Daisuke Sasaki’s BOSJ Adventure

June 14, 2026

Last year DDT regained a presence in New Japan’s annual Best Of The Super Jr. tournament by sending MAO over to compete. Things worked out very well for him and he narrowly missed out on qualifying into the final rounds outside of the group stage. I had expectations that MAO would compete again this year but it turns out his focus on becoming the most square shaped wrestler to ever live had the side effect of him growing too big to be eligible for the tournament. Instead, DDT decided to enter Daisuke Sasaki 14 years after his last appearance in BOSJ. He’s done this twice before to poor results. In 2011 he only got one win and in 2012 he only got two. He’s mostly a different wrestler in 2026 and he was able to have his best results ever. Too bad he peaked very early in the tour and just kept falling until the end. The moral of this story is MAO needs to go on a diet.

B Block

1. Robbie Eagles (12)
-. YOH (12)
-. El Desperado (12)
-. SHO (12)
-. Taiji Ishimori (12)
6. Daisuke Sasaki (6)
-. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6)
-. Hyo (6)
-. Jakob Austin Young (6)
-. KUSHIDA (6)


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 14/05/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,445 Fans (No Vacancy)

8. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki (2) defeated El Desperado (0) with La Mistica Crossface Lock (16:10).

Sasaki jumped out of the starting blocks very well on opening day. His first match in the B Block was against his good old friend El Desperado. Things got off to a friendly start with some polite hand kissing but they decided to turn up the aggression by fighting outside over to the commentary table. Back in the ring the match went back and forth until Sasaki shoved the referee into Despy’s way, allowing him to catch Despy with a Low Blow kick by the corner. Sasaki then used La Mistica Crossface Lock to make his friend submit. Obviously due to the way Sasaki won the match, Desperado didn’t want to shake his hand afterwards. He flipped him off instead. In the leadup to the tournament, Sasaki bragged that he was going to win it but secretly doubted himself. But after beating Desperado he is now 100% see himself going all the way!


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 16/05/2026
Tokyo Esforta Arena Hachioji
1,076 Fans

5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki (4) defeated KUSHIDA (2) with La Mistica Crossface Lock (7:17).

Sasaki fought KUSHIDA in the BOSJ once before, losing to him in 2011. KUSHIDA is making a habit of wrestling barefoot nowadays so Sasaki dared him into doing it for this match and he would join in. The plan was to target KUSHIDA’s left leg because it wasn’t 100% and he hit it with a chair against the ring post. When KUSHIDA kept making comebacks, Sasaki would fight dirty to cut him off so KUSHIDA used a trick of his own and tried to shove his sock into Sasaki’s mouth. Sasaki went one step further by grabbing KUSHIDA’s foot and taking a bite out of it! He then applied the Cross Facelock while smothering KUSHIDA with the sock to make him give up. Sasaki complained about how awful KUSHIDA’s feet taste like but at least he got revenge from their first match 15 years ago. Now that he has beaten Despy, KUSHIDA and Hiromu Takahashi in BOSJ matches Sasaki called himself the next symbol of New Japan’s junior heavyweight division.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 17/05/2026
Tokyo National Yoyogi Stadium Gymnsium #2
1,664 Fans

6. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki (6) defeated Hyo (2) with the Crossover Face Lock (9:34).

The good times kept on rolling for Sasaki when he got his third win in a row. Hyo from Dragon Gate was his next opponent and this guy had a tendency of using a stuffed leopard named Myonmyon to gather fan support. Sasaki took advantage by grabbing Myonmyon and throwing it away so Hyo would be too distracted to defend himself from getting a chair thrown at him. Hyo did have the awareness to avoid a Low Blow after the referee distraction but he still got caught with Sasaki’s finisher. Sasaki then switched it over to the Crossover Face Lock for the victory. He said Hyo was so fast he couldn’t see him but he got out of the match unscathed. He is now confident he will go undefeated without a scratch. Instead the opposite happened and he wouldn’t win a block match again for the rest of the tournament.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 20/05/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,257 Fans

5. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: Taiji Ishimori (4) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (6) with a Gedo Clutch (11:36).

