DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 10/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE 0 Fans
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Kanagawa Big Japan Dojo: Abdullah Kobayashi defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Bakachinga Elbow (13:02).
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Kanagawa Enoshima Beach: Hikaru Machida defeated Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong by Knockout with the Iai Punch (R3 1:20).
3. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Tokyo Shibuya Kitaya Park: Shunma Katsumata defeated Suzu Suzuki with the Sauna Trance Splash through the Table (17:18).
4. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1 – Tokyo Shin-Kiba Studio Flamme: Chris Brookes defeated Onryo by Coffin Burial (15:43).
The first King Of Street Wrestling tournament kicked off with four matches in the opening round. Sanshiro Takagi visited the Big Japan dojo for his match against Abdullah Kobayashi. Takagi went looking around for his opponent but found Kosuke Sato instead. He thought Takagi was trespassing but couldn’t stop him from entering the kitchen and looking round the place. Kobayashi finally showed up. He was out grocery shopping and forgot the match was taking place today. To make up for it, Kobayashi offered Takagi a pint glass of raw eggs. Takagi couldn’t drink it while Kobayashi gulped his glass down. He then drank Takagi’s pint for him and the two began their match. It was just as much a tour of a dojo as both wrestlers were looking for weapons. Kobayashi briefly disappeared only to return dressed as Stan Hansen! He chased Takagi outside and Takagi tried to escape on the Dramatic Dream bike. He caught up to him by the river where BJW washes their ring canvas. Kobayashi hit Takagi over the head with a chair, knocking him down onto the canvas. He gave him the Bakachinga Elbow and pinned him right there to advance to the semi-final.
The next match was on a beach where a kickboxer fought a Muay Thai fighter. The kickboxer Hikaru Machida was accompanied by Thanomsak Toba while the Muay Thai fighter Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong had Makoto Oishi cheering him on. Keatchaiyong had the early advantage by clutching onto his opponent in Round 1. Machida broke through his defence in Round 2 with a Sole Butt, causing Keatchaiyong to flee towards a nearby jungle gym. Machida used the gym to swing into Keatchaiyong with a flying kick for more damage. The knockout came in Round 3 when Machida hit Keatchaiyong with the Iai Punch into the water. It was an instant knockout.
The young generation were up next with Shunma Katsumata and Suzu Suzuki fighting each other in Shibuya. Both of them brought weapons out to the public square and weren’t shy about committing violent acts in front of the confused bystanders. They stapled flyers onto each other’s heads, smashed a box of toy blocks to pieces and threw each other into nearby chairs before breaking them over each other’s heads. A ladder was set up next to a table and Katsumata threw Suzuki onto a pile of chairs Death Valley Driver style. He then climbed the ladder and put Suzuki through the table with the Sauna Trance Splash to win the match.
The final match was held in an empty photo studio where Chris Brookes went hunting for the ghost known as Onryo. He entered the venue armed with a proton gun to defend himself with. He was in for a wild ride starting with a masked figure appearing in the balcony to get his attention only for Onryo to attack him from behind. Onryo tried to hang him with a chain but Brookes broke free and attacked him back with the same chain. The two fought up to the rafters where Brookes put Onryo in the Octopus Stretch. Onryo found a cinder block up there and he broke it over Brookes’ stomach. Back down on ground floor, Brookes used a giant fan blowing flower petals to render Onryo’s powder attack useless. Brookes tied Onryo to a wheelchair when suddenly a nearby coffin opened up and Ram Kaichow rose out of it! She gave Brookes a Tornado DDT out of the coffin and began shooting fireworks at him. She freed Onryo but that gave Brookes time to attack her. Onryo dived onto Brookes and fought to throw him into the coffin. He countered the Praying Mantis Bomb with a Back Body Drop onto wooden boards. He then pressed a nearby button and picked up a board rigged to explode! Brookes fought him off, grabbed the board and hit Onryo with the explosion instead. That was enough for Brookes to carry him into the coffin and close it for the knockout victory. Brookes was the winner but he could see through the window lid of the coffin that there was nobody in there! The coffin was empty and the lights began to flash. Brookes ran off as the ghostly figures of Onryo and Kaichow stood behind him and stared.
The King Of Street Wrestling semi-finals will be broadcast on 16th April. Abdullah Kobayashi versus Shunma Katsumata will happen at a bath house in Kanagawa. Chris Brookes versus Hikaru Machida will take place at a campground in Shizuoka.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2022”, 10/04/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 580 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yuya Koroku & Ilusion defeated Toui Kojima & El Unicorn when Koroku pinned Kojima with a Hold Down Triangle Choke (6:57).
0. Dark Match – Lucha Libre Rules: Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata defeated Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi when Hirata pinned Ihashi with La Magistral Cradle (6:53).
1. KANON defeated Yuki Ishida with the Modified Cobra Twist (4:34).
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) defeated Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya when Takanashi pinned Naya after the Everclear (13:19). *V1 for CDK.
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) when Fujita pinned Dieno with the Modified Samson Clutch (10:37). *Pheromones fail in V3. DAMNATION T.A become the 45th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
4. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi defeated Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto when Akai pinned Matsumoto with the Rookie Award (7:15).
5. Special Single Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Sudden Death (8:51).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs Eruption!: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani when Ueno pinned Okatani with the BME (10:34).
7. Tetsuya Endo 10th Anniversary Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Burning Star Press (20:16).
Here’s to ten years of Tetsuya Endo and here’s to ten years more. Some of the most important faces from his past and present gathered together for a DDT all star trios main event. Endo had Jun Akiyama and Yukio Sakaguchi on his team to take on Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda. It ended up with Endo and Honda exchanging Bionic Elbows until Endo cut him off with an Overhead Kick. Endo couldn’t put Honda away with the Torture Rack Bomb so he busted out the Burning Star Press for the victory.
Endo spoke about having his debut match a few months before Sakaguchi joined the company. He thanked HARASHIMA for supporting him since day one and said Honda was like a father raising him in Happy Motels. Takeshita was leaving ringside when Endo suddenly called out to him. He understands Takeshita going overseas is a big deal and told him not to worry because DDT will remain interesting as long as Endo is the KO-D Openweight Champion. He will prove it when he defends the title against Takeshita’s friend Yuki Ueno on 1st May. Endo also wants everyone to know that he will be the winner of course. Ueno got on the microphone and said he will beat Endo. He is confident he will have more wonderful days as KO-D Champion than Endo, Takeshita and even HARASHIMA! Takeshita told both of them that DDT in Japan is in good hands with either of them as the champion. Endo had one last thing to tell Takeshita. He still hates him. Ueno still loves him though.
