Masada’s Road To D-Ou, Akai’s Final TJPW Matches, I Have To Write About NWA Now

September 21, 2023

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~YOKOHAMA PERFORMANCE~”, 23/09/2023
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Pom Harajuku Vs HIMAWARI
2. Yuki Aino Vs Runa Okubo
3. Raku, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Moka Miyamoto, Wakana Uehara & Toga
4. Kaya Toribami Vs Haru Kazashiro
5. Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
6. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Miu Watanabe & Shino Suzuki

Shoko Nakajima isn’t at the show this weekend because she will be wrestling in America for Prestige instead.

BASARA “BASARA 230 ~OSAKA SUMMER SIEGE – DAITO~”, 23/09/2023
Osaka Active Square Daito

1. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Daichi Kazato
2. 3 Way Match: KUBITO Vs Lil’ Kraken Vs Yasu Urano
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Kohei Kinoshita Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
4. Sparky Final Match ~Final Battle At The Place Of Formation~ Elimination 8-Man Tag Match: Ryota Nakatsu, SAGAT, Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizawa Vs Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita
5. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Eisa8

Also on Saturday BASARA will be heading over to Osaka. Kohei Kinoshita is one of the guest wrestlers there.

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2023”, 24/09/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
1. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Takeshi Masada
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Korakuen ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata & Naruki Doi Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi, HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi
4. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima Vs Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura
5. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) Vs Maki Itoh
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs MAO
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Saki Akai

The contract for the KO-D Openweight Title match was signed by champion and challenger a few days ago. With two months to go until her retirement, Saki Akai never thought she would get a KO-D Title shot during this period when she never fought for the belt in her decade long career. She wants her fans who supported her for so long to see the KO-D Title wrapped around her waist. Chris Brookes said she showed a strong heart in their last singles match from 2021 but nobody was around to see it. He wants her to show that strong heart one more time.

DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
3. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toy Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. DISASTER BOX Vs The 37KAMIINA!: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
6. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga

A week later Brookes and Akai will face each other in another title match, this time with Eruption defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in Akai’s hometown.

Takeshi Masada has begun a campaign to get himself into this year’s D-Ou Grand Prix. He asked DDT to put him in a few singles matches to prove he is worthy of taking part in the tournament. First up is KANON, a wrestler who had a poor time in last year’s D-Ou GP. That was KANON’s first time in the tournament and he only scored 2 points.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Riara Vs SAKI
2. GanPro’s Famous Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & HARUKAZE Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Kaho Kobayashi
3. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI Vs Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Loser Haircut Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

At the end of last year Ganbare☆Pro held a tag match mixing together Ganbare☆Joshi with Tokyo Joshi Pro. Next month they are doing the rematch. Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI defeated Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa the first time round, will they do it again? It is also a second chance for YuuRI to impress Kamifuku, who she looks up to so much.

Kaho Kobayashi and SAKI are popping up here too for some extra GanJo related matches.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023
Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center

1. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
2. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: “brother” YASSHI & Akito Vs Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi

A little bit of Dragon System flavour for “brother” YASSHI’s return to DDT. Both Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi have a loose connection with him through where they all trained at one time or another. Akito is the odd man out here because of that.

Masada’s next singles match on his road to the D-Ou GP is against last year’s finalist, Yukio Naya. That’s quite a big leap for Masada to fight one of the weakest performers from last year and then one of the strongest.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SANJO”, 07/10/2023
Niigata Sanjo City Welfare And Welfare Center

1. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki (c) Vs Takao Omori & Yoshitatsu

The All Asia Tag Team Titles are now safe from the dirty hands of Atsushi Onita thanks to BURNING. The new champions are Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki. If you ask Akiyama that means the belts are now under DDT’s control instead of All Japan. But not if Yoshitatsu has anything to say about it. He is getting a chance to win back the titles and he chose Takao Omori to be his tag partner this time instead on Onita. Since Akiyama wants to defend the title in serious matches instead of death matches, the bout will be contested under PWF rules, which is pretty much the same as standard rules but with a 10 count outside the ring and the title can change hands on a DQ.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”, 09/10/2023
Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe

1. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs X, X, X & X
2. Special Single Match: Nyla Rose Vs Maki Itoh
3. International Princess Title & NWA World Women’s Television Title: Rika Tatsumi (I/c) Vs Max The Impaler (N/c)
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Word was already going around that Rika Tatsumi wanted to defend the International Princess Title at this show. Max The Impaler being her next challenger makes sense. The big surprise is Max will be defending the NWA World Women’s Television Title too, making it a double championship match! The bout will have a 30 minute time limit. The NWA Women’s TV Title normally has a 6:05 time limit because as the name suggests, it was made with a TV show format in mind. God damn it I’m going to have to watch NWA Power again if either Tatsumi wins or Max brings the IP Title over there.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’23”, 27/10/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Saki Akai Vs Yuki Arai

Reiwa AA Cannon is no more so all that’s left for Akai and Yuki Arai to do is fight each other. This will be the first and only time the two are having a singles match against each other.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’23 ~SAKI AKAI TJPW LAST PARTICIPATION~”, 03/11/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Saki Akai TJPW Last Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Hyper Misao

Akai’s last match in TJPW puts her with wrestlers that have been close to her for a lot of her time here. Kamifuku looked up to her, Hyper Misao was involved in a lot of past adventures with Akai’s alter egos. Like for example the sukeban gimmick (no, not that Sukeban) of Saki Akamiya. Tatsumi was also a key part of Misao’s history that connects with Akai but I’m too tired to try and write around kayfabe right now.