The match against Taiji Ishimori turned into more of a DDT Vs NJPW battle than expected. The two promotions had an inter-promotional show coming up after BOSJ and Sasaki made it known to everyone that the commentator Haruo Murata was a DDT guy first and foremost. He then tried to use Murata as a shield when the match broke out of the ring. Ishimori responded by threatening to use Milano Collection A.T. as his human shield. Sasaki soon got a taste of his own medicine when Ishimori used the ref push spot against him and did a Low Blow of his own. Sasaki was in too much pain to kick out of the Gedo Clutch after that and complained that Ishimori didn’t fight fair and square. He then got paranoid thinking that by losing the match he was already eliminated from the tournament. He’ll get revenge by kicking every New Japan wrestler in the dick!


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 22/05/2026
Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium Sub-Arena (Asue Arena Osaka)
1,192 Fans – No Vacancy

2. Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Masatora Yasuda when Young pinned Yasuda with the Jakob’s Ladder (6:33).

A couple of the shows gave Sasaki warmup matches for some of his upcoming opponents. He was given the young lion Masatora Yasuda as his main tag partner for these matches. First up they took on a pair of American wrestlers from United Empire. Sasaki’s focus was on Jakob Austin Young while Yasuda got scrappy with Zane Jay. The pairings swapped over and Young ended up beating Yasuda with his finisher. He then taunted Sasaki by taking his chair and sitting on it in the ring. Sasaki showed some sympathy towards Yasuda and warned Young he will end up getting beaten up like Yasuda in their block match.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 23/05/2026
Hyogo Arcrea Himeji
1,153 Fans

6. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: Jakob Austin Young (4) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (6) with a BITES THE DUST onto a chair (6:58).

Once again Sasaki now knows what it is like when the cheating happens against him. Young had Zay in his corner for the match and relied on him to interfere or distract the referee when necessary. Sasaki evened the odds by grabbing a chair from the commentary table (and was angry to find another announcer there instead of Murata). Sasaki would then make Young tap out to the Crossface Lock but Jay prevented the ref from seeing it. Sasaki tried to hit Young with the chair during the distraction but Young Dropkicked him in the leg instead, making Sasaki fall face first onto the chair. Young then gave him a Wrist Clutch DDT onto the chair and got rid of the evidence before the ref could turn back around and count the pinfall. With two block losses in a row, Sasaki was now getting paranoid he was falling out of contention.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 24/05/2026
Kyoto KBS Hall
767 Fans

1. Daisuke Sasaki & Masatora Yasuda defeated Toru Yano & Tatsuya Matsumoto when Sasaki submitted Matsumoto with the Crossface Lock (5:43).

Speaking of cheating, Sasaki took on a master of it in a non-tournament tag bout next. Toru Yano was there to look over the young lion Tatsuya Matsumoto but then raced with Sasaki to remove the turnbuckle pads from the opposite corners. Sasaki pushed Matsumoto into one of the exposed buckles and then did a Diving Elbow Drop for a nearfall. Matsumoto showing guts by kicking out only meant Sasaki had to make him submit instead. Sasaki again stood up for Yasuda then started acting like he is from DDT. Yasuda got nervous and started apologizing when Sasaki ordered him to start talking.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 27/05/2026
Shizuoka Kira Messe Numazu
777 Fans

4. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (6) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (6) with a Figure 4 Leg Lock (6:47).

By this point of the tour, Sasaki figured out the cheating that worked out so well for him at the start had now become ineffective. The solution to this is to cheat even more! Learning from his match with Young, Sasaki was now bringing in his DAMNATION T.A stablemate Ilusion to be his ringside attendant for the match against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Ilusion’s interference worked up to a point but backfired when Sasaki took a drink of Kanemaru’s whiskey. Sasaki spat out Whiskey Mist but Kanemaru ducked and Ilusion got blinded with it instead. Kanemaru then gave Sasaki a series of Knee Crushers before putting him in a Figure 4 Leg Lock to make him submit. He said the result showed the difference between brains and skill. Sasaki tried to shrug off the loss because he got to drink some of Kanemaru’s whiskey.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 29/05/2026
Niigata Tsubame City Gymnasium
825 Fans

2. Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Toru Yano & Masatora Yasuda when Jackson pinned Yasuda with a Senton (6:51).