Before everyone left the ring to end the show, Yusuke Okada asked Akiyama for his attention. He said he hasn’t been part of DDT long enough to know their history but he wants to do more to support the version of BURNING Endo has built. To do that Okada wants to himself and Akiyama to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles! The two of them were granted permission from Hisaya Imabayashi to make the challenge. CDK emerged at the entrance and both agreed to do the title match on 1st May. Endo encouraged his stablemates to win the belts so all eyes at the Yokohama Budokan will be on BURNING!
Ueno is building up momentum for his title shot. Today he teamed with MAO to beat Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani. MAO cheapshotted Higuchi with a Rock Punch and later got his just desserts when Higuchi grabbed him in the Brain Claw. But the match came down to a back and forth between Ueno and Okatani. The 37KAMIINA hit Shining Wizards and Enzuigiris to the Eruption members to get the upper hand. Ueno then came out on top with the BME onto Okatani.
The 37KAMIINA heat waves from Shunma Katsumata was a challenge for Yusuke Okada to overcome when the two of them faced off. Katsumata targeted his neck which slowed Okada down, even when he was on the attack with a Diving Headbutt. However Okada’s use of a Lariat and the Tricolor DDT did big damage and he was able to win with the Sudden Death. Okada repeated after the show that Endo can’t do all the work in BURNING. Akiyama agrees and also mentioned that he hates how CDK always gets the referee physically involved in their matches. He just as much wants to beat them up for that reason than to win the tag titles.
It’s been a busy weekend of tag team adventuring for Saki Akai. Yesterday she teamed with Yuki Arai in Tokyo Joshi Pro and today she teamed with Maya Yukihi in DDT. They were victorious over the team of Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto. Akai said she learned a lot about Yukihi by fighting her all the way over to Sumo Hall. She hopes to continue working with her so they can both improve each other. Yukihi was happy to wrestle with Cherry again but thought she was finally done with Matsumoto. She came in as a replacement for Bambi so Yukihi had to deal with her one more time.
Pheromones are no longer the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions which means DDT won’t have to worry about their title matches being banned from Youtube! With that said, this match still tried to cross the line as much as it could. Yuki Iino stripped down to his O-Back even as Daisuke Sasaki kept hitting him in the ass with a chair. Hisaya Imabayashi ran in ordering Pheromones to stop their usual antics and he gave Danshoku Dieno a Stunner. DAMNATION T.A then went on the attack with Sasaki and Iino brawling their way up towards the balcony while the GM chased after them. Meanwhile Dieno, Yumehito Imanari, Minoru Fujita and MJ Paul were still wrestling in the ring while this was going down. Up in the balcony, Sasaki fully stripped Iino naked and threw his O-Back over the balcony! Imabayashi jumped onto Iino to stop him from fully exposing himself to the audience. Back in the ring, Fujita caught Dieno in the Samson Clutch to score the win out of nowhere. After the match Sasaki said that a new member will join DAMNATION T.A on 1st May. He warned the roster that the person standing next to them may be a traitor so everyone should be looking forward to the reveal. However if a reporter wants to go drinking with Sasaki and pay his tab, he will give them a hint in return.
CDK couldn’t beat Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya in a fight because of the size difference, so they had to outsmart them to keep the KO-D Tag Titles. Naya put Masahiro Takanashi in the Cobra Twist when outside the ring, Chris Brookes rang the bell and tricked Naya into thinking he won. While Naya and the referee were distracted, Takanashi grabbed one of the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belts and nailed Naya in the head with it. Hino broke the pin to keep the match going but CDK then used a combined Crucifix and Jackknife Pin on Naya to get the three count and steal a title defence. Takanashi praised Brookes for his strange plan working out but knows they won’t be able to get away with it again. They’re relieved they won’t have to defend the titles against Hino & Naya again but the challengers think otherwise.
The DDT debut of KANON saw him defeat Yuki Ishida. KANON hit Soccer Ball Kicks, Backbreakers and K Spike chops. Ishida fought back with a Brainbuster and his Sumo Chop Rush. KANON recovered from that and put Ishida in the Cobra Twist to make him submit. He praised Ishida for having a strong core because of his sumo background. KANON also said he is looking forward to doing more with DDT in the future.
One of the dark matches went out of control thanks to the addition of Lucha tag rules. Kazuki Hirata ended up knocking out both Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura so he put himself in a 3-on-1 disadvantage. His solution was to give Hirata GO! glasses to all of his opponents. Akito, Soma Takao & Gota Ihashi danced with him and then attacked. However Ihashi missed a Moonsault and Hirata rolled him up with La Magistral to escape with the win.
Two young rivalries met in the very first match of the day. El Unicorn and Ilusion continue their back and forth feud. Toui Kojima hit a setback in his rivalry against Yuya Koroku. Kojima had finally beaten him by using a Triangle Choke so he went for it again today. This time though Koroku defended himself and rolled over on top of Kojima to pin him for the three count.
The result caused Kojima to come out during the show opening announcements where Shinya Aoki was already in the ring. Kojima asked him for a singles match on 1st May so Kojima can get stronger and catch up to the rest of The 37KAMIINA. Aoki accepted and wondered if Kojima wasn’t taking things seriously until now.
The full card for the Yokohama Budokan show on 1st May was revealed at the end of the show. One of the new matches is a KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles defence. Also HARASHIMA will team with Hikaru Sato to take on Higuchi & Sakaguchi from Eruption.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022 Yokohama Budokan
0. Dark Match: KANON Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida
1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & X Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Pheromones Vs GM Imabayashi Final Battle: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuno
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada
8. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Asuka
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
DDT “KOMINATO RAILWAY TRAIN PRO WRESTLING”, 02/04/2022 Kominato Railway Goi Station 32 Passengers – 100% Occupancy Rate
1. Falls Count Anywhere Time Admission Battle Royal: Hiroshi Yamato defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Fisherman Suplex (66:30). Order Of Elimination: Toru Owashi, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Shunma Katsumata, HARASHIMA, Saki Akai, Gota Ihashi, MAO & Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda, Akito and Kazuki Hirata.
2. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima when Naya pinned Kojima with the Back Drop (15:41).
3. Yoro Valley Day 2022 Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Endo pinned Okatani with the Burning Star Press (16:39).
DDT took a trip across Chiba with the Kominato Railway as part of a day event sponsored by the Ichihara City Tourism Association. It began at Goi Station where 32 passengers got to witness a Falls Count Anywhere Rumble held inside the train as it went from town to town. When the train departed Goi, Hiroshi Yamato made his entrance and sang a song for the audience. The first stop was at Umatate Station where Toru Owashi and Shunma Katsumata climbed aboard to start the match.
Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino were the next entrants at the Kazusatsurumai Station. They did Pheromones things to their opponents while more wrestlers showed up at every stop. Owashi was the first elimination after Saki Akai pushed him out of the train at Kazusakubo Station and the train left without him. Chris Brookes and MAO were already fighting each other at Takataki Station by the time the train arrived for them.
Things got more chaotic at Satomi Station. First Kazuki Hirata entered the fray but everyone took the fight outside after it was announced there would be a 13 minute delay. When it was finally time to leave, Pheromones dragged Katsumata back out to the station so all three of them were left behind and eliminated.
The match calmed down a little bit after that. Akito entered at Itabu Station but HARASHIMA fought him off. HARASHIMA had the bright idea to run the length of the platform to set up the Somato but Akito ran into the train and it departed with HARASHIMA chasing after them. Antonio Honda went straight to the point at Tsukizaki Station and hit Akai with the Gongitsune. Everyone piled on top of her for the three count. Gota Ihashi was meant to enter the match at Kazusaokubo Station but he was seen sleeping on the ground so he missed the train.
The train arrived at its final destination in Yoro Valley Station. There was a wrestling ring set up for them to complete the match but Brookes and MAO kept fighting each other in the train. The doors closed and the two of them were ruled out of the match. The remaining wrestlers fought to the ring and finished the Battle Royal. Honda and Akito pinned each other when they both got bundled by the others. Yamato then pinned Hirata with the Fisherman Suplex to become the winner after an hour long train ride.
Two other matches were held in the ring afterwards. Yukio Naya is building his momentum with Yuji Hino by scoring another win, this time pinning Toui Kojima. It means another loss for The 37KAMIINA too.
The final match of the day had BURNING defeat Eruption. Afterwards Tetsuya Endo listed all of the unit’s members to the audience unfamiliar with DDT but got Yusuke Okada’s name wrong. He joked about the mistake and then promoted his KO-D Openweight Title defence against Yuki Ueno on 1st May. Yamato got in the ring and closed out the show advertising the Ichihara City Tourism Association.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/04/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall 115 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Soma Takao when Naya submitted Takanashi with the Modified Torture Cobra Twist (8:29).
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ishida ended in a No Contest (?:??).
3. Special Tag Match: Maya Yukihi & Akito defeated Saki Akai & Antonio Honda when Yukihi pinned Honda with the Snowstorm (9:30).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul defeated HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuya Koroku when Sasaki submitted Koroku with the Llave (12:11).
5. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Hideki Okatani with the Zahi (9:58).
6. Yokohama Specialty Special Tag Match: Asuka & Yuji Hino defeated MAO & Chris Brookes when Asuka pinned MAO with the Michinoku Driver II (15:07).
7. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima when Endo pinned Kojima with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (20:27).
If Yuki Ueno wants to lead The 37KAMIINA in Konosuke Takeshita’s absence then he still has a lot of work to do. Tetsuya Endo was one step ahead of him, laying him out with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb before pinning Toui Kojima with the same move. Endo said afterwards if Ueno can’t protect his friends then how can he make it to the top in DDT? He then made a joke about how Ueno was replaced with an invisible man for the Hiragana Muscle shows this week. If Ueno doesn’t work harder for the rest of the month then Endo might as well replace him with The Invisible Man for the KO-D Openweight Title match on 1st May! Endo guarantees a successful title defence against either of them.
Today was the first time Asuka & Yuji Hino teamed together in DDT. Outside of DDT they are associated with each other through the Revengers unit in ZERO1. They were an effective duo against MAO & Chris Brookes, using their finishers on them at the same time for the win. Asuka warned MAO that he is weak and too busy fooling around. He better be careful or else Asuka will win the DDT Universal Title on 1st May. MAO excused the loss on running out of MP despite still claiming to have a lot of HP. He has been busy doing so many things since winning the Universal Title like having matches on the streets and performing on five Muscle shows in three days. That is why his MP gauge has become empty.
Maya Yukihi couldn’t believe she got to wrestle Antonio Honda today. When she first saw DDT it was Honda who impressed her the most. She knew how to deal with him by doing the Bionic Elbow dance to throw him off his game. However just like everyone else she fell for his Gongitsune stalling tactics. Saki Akai joined in to poke Akito in the eyes. Shen then tried to Gongitsune Poke on Yukihi but she blocked it and rolled up Honda to win the match. Akai told Yukihi this match was her being welcomed into the deeper world of DDT. She is looking forward to the two of them beating Cherry & Miyako Matsumoto on 10th April.
Earlier in the show, Hisaya Imabayashi interrupted the Pheromones match after they crossed the line like they usually do. However this time instead of attacking him in response, they left him alone. Later on they came back out and asked Imabayashi what match they will be in on 1st May. He hadn’t decided on anything yet so Danshoku Dieno said there is an opponent he would really like to fight… Imabayashi himself! The GM started panicking and refused to book the match causing Pheromones to attack him. All of a sudden AKIRA ran down to the ring and made the save. He heard about what Pheromones has been doing and offered to team with Imabayashi to stop them together. Imabayashi said he couldn’t do it because he is not a wrestler. AKIRA told him he is a father. What would his children think if they didn’t see him stand up for himself? Imabayashi agreed but said they needed an extra man to even the odds. AKIRA brought up the time they wrestled each other on a MUSCLE show over 15 years ago. He remembers there was someone else back then. Muscle Sakai! The three of them will join forces to crush Pheromones!
Hino took pride in himself and Yukio Naya both winning their matches today. Naya made Masahiro Takanashi submit for the second time in a row. It has left Takanashi feel like giving up for good but he made a promise continue doing his best for Brookes.