Video – DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA DAY 2”

January 25, 2023

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)


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL” Results

December 4, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
711 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida defeated Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada when Takao pinned Ishida with the Gin And Tonic (8:36).
2. Soccer Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (3) defeated Akito & Antonio Honda (2) by Penalty Shootout.
2a. Akito (1) pinned Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (0) with a Gene LeBell Style Rolling Cradle (1st Half 0:18).
2b. Akito (2) pinned Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (0) with a Free Kick (1st Half 1:21).
2c. Yuki “Sexy” Iino (1) pinned Akito (2) with the Ketsugoye (2nd Half 0:37).
2d. Yuki “Sexy” Iino (2) pinned Akito (2) with the Sexy Lariat (2nd Half 2:54).
*Pheromotia advance to the Final 8.
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima when Endo pinned Kojima with the Burning Star Press (12:09).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi when Hirata pinned Sumi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (10:25).
5. DDT Extreme Title – TLC Match: Jun Akiyama defeated Joey Janela (c) with the Wrist Clutch Exploder Suplex (11:32).
*Joey Janela fails in V5. Jun Akiyama becomes the 56th DDT Extreme Champion!
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON when Higuchi pinned Paul with the Buchikamashi (10:50).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno defeated Yukio Naya with the BME (20:32).

The reigning DDT Universal Champion is now also the D-Ou Grand Prix winner for 2022! Before the tournament even began Yuki Ueno has been calling his shot to win the whole thing as part of his quest to be the leading figure in DDT. He achieved it here by beating Yukio Naya in the final. Naya came into the match as confident as he has ever been and looked to win with sheer power. He used an Avalanche Choke Slam as his big move to set up the Torture Cobra Twist. Ueno relied on his own speed and agility in response, nearly scoring a countout win after a Moonsault out of the ring. The BME was countered at first when Naya blocked it with his knees. Ueno tried to show fighting spirit against his opponent’s Lariats and Knee Strikes until he started to show signs of collapse. His second wind came when he countered a Choke Slam with a Triangle Choke. He used his new Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher but was too beaten up to go for the pin. When both stood back up, Naya got the first blow and landed the Back Drop. However he too was slow to make the cover and Ueno kicked out. Naya rushed in for a final attack and he ran straight into a series of Dropkicks until he couldn’t get back up. Ueno got to hit the BME in the end and that was enough to win him the match.

Naya received applause from the crowd as he left ringside. Ueno stayed in the ring to receive his trophy from Kenta Kobashi. Ueno called Naya a big and amazing opponent that he was able to beat on his own. Ueno promises he will still work hard to become the best in DDT and get more people to watch DDT. He wants everybody to love DDT as much as he does. He has the DDT Universal Title, just won the D-Ou Grand Prix and now wants to win the KO-D Openweight Title! He’s sure Konosuke Takeshita is watching him from America and knows he wouldn’t be working so hard if it wasn’t for his friends. Backstage Naya showed frustration because he said he was going to carry DDT on his shoulders like a big shot only to lose in the final. He swore in 2023 he will go higher and become big enough to challenge for the KO-D Title. Kobashi praised Naya for not running out of stamina during such a long match and being able to respond to Ueno’s fast pace. Last year he was told by people in DDT that Ueno is a genius. Kobashi is beginning to understand the claim after watching him throughout the Grand Prix. He also thinks the future of DDT is blossoming because the final was between two wrestlers in their 20s.

A collection of heavyweights from the D-Ou group stages all joined forces to fight against DAMNATION T.A. The size differences took Minoru Fujita off guard. The opposition all ganged up on him and pulled off the Kai En Tai pyramid pose with Chris Brookes posing at the top. KANON tried slowing down Yuji Hino with the Cobra Twist. Daisuke Sasaki wanted to fight everyone off with a chair but was given a Double Choke Slam from RSP & Brookes. Hino then gathered most of DAMNATION T.A together outside the ring so RSP could do a Topé into them. MJ Paul showed some fight against Kazusada Higuchi but he too was decimated with the Buchikamashi sumo charge for the three count. After the match Higuchi said it does not matter if his next challenger is Ueno or Naya. He just wants to fight and defend the championship.

For the first time in his decorated career Jun Akiyama was taking part in a TLC Match. His opponent Joey Janela came up with the stipulation for the DDT Extreme Title match for his own benefit. Except that does not change the face he still had to fight Jun Akiyama! The challenger gradually found his footing in an arena filled with Tables, Ladders and Chairs all available to be used as weapons. He threw Janela out of the ring onto a castle of chairs. He also gave Janela the Exploder Suplex onto a ladder inside the ring. Janela showed his guts and went high risk. It paid off with a Diving Elbow from a ladder putting Akiyama through a table. He wanted to continue the attack but Akiyama gave him an Avalanche Exploder onto another table. Janela kicked out so Akiyama had to give him the Wrist-Clutch Exploder to finally put him away and win the Extreme Title!

After the match Janela finally showed Akiyama some respect by shaking his hand. Janela later said Akiyama earned his respect by stepping into his area of hardcore wrestling and winning. As Akiyama was leaving the ring, Super Sasadango Machine appeared and called for his attention. He told everyone that he has not wrestled much in 2022 and wanted to make a year end adjustment. He figured if he could challenge Akiyama for the Extreme Title at the end of the year it would make up for his inactivity. Akiyama thought about it and agreed. He then asked Sasadango how much he weighed. Sasadango answered he is 125kg. Akiyama told him to lose 20kg and then left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi used his GM powers to make the match official for 29th December.

Naruki Doi’s request to face DDT’s best led him straight to HARASHIMA. Although first he had to go through Kazuma Sumi because the rookie wanted to start the match against him. Kazuki Hirata did not show as much bravery when he had to share the ring with Yukio Sakaguchi. Doi and HARASHIMA got to fight each other eventually but Hirata continued to look like the weak link. He took a Running Knee from Sakaguchi in the corner, a Springboard Splash from HARASHIMA and a Standing Moonsault from Sumi. However Hirata kicked out of the pin and suddenly caught Sumi in the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the match for his team out of nowhere.

