’s Club matches. Katsumata joked that ever since he was a trainee people have said he looks like Asahi so the title match will prove who the real Shiori Asahi is! He also wants to see the glitzy Oishi from his old days.
After the contract signing ended, Katsumata stuck around for one more announcement. “DRAMATIC DREAM ONITA” is going ahea in Tsurumi on 19th March! The show will have an explosion death match with both HARASHIMA and Kazuki Hirata confirmed to take part. Katsumata promised he is going to blow up Hirata. Pheromones then came out and captured Katsumata so he could be turned into “Chunma” for later in the show.
Posted by JamieOD 