The mystery man who showed up today is KANON, the wrestler who was recently associated with JUST TAP OUT. It was announced last month he was leaving JTO and today is his first day as a freelancer. He told the audience he was looking for a new battleground and found out that DDT has many strong wrestlers from his generation. This kind of place makes him want to test his potential. His first match here will be against Yuki Ishida on 10th April.
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2022”, 27/03/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 509 Fans
0. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Dark Match: Antonio Honda (c) defeated Pokotan with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (7:16). *V? for Antonio Honda.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Antonio Honda (c) by Pinfall (11:24 am). *Shinichiro Kawamatsu becomes the 1,548th champion.
1. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Diving Knee Drop (6:30).
2. Pheromones Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Minoru Fujita (w/ MJ Paul) by Disqualification when Sasaki attacked Dieno with a Chair (7:21).
3. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Akito defeated Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Soma Takao when Naya submitted Takanashi with a Modified Torture Cobra Twist (9:03).
4. Quiz Showdown: Kazuki Hirata defeated Jun Akiyama when Hirata got 3 questions correct (10:18).
5. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Michael Nakazawa with the Super Michinoku Driver II (9:26). *V1 for MAO.
6. DDT Extreme Title – O-Back Ladder Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Pheromone Magic (15:01). *V1 for Yuki “Sexy” Iino.
7. After Judgement 2022 Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Kojima submitted Koroku with a Triangle Choke (22:11).
The 26th year of DDT has gone off to a hot start with plenty to talk about. The main event was the latest tag team battle between The 37KAMIINA and BURNING but this time with a brand new result. For months Toui Kojima has fought to try and beat his classmate Yuya Koroku. Every step of the way was met with failure until today when Kojima finally got his direct win over Koroku! The result didn’t look like it would happen when Koroku hit the Moonsault Press and then applied the Chickenwing Armlock he’s been using to beat his rival. But Kojima used the lessons he learned from Shinya Aoki to counter the move into a Triangle Choke for the tap out. He lived up to his promise of crying tears of joy over finally beating Koroku. Kojima admitted he is still weak and is not ready to be compared to the rest of his stable. He wants to keep training so he can becomes stronger.
Yuki Ueno threw in his support for Kojima along with the rest of The 37KAMIINA. He is so inspired by everyone in the unit doing their best to leave a mark on the world that he wants to do the same in DDT. So he is challenging Tetsuya Endo for the KO-D Openweight Title on 1st May! Endo said if Ueno is confident enough to beat the man who just became champion at Sumo Hall and carry the belt with 25 years of history attached to it then he will accept the challenge. Ueno told him he isn’t just fighting for that but also for the future of DDT. He wants to defeat Endo and lead the company as champion.
As ridiculous as the O-Back Ladder Match was there was a surprising amount of emotion to it. Shunma Katsumata walked out wearing an ALL OUT shirt hoping to remind Yuki Iino of their time together in that group. Iino briefly remembered and did a Haka pose with his old friend but in a flash that memory went away and they had to fight. Katsumata climbed the ladder and grabbed the O-Back but the winner had to wear it. He covered his waist in a towel to put it on but Iino attacked him with Danshoku Dieno & Yumehito Imanari’s help. Together they performed “Pheromone Magic” on Katsumata and he suddenly found out he was somehow now wearing nothing underneath his towel! He gave up to avoid further shame, resulting in a successful DDT Extreme Title defence for Iino. Dieno told Katsumata he previously agreed to wear the O-Back by itself if he lost. He is a man of his word so he did just that and shook Iino’s hand. Iino then blindsided him with a Brainbuster to humiliate him even more. Dieno asked who would want to challenge Iino for the Extreme Title after seeing this?
Sometime before the show, a desperate Michael Nakazawa went searching around town for MAO so he could ambush him. He was lured into a counter attack where MAO ran Nakazawa over with a van! Nakazawa did show up to the match wrapped head to toe in bandages. He looked like a physical wreck and couldn’t even stand up by himself. MAO decided to take advantage but it turned out to be a trick! The real Nakazawa ran down to the ring and attacked MAO with a crutch. He then used his signature tricks like rubbing his body in slippery lotion and applying the Ultimate Venom AEW Arm. However MAO fought back and pinned Nakazawa with the Super Michinoku Driver II for the win.
MAO called the DDT Universal Title defence an easy win. He wants to use his champion status to wrestle overseas so asked for his next challenger to be somebody with presence. Out walked Asuka! She just returned from wrestling in Italy and has a UK tour lined up this summer so she matches all of MAO’s requests. Asuka said the “VENY’s” of the world deserve that title. MAO accepted the challenge and wants it to be at the Yokohama Budokan on 1st May.
Kazuki Hirata knew just like everyone else that he has no chance of beating Jun Akiyama in a fair fight. He was moments away from losing easily to the Exploder Suplex when he grabbed the microphone and called a stop to the match. Hirata can’t win a wrestling match but he can beat Akiyama in a quiz! Suddenly the match turned into a trivia contest with chairs in the ring to sit on and a toy hammer to hit each other with when somebody got a question wrong. 1st Question: What tragedy happened to Hirata before a show in Yokohama Raidant Hall? Hirata answered he was bit by a Chihuahua. Correct! Question 2: Who was Hirata’s opponent in a fantasy card Keisuke Ishii once put together? Hirata answered Yuji Okabayashi. Correct! Question 3: On 4th January, 2002 the name of the defending GHC Heavyweight Champion is… Akiyama cut off the question to answer it was himself. That wasn’t the question thought so he was incorrect! The rest of the question asked who was the child who wanted to skip school to go see the match and got angry at his mother? Hirata answered it was himself. Correct! Hirata defeated Akiyama in the Quiz Showdown! Hirata hit Akiyama with the toy hammer to celebrate and Akiyama no sold it. DDT then announced that Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary show will be held in Korakuen Hall on 18th September. Akiyama thinks he will have a proper match against Hirata on that show.
The new KO-D Tag Team Champions are on shaky ground after finding out just how strong their opponents are. Yukio Naya showed off the power he has gained from teaming with Yuji Hino and made Masahiro Takanashi submit for the victory. Chris Brookes was also left in agony from Hino’s chops. Naya told the fans to look forward to them taking the Tag Titles from CDK.