Hirata wanted to give a victory speech but he was interrupted by Tetsuya Endo’s theme music. Endo walked out with Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada by his side. Endo said he hadn’t forgotten about Doi mentioning his name in Kyoto as somebody he wants to fight. This is Endo accepting the challenge! He also wants it to be a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. Hirata tried to speak but Doi cut him off. Doi thinks it is a chance of fate because not only does he want to fight Endo, he also never thought he would see Suzuki in a DDT ring again. Doi told them his next scheduled appearance for DDT is on 29th December. He asked Toru Owashi who was the authority around here and was confused when he was pointed over to Imabayashi. The GM confirmed the title match will happen on the 29th.

The BURNING trio had just wrestled in the match before, beating The 37KAMIINA. Suzuki squared off with Shunma Katsumata. The two of them had a singles match in DNA 5 years ago and Katsumata was eager to show hot much he has grown since then. Toi Kojima also wanted to test himself against the veteran. He ended up on the worst end of things by taking Suzuki’s Tombstone, then Okada’s Diving Headbutt and finally Endo’s Burning Star Press for the finish. Endo and Suzuki treated the match as their first introductions to each other. Suzuki also called DDT a new view for him to experience now that he is freelance. Katsumata wants another chance to fight Suzuki and show he can surpass him. MAO was in a bit of a bad mood after seeing the video of Akiyama interviewing Suzuki. In the video there are three times when Akiyama said DDT became a stronger place after he joined the company. That line has been bothering MAO ever since he heard it.

The success of Japan in the World Cup has Pheromones feeling football crazy. They all walked down to the ring wearing football kits and demanding their match be held under Soccer Rules. Every 1 Count pinfall counted as a goal. At first the plan backfired when Akito quickly pinned Dieno early in the 1st half. Dieno then caused a foul which allowed Akito to score a second goal from a free Dropkick. Antonio Honda was in the middle of telling his Gongitsune joke when Yukinori Matsui blew his whistle and ended the half. For the 2nd Half, Yumehito Imanari was brought in as a substitute for Dieno. Yuki Iino blocked Honda’s Bionic Elbow and used the Katsugoye to make the score 2-1. Imanari then pinned Akito to make it 2-2 but the pinfall was disallowed after a VAR review. Play restarted and Iino pinned Akito with the Sexy Lariat. Akito pleaded for another VAR review, claiming that Iino’s ball was showing outside of his skimpy costume. VAR showed that the ball was still in bounds within the line by the slightest of margins so the goal stood. The match went to an actual penalty shootout in the ring and Imanari scored the winning shot to send his team into the Quarter Finals! Final score: Pheromotia 3 – 2 Subjugation JAPAN.

The first match of the day featured the return of the kickboxer Hikaru Machida. He had some striking exchanges with Takeshi Masada when they were both in the ring. Yuya Koroku used a Waterwheel Drop on Soma Takao, setting up his team to launch a train attack against him. Yuki Ishida tried to take it all the way until Machida & Hideki Okatani cut him off. Ishida kicked out of Takao’s Running Elbow but was down and out when Takao did the Gin And Tonic.

Dieno announced some new matches for his book launch event at Korakuen Hall on 21st December. Doi and Katsumata face off in a first time singles match. Kazusada Higuchi, Thanomsak Toba & Yuki Ishida Vs Tesuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & DJ Nira will also happen on the show.


D-Ou Final On Sunday

December 2, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Mizuki Vs Haruna Neko
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Yuki Kamifuku & Millie McKenzie Vs Shoko Nakajima & Suzume
4. Miu Watanabe Vs Mahiro Kiryu
5. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami
6. Yuka Sakazaki, Hikari Noa & Arisu Endo Vs Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Moka Miyamoto

Tomorrow will be Millie McKenzie’s last match in Tokyo Joshi Pro for this tour.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Akira Raijin & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm Vs Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
6. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya

Shogun Okamoto is currently in America and is having so much fun over there he is refusing to come back to Japan. That means he won’t be at the DDT/ONLY WE show tomorrow. Tomomitsu Matsunaga takes his place in Match #3.

GANBARE☆PRO “TOKIMEKI NISHISU 2022”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. GanPro Specialty Mixed Tag Match: Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE Vs Yuki Kanzaki & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. GanJo Special Single Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs YuuRI
3. GanPro Vs P.P.P: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Echika Miyabi
4. GanPro Special 6-Man Tag Match In YOKOHAMA: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Tyson Maeguchi
5. Tokimeki Nishisu 2022 Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

Before the show begins Hartley Jackson and Mizuki Watase will have a contract signing for their Spirit Of Ganbare Title match at Korakuen Hall next month.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. DDT Extreme Title – TLC Match: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya

This time last year Yukio Naya was in the dark match on the same show as the D-Ou Grand Prix final. One year later and he is in the main event fighting in the tournament final. He is motivated to win so he can go beat Kazusada Higuchi again, this time for the KO-D Openweight Title. His power is what concerns Yuki Ueno. However Ueno has his speed to use against that. While Naya has been training with his father to improve his luck, Ueno spent time relaxing in a sauna with Shinya Aoki.

DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN KUMAMOTO”, 17/12/2022
Kumamoto City Information Distribution Center

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Yusuke Okada Vs Toru Owashi & Takeshi Masada
3. Special Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi (w/ Yoshihiko)

Maybe Yoshihiko is the solution Akito needs to defeat Pheromones.

DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN FUKUOKA”, 18/12/2022
Pivole Fukuoka

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Saki Akai & Toi Kojima
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada

Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi as a tag team is being promoted by DDT as a cutting edge pairing.