A lesson we learned today is nobody messes with Hisaya Imabayashi except Pheromones! Their match against DAMNATION T.A was going the usual lewd direction with Imabayashi threatening to cancel the match. This time however Daisuke Sasaki came to defend Imabayashi from Pheromones, only to turn on him and attack all of them with a chair. Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul joined in on the beatdown and had to be disqualified. Sasaki complained that Imabayashi doesn’t have the right to cancel their matches. He threatened they will attack him again if he tries to stop the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match on 10th April. They will even attack his wife and kids to prove their point! Dieno was in tears over what happened to Imabayashi. He is an innocent person in that doesn’t deserve to get attacked this way. Pheromones claim they are all about justice and swore to get revenge on DAMNATION T.A!
A full force Eruption opened up the main show, beating a foursome made up of DISASTER BOX wrestlers and the rookie Yuki Ishida. Those four were all called “The Pig Brothers” by Hideki Okatani. He even scored the win in the end and told the fans to remember the Red Fight Spirit of Eruption!
On the pre-show Antonio Honda successfully defended the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title against Pokotan. Honda summoned the power of Triple H to aid him on his way to victory. After the match Shinichiro Kawamatsu from the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly was supposed to hand the belt over to Honda but Pokotan got into another fight with Honda. The two of them knocked each other out and it dawned on Kawamatsu that he could pin Honda. He did so after encouragement from the fans and became the new Iron Man Champion! Kawamatsu joked if this is really what the DDT fans wanted to see and he promised to defend the title for all 24 hours as hard as he can.
Away from all the matches, the biggest news to come from the show was Konosuke Takeshita announcing he is going on an indefinite expedition to the United States where he will wrestle for AEW! His final match in DDT before he leaves will be on 10th April. He is ready to take on the challenge of the world and begin Chapter 2 of his career. He also promised to do his best in DDT before he goes away and hopes when he comes back Ueno will be the KO-D Champion so he can challenge him.
Endo was presented with the brand new redesigned KO-D Openweight Title belt from Sanshiro Takagi at the start of the show. Endo said it is more brilliant looking than the previous belt he is happy to be the one to build up its history.
The next Korakuen Hall show on 10th April will feature Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi against Bambi & Cherry to celebrate DDT’s history with women’s wrestling. Akai is honored to face the two women from DDT’s past and also hopes to create something new with Yukihi.
A mystery wrestler who would like to wrestle in DDT is being promoted to appear at Yokohama Radiant Hall on 1st April.
DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 10/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1A – Tokyo Shin-Kiba Studio Flamme: Chris Brookes Vs Onryo
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1B – Kanagawa Enoshima Beach: Hikaru Machida Vs Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong
3. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1C – Kanagawa Big Japan Dojo: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Abdullah Kobayashi
4. King Of Street Wrestling – Round 1D – Tokyo Shibuya Kitaya Park: Shunma Katsumata Vs Suzu Suzuki
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DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 16/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final: Winner Of Match 1A Vs Winner Of Match 1B
2. King Of Street Wrestling – Semi-Final: Winner Of Match 1A Vs Winner Of Match 1B
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DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~”, 23/04/2022 WRESTLE UNIVERSE
1. King Of Street Wrestling – Final: X Vs X
The King Of Street Wrestling 1st Round matches have been decided. Sanshiro Takagi came up with this tournament because nothing of its kind has ever existed before. There are tournaments for many kinds of wrestling and martial arts but not for DDT’s style of Falls Count Anywhere street wrestling. He is hopeful this tournament will be the first of many!
Every match will take place in a different location and environment so no match will be anything like the other. For example Sanshiro Takagi and Abdullah Kobayashi will fight each other in Big Japan’s own dojo. Kobayashi is literally defending his home turf! Takagi realizes this and will plan to take the match out to the street and into the shops nearby.
Hikaru Machida is a 34 year old kickboxer from Ome City, Tokyo with a 28-11-3 record. He claims his strongest move is the Iai Punch. His opponent is a Muay Thai fighter from Phuket, Thailand named Worawutnoi Keatchaiyong. His record is 122-63-5. He is also an instructor at the PHOENIX Fitness Gym in Tokyo. Three of his students had fought Machida before so there is a connection between these two fighters despite never meeting each other before today. Their match will take place in Enoshima Beach.
One of the participants is already feeling spooked. Chris Brookes is taking on Onryo from 666 and The Spirit World. During the tournament press conference Brookes was convinced he was seeing Onryo sitting at the table next to him but nobody noticed. Brookes then started choking as if Onryo was standing right there strangling him. Brookes recovered and kept his distance from everyone else the rest for the rest of the day. When he and Onryo do get together they will fight at photography studio in Shin-Kiba called Studio Flamme. It’s a warehouse ran by the video company Blaze Legion that opened up last April.
Last but not least the hip young wrestlers Shunma Katsumata and Suzu Suzuki will face off at Kitaya Park in Shibuya. Suzuki called Katsumata an old man because he is 10 years older than her. Katsumata denies there being an age difference and is confident his experience in street wrestling matches will lead him to victory.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR ’22”, 26/03/2022 Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall
1. Hikari Noa Vs Kaya Toribami
2. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Nao Kakuta Vs Haruna Neko
3. Hyper Misao & Miu Watanabe Vs Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu
4. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Raku Vs Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku & Marika Kobashi
5. Princess Tag Team Titles Next Challenger Decision Match: Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto
6. Nodoka Tenma Graduation Match: Shoko Nakajima & Miyu Yamashita Vs Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino
It’s time for Nodoka Tenma’s last pro wrestling match. She got to have her match with her sister Yuki Aino and gets to team with her one more time against the top two wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi Pro.
The next team to challenge for the Princess Tag Team Titles will either be Arisuzu or MokaYuki.
BASARA “BASARA 186 ~THE 17TH FOX PRINCE~”, 26/03/2022 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. Lil’ Kraken Vs Akiyori Takizawa
2. Takumi Tsukamoto & Masato Kamino Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. Fuminori Abe Vs Takato Nakano
5. Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT Vs Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita
Yusuke Kubo was hospitalized and diagnosed with acute pancreatitis on 20th March. His hospital stay is expected to last 10 days in total but there is no timetable for when he can return to wrestling. Akiyori Takizawa is filling in for him on the two shows this Saturday.
BASARA “BASARA 187 ~THE 18TH FOX PRINCE~”, 26/03/2022 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
2. Akiyori Takizawa Vs Ryota Nakatsu
3. FUMA, Lil’ Kraken & Yasu Urano Vs Isami Kodaka, SAGAT & Banana Senga
4. Fuminori Abe & Daichi Kazato Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daiki Shimomura
5. No DQ Last Man Standing Match: Takato Nakano Vs Masato Kamino
The two teams captained by Takato Nakano and Masato Kamino have all been picked by a random lottery and the matches were booked afterward. Nakano and Kamino agreed to face each other in the main event in a No DQ Last Man Standing Match!
DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2022”, 27/03/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Antonio Honda Vs Pokotan
1. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
2. Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Soma Takao Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Akito
3. Jun Akiyama Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Pheromones Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Minoru Fujita (w/ MJ Paul)
5. After Judgement 2022 Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
6. DDT Extreme Title – O-Back Ladder Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
7. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) Vs Michael Nakazawa
A new KO-D Openweight Title belt will be unveiled and presented to the new champion Tetsuya Endo at the show. He has not seen the new design yet and is looking forward to finding out for himself when it is given to him at the show.
Two days after the Sumo Hall show and MAO has figured out how Michael Nakazawa tricked him into giving him a DDT Universal Title shot. When Nakazawa flashed him the AEW logo on his shirt, MAO was fooled into thinking he would be fighting one of the big stars. Today at a press conference MAO showed regret at making the match and asked to make it non-title. Nakazawa explained he is part of The Elite and beating him will open up a path for MAO to wrestle against the other more stronger members. MAO lit up at the idea of fighting The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega so he signed the contract for the match. Nakazawa then gave MAO a Low Blow and admitted it is all a trick so he can get the title shot. He revealed he needs to win the championship so he can bring it back to America and keep his AEW career alive because he is currently in limbo while Omega is out injured.
The DDT Extreme Title match is now an O-Back Ladder Match. The O-Back is the kind of jock strap Yuki Iino always wears underneath his gear for his matches. He originally wanted the rule to be both he and Shunma Katsumata had to wear an O-Back while they wrestled. Katsumata refused and came up with the idea to make it a Ladder Match where whoever grabs the O-Back hanging above the ring and puts it on first will be the winner. However extra negotiations with Iino and Danshoku Dieno added another way to win. The match can also end if either wrestler decides to give up.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 22”, 10/04/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya
The new KO-D Tag Team Champions have two big burly wrestlers to deal with in their first defence. Yukio Naya thinks his team with Yuji Hino has made him a far more confident pro wrestler, which Hino agrees with. Masahiro Takanashi joked that he would rather defend the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles against them inside Ichigaya Chocolate Square instead because there would be no room for the both of them. I don’t know if Chris Brookes can squeeze either of them through the window though.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN YOKOHAMA”, 01/05/2022 Yokohama Budokan
1. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs X
Endo said his first challenger should be somebody who is confident they can go above and beyond. He does not want to nominate a challenger himself. He would rather someone suitable come forward and make the challenge to him. It is a clear goal Endo has come up with for this title run to be different from Konosuke Takeshita’s reign. When he won the main event on Sunday, Endo said he never saw Jun Akiyama smiling so happily. BURNING has only just started so Endo wants the KO-D Title to help make the unit bigger and better.
DDT “THE WORLD’S BEST ROJO PRO WRESTLING TOURNAMENT ~KING OF STREET WRESTLING~” WRESTLE UNIVERSE
Street fighters from around the world will gather together for the first ever King Of Street Wrestling tournament taking place this April. Eight participants will be taking part in outdoor Falls Count Anywhere matches that will be shown on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. A press conference will be held on 25th March revealing the matches, broadcast schedule and other extra info. The eight entries to the tournament are:
DDT “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 20/03/2022 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 2,516 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Toui Kojima, Yuki Ishida when Okada pinned Ishida with the Sudden Death (11:00).
0. Dark Match – Time Admission Tag Battle Royal: Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya defeated Yasu Urano & Shota when Naya pinned Shota with the Back Drop (14:28). Order Of Elimination: Tomohiko Hashimoto & Seiya Morohashi, Gorgeous Matsuno & Gota Ihashi, Andreza Giant Panda & Super Sasadango Machine, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul, Shota & Yasu Urano.
1. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) defeated Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) when MIKAMI pinned Honda with the School Boy (8:49). *The DDT Variety Team fails in V2. Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba becomes the 7th KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions!
2. Special Single Match: Saki Akai defeated Maya Yukihi with the Quetzalcoatl (10:40).
3. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Single Match – No DQ “I’m Sorry” Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Michael Nakazawa when Takagi made Nakazawa say “I’m Sorry” (10:20).
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata defeated Isami Kodaka & Yukio Sakaguchi when Ueno pinned Sakaguchi with the WR (11:02).
5. LiLiCo Retirement Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated LiLiCo, Ryohei Odai & Akito (w/ Junretsu) when Dieno submitted LiLiCo with a Cross Knee Lock (16:52).
6. Jun Akiyama 30th Anniversary Match: Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani when Akiyama pinned Okatani with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (12:36).
7. DDT Universal Title – Hardcore 3 Way Match: MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) and Jun Kasai when MAO pinned Sasaki with the Super Michinoku Driver II (19:56). *Daisuke Sasaki fails in V5. MAO becomes the 6th DDT Universal Champion!
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura (c) when Brookes submitted Yoshimura with the House Piano Death (18:50). *DISASTER BOX fails in V1. CDK becomes the 73rd KO-D Tag Team Champions!
9. KO-D Openweight Title – Japan Bakery Marketing Presents: Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with two Burning Star Presses (46:30). *Konosuke Takeshita fails in V2. Tetsuya Endo becomes the 78th KO-D Openweight Champion!
DDT celebrates its 25th Anniversary with a new KO-D Openweight Champion! It was the first singles match between Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo in 2 years and 3 months with both going in at the peak of their abilities. It led to a juggernaut of a match lasting 46 minutes with every move in their arsenal being used. It took Endo using something new to bring the champion to the brink of defeat. As the match reached towards the 45 minute mark, Endo took inspiration from his BURNING teammate and used the Exploder Suplex three times for nearfalls. While that wasn’t enough to get the pin, there was no coming back for Takeshita after those moves. Endo dropped him with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and after another kickout he followed it up with two Burning Star Presses to finally get the career defining victory over his destined enemy.