Gilberto Style, Pom Replaces Raku, Naya’s Forbidden Training

November 23, 2022

BASARA “BASARA 204 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 21~”, 26/11/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Daichi Kazato & Lil’ Kraken Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
2. 3 Way Match: SAGAT Vs Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. FUMA Vs Yasu Urano
5. Isami Kodaka & Masato Kamino Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Fuminori Abe

We’re building up to Isami Kodaka against Fuminori Abe for the Union MAX Title next month.

The FUMA Vs Yasu Urano match can be treated as an unofficial 3rd place playoff from the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament. Both of them were eliminated from the semi finals.

BASARA “BASARA 205 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 22~”, 26/11/2022
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Submission Tag Match: Daiki Shimomura & Takato Nakano Vs Man Man Kai Kind & Fuminori Abe
2. Jacket Tag Match: Daichi Kazato & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Masato Kamino & Lil’ Kraken
3. Horror! Jusenkyo Single Match: Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Banana Senga (Special Referee: Isami)
4. Loser Loses Gilberto Style Match: Yasu Urano Vs Isami Kodaka
5. Kung Fu Yoga Allied Forces Vs Ninja USA Forces Counter Attack: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & FUMA Vs Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT

Asian Kung Fu Revolution are producing the evening show. Can the alliance of Kung Fu and Yoga defeat American ninjas in the final battle of the night?

The Gilberto Style Match between Urano and Kodaka is taken from the anime Baki The Grappler. In the anime it is a contest where both fighters hold onto the same handkerchief while they fight. The first one to let go of the handkerchief loses. The “Loser Loses” wordplay is because the Loser Loses his honour in defeat.

Speed Of Sounds having a match against each other is notable by itself but the match title sounding like a reference to Ranma 1/2’s cursed springs has me confused over what they could be planning.

DDT “UTAN FESTA 2022”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo JR Omori Station East Exit Square

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Yusuke Okada & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Toru Owashi, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Joey Janela, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
5. World Omori Title: Chikara (c) Vs Soma Takao
6. Omori Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & RSP Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata

Harimao will be without Naomi Yoshimura for a while but at least Kazusada Higuchi still has Yuki Ishida with him. They will team up with RSP to take on The 37KAMIINA.

We’re getting a preview of Joey Janela against Jun Akiyama. It may be the most normal action we’re going to get between the two as they prepare for the DDT Extreme Title match.

No Battle Royal to determine next year’s No. 1 Contender for the World Omori Title?

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
2. Suzume Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
4. Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

Raku tested positive for covid and is unable to appear on this weekend’s show. Yuki Aino will now team with Pom Harajuku for the Princess Tag Team Titles match. Harajuku was chosen because the show coincides with the 4th anniversary of her debut match and this will be her first ever title shot.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
4. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ DAMNATION T.A Vs PERON GRANDES!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Shogun Okamoto Vs Akira Raijin
5. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm Vs Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada
6. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya

Yoshimura’s injury changes the top matches for the DDT & ONLY WE collaboration. Ω now faces the team of HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya, giving Naya a chance to fight Yuji Hino again. Higuchi is now in a 6-Man Tag Match with Ishida and Quiet Storm against the international trio of Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
2. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
6. DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya

Naya visited his father Takatoriki Tadashige this week to give him the latest report on his pro wrestling career as well as talk about his brother Oho’s currently impressive run at the Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka. Naya told his father he was competing in the D-Ou Grand Prix and qualified for the final next month. Takatoriki praised his son for working hard but told him he always had weak luck. Everybody likes people who are hungry to succeed and try their best but those qualities can be useless if Naya does not have the spirit to bring down his opponent and win. So Takatoriki offered to teach Naya that spirit by using forbidden gambling training to improve his luck.

The training is forbidden because Takatoriki was a retired sumo wrestler who became blackballed from the sport after admitting to illegal gambling on baseball games which resulted borrowing large amounts of money to pay off his debts. Despite his dark history with gambling, he felt this was necessary and challenged Naya to beat him in a game of blackjack. Naya succeeded and his father promised to reward him with a 6 month gift voucher at a Personal Training gym if he wins the D-Ou Grand Prix.

Four of the D-Ou Grand Prix participants who failed to make the final now have to team up together and fight the entire DAMNATION T.A.

Naruki Doi returns and gets his request to fight HARASHIMA granted. It’s in a 6-Man Tag Match though and HARASHIMA has to fight against the rest of his DISASTER BOX stablemates.


Hartley Faces RENEGADES, Dieno’s Selfish Matches, Rookie Munetatsu, New Year’s Eve Participants

November 21, 2022

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

0. Dark Match: Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen & Gota Ihashi (w/ Miyako Haru) Vs SAKI & Yasu Urano (w/ KUDO)
1. Chris Brookes, Mizuki Watase & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
2. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
3. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki Vs Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama Vs Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi

Drew Parker had to pull out of tomorrow’s show due to an arm injury. Mizuki Watase is his replacement.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami Vs Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko & Mahiro Kiryu
2. Suzume Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
4. Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

The undercard has now been filled out. Daydream are back together for a match against the Karate Tag of Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano. Also Yoshiko Hasegawa from Ganbare☆Pro returns for another appearance in Tokyo Joshi Pro. This time she’s getting a singles match against Suzume.

GANBARE☆PRO “TOKIMEKI NISHISU 2022”, 03/12/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. GanPro Vs P.P.P: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase Vs Kentaro Hachisu & Echika Miyabi
2. Tokimeki Nishisu 2022 Special Tag Match: Hartley Jackson & Seiya Morohashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase

This is one last chance for Watase to prove he will be some kind of threat against Hartley Jackson. The Spirit Of Ganbare Champion suddenly turned sour on the idea he could be welcomed into the Ganpro family because of Watase’s recent weak efforts against him. So this time Watase is calling in his buddy Shigehiro Irie to provide back up against the champ and Seiya Morohashi. The power of RENEGADES may be just what Watase needs.