Endo told Takeshita after the match that this was the first time he was happy to be seen side by side with him in the same company and generation. He still hates him but also thanks him for today. Takeshita refused to shake Endo’s hand but instead raised it into the air before leaving the ring. Kenta Kobashi entered the ring to present Endo with the KO-D Title and BURNING followed to celebrate with him. Endo thanked the audience for coming to see Tokyo Joshi Pro and DDT in Sumo Hall this weekend. Endo has finally defeated Takeshita for the KO-D Title but he believes there is still more to come for these companies. TJPW will be entering its 10th year in existence while DDT enters its 26th. The journey continues and Endo thinks he won’t be able to make them grow by himself. He will lead the way so everyone follow him and keep your eyes on DDT and Tetsuya Endo from now on!
Backstage Endo repeated what he said about the CyberFight promotions, including NOAH. None of them are done yet and whether they all reach 26, 50 or 100 years he will be there standing at the top. He debuted 10 years ago and he feels like everything he worked for was rewarded to him today. His first KO-D Title defence of this reign will be at Yokohama Budokan on 1st May. He thinks any challenger will be find as long as they are prepared to carry DDT on their back. Takeshita echoed some of Endo’s points, also believing they still have a long way to go beyond DDT’s 26th year. He cannot stop at where he is right now. Kobashi compared Takeshita to Jumbo Tsuruta from his physical ability to his stamina recovery. He also said Endo carries a wonderful BURNING soul and is looking forward to seeing what his future title defences will be like.
CDK always said the most dramatic and dreamy tag team in DDT should be the KO-D Tag Team Champions so I guess they proven right. Chris Brookes countered the Osaka Pride from Naomi Yoshimura and instead stretched his body in so many wrong directions with the House Piano Death. HARASHIMA fought to grab onto them and break the hold but Masahiro Takanashi kept him away long enough for Yoshimura to submit. Takanashi lost his voice so he let Brookes do the talking after the match.
However he was interrupted when Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya climbed onto the ring apron demanding a title shot. They agreed to do the match on 10th April at Korakuen Hall. Backstage DISASTER BOX admitted defeat and HARASHIMA told Yoshimura to rest up before they decide on what to do next. Naya said he is really happy because a year ago he wouldn’t have been able to challenge for the KO-D Tag Titles like this. Hino asked if Naya was weak back then because he only knows how big and strong he is now. Brookes in his interview suddenly took another direction when he called out El Desperado from New Japan! He brought up that Desperado wants CDK to go challenge him but CDK has more championships, so he should come over here and challenge them instead. Takanashi said Hino & Naya should fight for the Asia Dream Tag Team Titles instead of the KO-D Tag Titles because he wants to see a team as large as them inside Ichigaya Chocolate Square. He might get in trouble for suggesting that but as double champions they should have the responsibility and freedom to do what they want.
The feud between Daisuke Sasaki and Jun Kasai took up so much of their attention that MAO swooped in and won the DDT Universal Title! Blood was shed, boxes were smashed, tables were broken and chairs were destroyed as the three all fought each other in and out of the ring. Kasai kept complaining that DDT wasn’t violent enough for him which might have spurred the others to turn up the dial. MAO finally got what he wanted, the attention of his opponents, when he smashed a guitar over both of their head. He won the match by giving Sasaki the Michinoku Driver II from a ladder bridge through the table below.
MAO said it’s been a long month and a half but it was worth it to win the championship today. He wants to increase the presence of the Universal Title so he will only defend it against people with presence. For some reason Michael Nakazawa thought that meant him so he came out and challenged MAO. He said it is a championship made for the world so if he wins it, he can bring it to AEW and show it to even more people worldwide. MAO refused because Nakazawa lost earlier and he told him to leave. Nakazawa agreed he is weak but made the argument that beating a wrestler from AEW is a big deal no matter who they are. MAO saw his point and demanded they do the title match in AEW’s home turf… the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium! Hisaya Imabayashi told him that was impossible so he settled to have the match at Korakuen Hall on 27th March instead.
The show also celebrated Jun Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary in pro wrestling. He teamed up with an old partner of his, Takao Omori from All Japan to beat the Eruption duo of Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani. He was quickly provoked by Okatani and put the youngster in his place with a fight up the entrance ramp. Higuchi was a tougher wall to break down but Omori’s solution was to hit him with the Axe Bomber. Akiyama dusted off the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex for the occasion, pinning Okatani with the deadly finisher. Akiyama said Omori has been wrestling for 30 years too so he was the first name he had in mind when the match was presented to him. As for the future, Akiyama will steadily continue on without any hesitation. He hadn’t thought about DDT being the company he celebrated his 30th Anniversary with. Not even he knows where he will be for the 40th and 50th.
DDT gave LiLiCo the platform to say goodbye to her pro wrestling career with a retirement ceremony unlike any other. First she had her retirement match teaming with her husband Ryohei Odai and the CyberFight VP Akito to take on Pheromones. The opponents were determined to humiliate LiLiCo on her big day. Yumehito Imanari threatened to record every moment of what they would do to her and then send the footage to the media. LiLiCo & Odai were successfully able to complete their special double team move the Princess SEXY Chest Kick ♡ on Yuki Iino. However Danshoku Dieno targeted LiLiCo’s injured knees, which proved to be her downfall. Dieno gave her the Danshoku Driver and made her tap out to a Cross Knee Lock.
After the match Dieno encouraged LiLiCo to get up by herself because a pro wrestler’s final duty is to stand up under their own power. However his show of respect was a farce and he attacked her again. Pheromones were about to set LiLiCo up for the ultimate humiliation on the entrance ramp when suddenly Andreza Giant Panda appeared and attacked all of Pheromones with Headbutts! The retirement ceremony went ahead and Odai brought out his pop band Junretsu to sing “Proposal” for her as a show of his love. When the ceremony reached its end, LiLiCo told the fans she is going back to being a normal girl. She then laid down her entrance gown in the middle of the ring and bowed to each side of the venue.
Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata picked up a big win against the wild card pairing of Isami Kodaka & Yukio Sakaguchi. Kodaka thought his team had it in the bag after he gave Katsumata a Brainbuster onto the ring apron. However the God’s Right Knee from Sakaguchi was blocked with a Dropkick by Ueno. He got back to his feet only to get with with a Standing Shining Wizard. Ueno then finished him off with the WR. The 37KAMIINA said they had hot opponents today but they didn’t seem like they wanted to team together. Ueno was happy to beat Sakaguchi again and Katsumata feels the same beating Kodaka. The BASARA wrestler admitted he was too hostile with Sakaguchi but he does not hate him. They are more like rivals and Kodaka is thankful that Sakaguchi invited him to be part of DDT’s 25th Anniversary.
Nakazawa’s wild efforts to make Sanshiro Takagi apologize to him ended in failure. Their No DQ Match spilled over to a nearby restroom where Takagi gave Nakazawa a Piledriver into a toilet. Back in the ring Nakazawa almost made Takagi say “I’m Sorry” when he used the Ultimate Venom AEW Arm on him. But Takagi fought out of it and suddenly gathered the powers of DDT past. He hit Nakazawa with Kenny Omega’s Hadouken and followed it up with Kota Ibushi’s Kamigoye. He started breaking plastic boxes over Nakazawa’s head until Nakazawa pleaded him to stop. He was about to say “I’m Sorry” when Takagi shoved Nakazawa’s pants into his own mouth to keep him quiet. Takagi then lifted him up in the Himawari Bomb ready to put him through more boxes when Nakazawa finally shouted “I’m Sorry!” to end the match. Takagi Power Bombed him into the boxes anyway.
Takagi actually did apologize to Nakazawa after the match but it is too late. Nakazawa now hates him even more! However he likes DDT and remembers that DDT is his home so he has a special present for everyone today. A video message from Christopher Daniels played on the screen. Daniels congratulated DDT for its 25th Anniversary and announced a mutual agreement between DDT and AEW that will bring DDT wrestlers to America in the future! Daniels said he cannot wait to introduce DDT’s wrestlers to the American fans and hopes the company will do their best until that day comes. Nakazawa then explained to Takagi that he and Kenny Omega had negotiated this deal together. Takagi thanked him and promised the fans they will make pro wrestling even more exciting! Backstage Nakazawa added that the deal also includes bringing in wrestlers from Tokyo Joshi Pro.
The jealous grudge Saki Akai and Maya Yukihi held with each other was finally settled in the ring. Akai came out on top thanks to her finishing move, the Quetzalcoatl. Any hatred the two had was gone when the match was over and they both hugged each other. Akai told reporters that it was a match only she and Yukihi could do because they have different backgrounds but travelled in the same direction. Yukihi said she is grateful to DDT and joshi for the match today and she would like to team with Akai if she is interested.
A collective blast from the past have taken the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles! The match brought together many of DDT’s wacky gimmicks from throughout its history. The appearance of Yoshihiko left Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO confused. They were even more confused when the doll outwrestled them. Antonio Honda tried to summon Gongitsune but Poison Sawada JULIE used his magic to make Honda strike Toru Owashi instead. Honda began to withstand the magic when suddenly Kazuki Hirata appeared completely taken over by the snake magic! He fought off Honda then danced with JULIE & Naomi Susan to the song “Hateless Bastard” by Kenji Sawada. Yoshihiko stopped the dancing and went wild on everyone while Owashi hung onto him for dear life. That left Honda along to get hit by every challenger ending with him getting rolled up by MIKAMI’s signature School Boy for the victory. Sasaki said he doesn’t want his team to be called “Legends” because that implies they are all over the hill. He also told DDT to work out how to get them all together again to schedule their title defences otherwise the belts will belong to them forever. JULIE is confident they can defend the belts 100 or 200 times. MIKAMI and Thanomsak Toba are hopeful this team will bring back something that’s been missing from DDT and that it will be interesting for old fans.
There was a last minute change to the Tag Team Rumble. Soma Takao had to pull out before the show for reasons that were not detailed to the public. Yasu Urano took his place to team with Shota. Hino & Naya eliminated them last to win the match, giving them the momentum to make their title challenge later in the show. The match also featured Andreza’s in-ring return to DDT with former opponent Super Sasadango Machine by his side, Tomohiko Hashimoto & Seiya Morohashi reuniting as a team, more trouble making from DAMNATION T.A with Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul entering together and the usual appearances from Gorgeous Matsuno & Gota Ihashi.
The other dark match had Yusuke Okada and Tomomitsu Matsunaga in the ring with DDT’s various rookies. Ilusion put up a good showing for the DDTeeeen!! brand. He carried the mask of his rival El Unicorn down to the ring because covid prevented Unicorn from being in the match. Toui Kojima tried to earn a first direct win over Yuya Koroku but couldn’t make it. It came down to Yuki Ishida firing his Sumo Slaps to Okada but he was taken out with a Diving Headbutt. Ishida kicked out of that but was done for when Okada gave him the Sudden Death. He praised Ilusion and encouraged him to continue doing his best. Ilusion said he had El Unicorn’s mask to let him know they were still able to fight together in Sumo Hall. He wants a singles match with him whenever he is fully recovered.
The main show began with the Anal Explosion ceremony, as is tradition for DDT when they are in a venue as prestigious as this one. Ryota Yamasato was reluctant to take part and called everyone in DDT crazy for thinking this is a normal thing to do. Hisaya Imabayashi calmed him down by getting Super Sasadango Machine to show him a PowerPoint presentation explaining why the ceremony is so important. According to Sasadango, the Anal Explosion was originally a symbol of the “Phoenix” and acts as a ritual for success and prosperity of the company. Yamasato complained until Hoshitango carried him over to the stage and pinned him down for Danshoku Dieno to set up the bomb. A countdown began and a small explosion went off without a hitch. Yamasato was then told a second explosion 25 times more powerful than the first will now happen to celebrate DDT’s 25 years. It went off, Yamasato called for the show to begin and then he went unconscious.
A new tournament called the King Of Street Wrestling will be shown on WRESTLE UNIVERSE this April. Eight fighters from around the world will compete including Sanshiro Takagi, Shunma Katsumata and Chris Brookes as the DDT representatives. Abdullah Kobayashi and Suzu Suzuki will also take part.
Posted by JamieOD 