Yuna Manase and Echika Miyabi are in another match together after the two enjoyed their first rendezvous. This time the match is attracting other members of Ganpro and P.P.P Tokyo because Yumehito Imanari and Kentaro Hachisu are getting involved too.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya

The D-Ou Grand Prix final is between Yuki Ueno and Yukio Naya. Ueno lost in last year’s final and is determined not to repeat that result. Naya has already called his shot after he wins the tournament to challenge Kazusada Higuchi for the KO-D Openweight Title in Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of the year.

Why does Eddie Kingston get to have all the fun? Joey Janela wants to fight Jun Akiyama too and is willing to put the DDT Extreme Title on the line for it to happen.

DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION”, 21/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
2. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Muscle Sakai

A book launch to celebrate 20 years in the business is a good enough reason to give Danshoku Dieno some match making powers for the event. He is happily being selfish with the power by booking himself against his old friend Muscle Sakai. He also wants to see what Yuki Iino versus Yumehito Imanari would be like.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2022”, 27/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Munetatsu Nakamura Debut Match: Munetatsu Nakamura Vs X
2. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Mizuki Watase

The new rookie Munetatsu Nakamura is a 21 year old college student from Chiba. He is 168cm tall, weighs 65kg and his athletic experience is with wrestling and Judo. Nakamura originally trained for the DDTeeeen!! project but never wrestled a match (unless he was Ilusion all along but I have no evidence to back that up). Instead he switched his training over to Ganpro earlier this year and will make his pro debut with them.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata
2. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

The KO-D Title shot at the end of the year is not the automatic prize for the D-Ou winner but it’s clear Ueno or Naya is going to get it.

Akito needs some powerful and influential people to help him keep Pheromones under control or else DDT is at risk of being banned from Korakuen Hall and probably all the other venues within Tokyo Dome City. Who could be more powerful and influential than politcians? Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu are here to help. Shunma Katsumata is also getting dragged into the fight.

It’s already been announced but here’s a reminder that Konosuke Takeshita and Cara Noir will be on the show. Takeshita is still part of the DDT roster along with his new affiliation with AEW.

“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2022 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

DDT: Kazusada Higuchi, HARASHIMA, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes, MAO, Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada

BJW: Hideyoshi Kamitani, Takuya Nomura, Kota Sekifuda, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Daisuke Sekimoto, Daichi Hashimoto, Yuya Aoki & Yuki Ishikawa

Year End Dream Slot: Masato Tanaka, Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka, Masashi Takeda, MUSASHI, Yuma Aoyagi, Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) & Kikutaro

The lineup for the annual New Year’s Eve trios tournament has been revealed. There will be eight teams involved each containing one DDT wrestler, one Big Japan wrestler and one “Dream” wrestler. The teams will be chosen on 24th November. There will be two non-tournament matches happening on the New Year’s Eve show as well.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL” Results

November 18, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
450 Fans

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ishida with the Sudden Death (6:45).
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno when Iino pinned Honda after the Sexy Lock Up (8:28).
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when KANON pinned Koroku with the Sleepy Hollow (5:57).
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (11:38).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4) ended in a Double Countout (11:36).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (4) defeated Tetsuya Endo (5) with the Harai Goshi (7:05).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (5) with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (16:53).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (4) defeated Yuji Hino (7) with a Modified Samson Clutch (12:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (8) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (7) with the Back Drop (19:05).

A Block

1. Yuki Ueno (6)
2. Tetsuya Endo (5)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (5)
4. RSP (4)
-. Joey Janela (4)
-. Naomi Yoshimura (4)

B Block

1. Yukio Naya (8)
2. Yuji Hino (7)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (7)
4. Chris Brookes (4)
5. KANON (2)
-. MAO (2)

The race to the final is complete and two men are left to fight over who will win the 2022 D-Ou Grand Prix. The Block was decided by what is possibly the biggest upset in the entire tournament this year when Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi! The reigning KO-D Openweight Champion was one of two unbeaten wrestlers left in the group and when the path opened up for him to remain the only one at the finish, but Naya decided it would go differently. The Headbutt was the key move in a Higuchi match yet again. The twist however was the move came from Naya to get the advantage. Some Knee Lifts were used afterwards to soften up Higuchi for the Back Drop for the surprise result. Naya’s win means he vaults over the two top heavyweights to reach the final!

So how did it all go wrong for Yuji Hino, the other undefeated wrestler in B Block? Blame CDK for that. Chris Brookes relied on Masahiro Takanashi to help him get a win. The referee was taken out after being used as a shield then Takanashi gave Hino a Low Blow right when he was about to hit the Fuckin’ BOMB on Brookes. Makoto Oishi came to the rescue by grabbing the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt off of Takanashi. However Brookes then pushed Oishi right into Hino, knocking the big guy loopy when he head first came into contact with the title belt. He was still able to kick out of the pin but was too dazed to kick out of a Samson Clutch afterwards. Brookes isn’t happy with this year being the fourth in a row he failed to win the final. If things don’t improve for him in the next 12 months he does not see a point in him being in the next D-Ou GP. Hino isn’t mad because he doesn’t feel like he lost. All he knows is his head and crotch both hurt so he just wants to go home and get into his bed.

The A Block was a much tighter race with five of the six contestants still in the running one way or another. When the dust settled it was Yuki Ueno who was left standing above everyone else in first place uncontested. He took a beating to get there because Daisuke Sasaki attacked him with plenty of chairs in their match. But Ueno had enough with that kind of stuff and stopped Sasaki with a Dropkick. He hit the BME but Sasaki only kicked out at one. He also blocked the Crossface Lock when Sasaki tried to convert it into the Crossover Facelock. However the BME only got a one count so Ueno had to pull out his new finisher, the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher to clear past Sasaki and book his place in the final. Sasaki is so upset over the loss he says 2022 has ended for himself and DAMNATION T.A as well as the first half of 2023. You’ll have to wait until the second half of 2023 to see them get their revenge!

Tetsuya Endo fell at the final hurdle thanks to Naomi Yoshimura. Endo was fighting for first place going into this show and would have made the final had he won, now that we know how Ueno Vs Sasaki went. Instead the Harai Goshi pinned Endo out of nowhere and dashed his chances of advancing. It’s been one of the few bright spots of Yoshimura’s tournament this year and he is currently not in the mood to talk about it. Meanwhile Endo is already thinking of any lessons he learned, figuring out that he has not grown since their last singles match while Yoshimura clearly has.

The two American wrestlers both left their mark in the A Block as wild cards disrupting everyone else’s chances. Both Joey Janela and RSP had slim chances of staying in the Grand Prix but they also had their sights set on each other during the entire tour due to their history together on the American indies. It led to a match where the two tried to destroy each other with the biggest moves they could think of. The biggest came when RSP gave Janela a Death Valley Bomb from the ring apron onto the floor outside. The move took out both men and the match ended in a Double Countout. Due to the new scoring rules implemented this year, a Double Counout means neither wrestlers received any points. Janela takes some enjoyment that the result stopped RSP from getting anywhere near the final. He also now wants to move on to his next target, Jun Akiyama! He thought he would get to fight Akiyama until he found out DDT added an age limit to this year’s D-Ou GP. If that’s not enough, while Janela is here in Japan Akiyama is in America wrestling Eddie Kingston in Janela’s previous workplace AEW! Janela wants Akiyama to come face him when he returns to Japan.

The D-Ou GP final is now set. The A Block winner Yuki Ueno faces the B Block winner Yukio Naya on 4th December. Ueno is in the final for the second year in a row and did not expect to be seeing Naya with him here. Naya’s a big guy but Ueno wants to live up to his promise to carry DDT on his own back. Naya said he is ready to do that too. He just beat Higuchi and now he has to beat Ueno. Should he do that then Naya will make it clear he wants to challenge Higuchi for the KO-D Title inside Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of December!

Even without the tournament there is a lot of news coming out of this show. Naruki Doi made his next appearance for DDT, forming a team with DISASTER BOX that was nicknamed Disaster Muscle. Doi felt like he was being pranked with DISASTER BOX, The 37KAMIINA and even Takeshi Masada all getting him involved in wacky spots. Toru Owashi did his lucha while Kazuki Hirata tried to mimic MAO’s Koppojutsu but was easily brushed aside. He also tried to wear the Hirata GO! glasses but the music immediately caused Doi to kick him. Toi Kojima was the one to step up to Doi but was cut down with the Doi 555 and Bakatare Sliding Kick. After the match HARASHIMA welcomed Doi to DDT and congratulated him on winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, one of the few championships that HARASHIMA has never held. Doi asked the fans if they would like to see him face HARASHIMA some day? He then said he will be back in DDT on the 21st and 29th December. If anyone wants to fight Doi, Owashi & Hirata for the titles then Doi will accept any challengers… except for Shunma Katsumata.

KANON had a poor run in the tournament but that is all behind him now. He rejoined MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita to get a win against Eruption & Yuya Koroku. It was a close match with Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani keeping DAMNATION T.A on their toes. Koroku then took the lead against KANON but a reversal of fortunes saw KANON pin him with the Sleepy Hollow.

There were also two matches on the pre-show. Danshoku Dieno was absent with a fever so it was up to the rest of Pheromones to keep it up with their obscene antics. This is bad news for Akito because their behaviour is getting so bad that Korakuen Hall management may consider stepping in and banning DDT from doing further shows in the building. Yuki Iino & Koju Takeda may have found a kindred spirit because Gorgeous Matsuno was more than ready to compare his fit body with theirs. Antonio Honda used Iino’s backside to charge up Gongitsune but some bad targeting led to both Akito & Takanashi getting knocked out. Yumehito Imanari saw the opening and got his partners to lock up with each other. Doing so had them essentially teabag all of their opponents over and over into submission. Akito was mad with the result because he bungled the numbers advantage and now DDT is at risk of being kicked out of Korakuen. Pheromones need to be subjugated so Akito will bring in the political tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu for the big 29th December show at Tokyo Dome City Hall!

The other dark match saw Yusuke Okada take all that Yuki Ishida could throw at him. Ishida fought out of a Crab Hold and kicked out of a long distance Diving Headbutt. It was a good effort but Okada beat him with the Sudden Death in the end.

Katsumata feels like there is not enough excitement going around so he came up with an idea to do an Explosion Death Match in the new year. So one will take place in Tsurumi on 7th January where Katsumata will aim to surpass Atsushi Onita and become the Reiwa era’s version of “Evil Ways”. He promised that show will not end until he blows up Onita!

An update was given in regards to LiLiCo’s request to take part in the Anal Explosion opening ceremony for the 29h December show in TDC Hall. Hisaya Imabayashi took part in a show with LiLiCo’s husband Ryohei Odai during the week so he recorded a video discussing the situation with him. Odai does not like the idea but is under the impression that all couples have a rule where they do not need to be concerned for what their partners do with their anuses. So he is ok with LiLiCo and DDT going ahead with the ceremony.

DDT has a Korakuen show on 21st December to celebrate the launch of Dieno’s new book about his views on pro wrestling. Dieno will have a match against Muscle Sakai on the show. There will also be a match between Yuki Iino and Yumehito Imanari just because Dieno wants to see it happen.

Matsuno gave everyone a news update about his planned kidney transplant operation for his partner Junko Tashiro. It was previously announced that the operation was delayed until next Spring because Tashiro is in stable health and has no need to get a transplant right away. The operation is now scheduled for April but may be delayed again if Tashiro remains in good health. It is inevitable that the transplant will need to happen some day and when it does, Matsuno made a vow to return to the ring after it is completed.


D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 Paths To The Final

November 17, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) Vs Naomi Yoshimura (2)
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs Yuki Ueno (4)
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Yuji Hino (7)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) Vs Yukio Naya (6)

Tomorrow sees which two wrestlers will advance to the D-Ou Grand Prix final. There are no clear single leader in either block and there’s room for an outside competitor to leapfrog over those tied in first place when all is said and done. So it’s time to work out who has to do what to make it to the final. The Head To Head rule is in effect for any tiebreakers, which means whoever won their match against their deadlocked opponent in the block stage moves up on top. If that tiebreaker was a draw then an extra playoff match will have to go ahead somewhere during tomorrow’s show. Remember there are two types of ways points are awarded for matches that end in a draw. A Time Limit Draw or a Double KO results in 1 point given to each wrestler. But a Double DQ/No Contest or a Double Countout means nobody gets any points. There are some crazy scenarios that can happen if there are a mixture of ties happening tomorrow but some are so farfetched I won’t go into those details. These tournaments rarely go the chaos route where multiple claims for first place all get tangled up together at the end. You’ll have to go far back to the 2009 Fire Festival to see something like that.

A Block

1. Tetsuya Endo (5)

Goes to the final by beating Yoshimura and if Sasaki cannot win his match. Will end up tied with Sasaki if both win, leading to a playoff match between the two. Endo goes through with a draw if Sasaki loses and Janela does not win. If Endo and Sasaki both draw their matches, that scenario can turn into a 3 way tie with the winner of Janela Vs RSP.

1. Daisuke Sasaki (5)

Reaches the final by beating Ueno and if Endo cannot win his match. Will end up tied with Endo if both win, leading to a playoff match between the two. Sasaki goes through with a draw if Endo loses and RSP does not win. If Endo and Sasaki both draw their matches, that scenario can turn into a 3 way tie with the winner of Janela Vs RSP.

3. Yuki Ueno (4)

Ueno needs to beat Sasaki and hope that Endo loses. That means he wins the tiebreaker over either Janela or RSP and finishes first. Anything else ends his run.

3. RSP (4)

It gets tricky from here on out. RSP’s route is to beat Janela, see Endo lose and Sasaki Vs Ueno go to a draw in order to get a tiebreaker in his favour.

3. Joey Janela (4)

Janela cannot win the group directly but can reach two playoff scenarios. He needs to beat RSP first of all. Then he can tie on points with either Endo and Sasaki if both draw or Endo and Ueno if Endo draws and Ueno wins. Either scenario results in a 3 Way playoff match.

6. Naomi Yoshimura (2)

No chance of reaching the final. All he can do is play spoiler. Can prevent Endo from finishing in 1st by beating him or possibly tying with him. Most likely to finish dead last unless he wins and Ueno loses.

B Block

1. Yuji Hino (7)

Hino beating Brookes and Higuchi failing to win sends Hino to the final. Hino and Higuchi both winning or drawing to finish with the same amount of points results in a playoff match between the two.

1. Kazusada Higuchi (7)

Higuchi winning against Naya while Hino fails to win sends Higuchi through. Higuchi and Hino both winning or drawing to finish with the same amount of points results in a playoff match between the two.

3. Yukio Naya (6)

Needs to beat Higuchi and Hino to lose in order to leapfrog over both into the final.

4. Chris Brookes (2)

Eliminated but can ruin Hino’s tournament by preventing him from winning their match. Losing puts him in a 3 Way tie for last place with KANON and MAO.

4. KANON (2)

Eliminated with no more matches left. Potentially finishes above MAO because of the Head To Head win.

4. MAO (2)

Eliminated with no more matches left. Potentially finishes below KANON because of the Head To Head loss.


D-Ou Heading Into Final Stages, TJPW’s Global Week, Last ONLY WE Show Of 2022

November 16, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) Vs Naomi Yoshimura (2)
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs Yuki Ueno (4)
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Yuji Hino (7)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) Vs Yukio Naya (6)

I’ll dig into the different paths to the final in another post tomorrow but long story short, the A Block is wide open for everyone except Naomi Yoshimura while the B Block is coming down to Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino and Yukio Naya. The matches will be overseen by Kenta Kobashi who will be in attendnace.

Danshoku Dieno is off the show with a fever. The Pheromones match on the pre-show will now be a 3 Vs 4 Handicap match with Akito’s team having the one man advantage.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 20/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Hikari Noa Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. Hyper Misao Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo
4. Miu Watanabe Vs Kaya Toribami
5. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Haruna Neko
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie & Billie Starkz

Miyu Yamashita has come back to Japan with a new White Belt over her shoulder but her international adventure continues much closer to home. She and Yuka Sakazaki both have foreign opponents at Korakuen Hall next weekend so all four will face off in a big preview tag match. Sakazaki has Billie Starkz to worry about in a first time meeting. Yamashita meanwhile gets right back to business as her global rivalry with Millie McKenzie reaches its third country.

Also back from England is Hyper Misao. Did she bring back anything nice for Pom Harajuku? She’s been on her best behaviour while Misao was abroad.

Maki Itoh is wrestling in America for GCW and JCW this weekend. She’s already in the company so who knows, maybe she shows up somewhere at AEW tonight?

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

0. Dark Match: Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen & Gota Ihashi (w/ Miyako Haru) Vs SAKI & Yasu Urano (w/ KUDO)
1. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki Vs Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama Vs Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W
2. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
3. Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi

The dark match has some news surrounding it. Yuna Mizumori is out of action with a knee injury so SAKI will take her place. That’s not all, the UMA Corps creature known as Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen entered the Ebisuko Tavern during the week and attacked KUDO with its long arms! Gota Ihashi didn’t do anything to stop it because hey, he’s teaming with that monster and KUDO is supporting the other side. Screw him.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz

Juria Nagano and Yoshiko Hasegawa will both be on the show.

DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022
Chiba 2AW Square

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
2. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ DAMNATION T.A Vs PERON GRANDES!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Shogun Okamoto Vs Akira Raijin
3. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ Harimao Vs Ω!: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi

For the last time this year DDT and ONLY WE have a co-promoted show together. Although the ONLY WE stuff has kind of been hijacked by the Ω revival that took place on these shows. The D-Ou Grand Prix will be over at this point but I bet Higuchi and Hino will have unsettled business after their block match ended in a stalemate. Yoshimura wants to put the whole tournament behind him at this point and you can never count out Makoto Oishi in these situations.

Some of the earlier ONLY WE shows had DAMNATION T.A and PERON GRANDES alliance going on but that seems to be out the window now.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO” Results

November 13, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO”, 13/11/2022
Kyoto KBS Hall
285 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. RSP, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Joey Janela, Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi when Koroku submitted Sumi with the Chickenwing Arm Lock (4:59).
2. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno by Disqualification when Iino attacked the referee (9:32).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) defeated KANON (2) with the Back Drop (8:21).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (7) defeated MAO (2) with the Fuckin’ BOMB (10:15).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Naruki Doi & Akito defeated Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (12:26).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) defeated Naomi Yoshimura (2) with the Sasaki Hurricanrana (9:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) defeated Chris Brookes (2) with a Headbutt (14:12).
8. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Saki Akai Produce Match: Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA defeated Aja Kong, Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata (c) when Sakaguchi pinned Katsumata with the God’s Right Knee (16:18).
*Yukio Sakaguchi becomes the 1,555th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (c) with a School Boy (7:59 pm).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,556th champion.

A Block

1. Tetsuya Endo (5)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (5)
3. Yuki Ueno (4)
-. RSP (4)
-. Joey Janela (4)
6. Naomi Yoshimura (2)

B Block

1. Yuji Hino (7)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (7)
3. Yukio Naya (6)
4. Chris Brookes (2)
-. KANON (2)
-. MAO (2)

The day belonged to Saki Akai but we’ll start off with the D-Ou Grand Prix matches first. The B Block has become a close race between three wrestlers. Kazusada Higuchi is possibly one win away from reaching the final after he beat Chris Brookes. It may have come at a cost of his right hand though because Brookes attacked it with a metal fitting. The damage was enough to prevent Higuchi from using the Brain Claw but he pulled out a big Headbutt to put Brookes down for the three count. Higuchi felt his opponent’s passion in the match and felt he couldn’t lose to him. Brookes accepts he is out of the running but will do his best to beat Yuji Hino in his final block match.

Over in the A Block Daisuke Sasaki used a lot of foul play against Naomi Yoshimura by attacking his legs with chairs and getting MJ Paul to interfere. If that wasn’t enough, Sasaki used the Pedigree late in the match. That was the move Sasaki used to give Yoshimura a cervical sprain back in 2019. Thankfully the move did not end the same way today but Sasaki was able to pin Yoshimura with the Hurricanrana afterwards. The defeat ends any hope Yoshimura has of catching up with the field and he now cannot reach the final. Sasaki however is now neck and neck in first place with a former ally.

Hino finds himself tied with Higuchi in first place of the B Block. MAO tried to throw everything he could at him but couldn’t win. Not even the Alien Plancha and Michinoku Driver II could put the big man away. Hino still praised him for being an interesting wrestler. He said MAO’s Plancha was a higher jump than TAKA Michinoku’s and MAO’s version of the Michinoku Driver was more effective. For those reasons Hino is looking forward to fighting him again.

While Hino and Higuchi are fighting over the top spot, Yukio Naya is catching up with them. His win against KANON brings him only one point behind the leaders and a golden chance to leapfrog over them into the final. KANON ends his tournament run with only one win but still enjoyed being able to do whatever he wanted on his own.

With the Grand Prix out of the way, let’s get to the headline match. The show was Akai’s homecoming in Kyoto and she got to team with Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA against Aja Kong & The 37KAMIINA. The match was special for Shunma Katsumata too because of his longtime association with Kong going back to when he as a child got to meet and take pictures with her. Kong gave Akai a beating but Akai still fought back, hitting a big dive onto Yuki Ueno & Katsumata. Kong tried to attack Sakaguchi with a steel can but his Katsumata by accident. Sakaguchi then hit Katsumata with the God’s Right Knee, pinning him to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.

Sakaguchi couldn’t even catch his breath when Akai rolled him up with a School Boy after the match to win the Iron Man Title from him! Before Sakaguchi could complain, Akai said he once told her not to show any openings to be attacked in the ring at any time. She is really happy she got to do a show in Kyoto again and be able to win a championship there too. After she finished her speech to close out the show, Hideki Okatani rolled her over with a School Boy but she kicked out at two, remaining as champion. She later said her goal with the belt is to achieve the most title defences with it.

Naruki Doi made his second DDT appearance today, winning a trios match with Tetsuya Endo & Akito on his team. He was impressed by the opposing team made up of young wrestlers but next he would like to have matches against both Endo and Akito!

Since Kyoto is home to game masters Nintendo, Danshoku Dieno declared he & Yuki Iino were going to become Pheromones Masters today. The result of this was Iino stripping out of his wrestling gear and “evolving” while Pokémon game music played over the speakers. This plan backfired when he ran the ropes in as little clothing as possible and ran into Yukinori Matsui, crotch to face. That was enough to get Iino disqualified.