This time Sasaki & Yasuda had Yano teaming up with them as the three faced off against TMDK. For Sasaki it would give him a taste of wrestling Robbie Eagles before their block match the next day. He got to wrestle Ryohei Oiwa a little bit too but that meant poor Yasuda had to fight off the big boy Hartley Jackson. He got crushed with a Senton for his troubles. Yano started arguing with Sasaki over it because he didn’t want to team up with a DDT wrestler in the first place. Sasaki later tried to convince Yasuda they should go challenge for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 30/05/2026
Toyama Takaoka Techno Dome
957 Fans

7. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: Robbie Eagles (8) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (6) with the Ron Miller Special (13:17).

Although Sasaki did take Murata’s chair and used it as a weapon on Eagles, he was polite enough to give it back to the commentator and fought the rest of the match only by bending a few rules instead of breaking them. Other than that the match came down to a test of skill. Sasaki almost got the win using the Sasaki-Style Hurricanrana but Eagles outdid him by kicking out and then wrapping Sasaki up in the Ron Miller Special to make him give up. Eagles said backstage that he and Sasaki share a closer connection than people may realize. Eagles has trained under Ikuto Hidaka in the TAKESHIBA Colosseum so that means he learned from the tag partner of Sasaki’s mentor Dick Togo.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 02/06/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,310 Fans

4. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: SHO (10) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (6) with the Shock Arrow (6:43).

With only two block matches remaining and having been stuck in the mud with 6 points, Sasaki was now on his last legs in the block. He needed to beat SHO from House Of Torture just to stay in the running even if his hopes of reaching the playoff rounds were slim. Sasaki was led down to the ring by Hideki Okatani while wearing a full entrance costume until SHO ambushed the two of them. But as SHO stomped on “Sasaki” in the ring, the real Sasaki showed up behind him and launched a counter attack. The first one was just Ilusion in disguise! Yujiro Takahashi got involved to help SHO but a ref bump allowed Okatani to attack them with his bamboo sword. Sasaki then pulled out a stun gun but SHO distracted him by holding up a metal plate with a picture of Dick Togo on it. Sasaki hesitated to risk besmirching his mentor but closed in to use the stun gun. SHO blocked him with the plate, used the plate to hit Sasaki over the head with and then pinned him with the Shock Arrow. SHO explained he was able to block the stun gun with a metal plate because there was a layer of cardboard behind the picture of Togo that absorbed the electricity.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 03/06/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,255 Fans

4. BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33 – B Block: YOH (12) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (6) with the Five Star Clutch (9:42).

No result would send Sasaki into the semi finals so all he could do on the final day of block matches was play spoiler against YOH. As you all know by now that did not happen and YOH went on to win the whole tournament. YOH was in a DDT kind of mood because he kept flashing Gongitsune hand signs during the match. He also grabbed Milano’s chair to match with Sasaki taking Murata’s chair at ringside. Both sides stared each other down until they rushed back into the ring to avoid getting counted out. Sasaki got out of an Anaconda Vice by poking the ref in the eye and then poking YOH. He also avoided the Direct Drive but a scramble for cradling pins led to YOH catching Sasaki in the Five Star Clutch for the three count. While Sasaki was lamenting over only gaining one extra BOSJ win than his previous attempts 14 years ago, El Desperado barged in complaining about Sasaki’s defeat knocking himself out of the tournament. Despy cannot believe he lost to Sasaki but Sasaki couldn’t beat YOH! Sasaki promised he will do better when he comes back to BOSJ in another 14 years time.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 05/06/2026
G-Messe Gunma
1,102 Fans

5. El Desperado & Hyo defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Dick Togo when Desperado submitted Togo with the Numero Dos (6:20).

All that was left to do for Sasaki’s final tour dates were take part in non-tournament tag matches. Desperado wanted to team up with Hyo so the two of them took on Sasaki and his mentor Togo. It was then revealed that Togo had kidnapped Myonmyon at some point before the show. Hyo was able to rescue his little buddy while Despy got Togo to submit to the Numero Dos. Togo quickly got revenge by kidnapping Myonmyon again while Sasaki used a stun gun to keep Hyo at a distance.


NJPW “SEKICHU PRESENTS BEST OF THE SUPER JR. 33”, 07/06/2026
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium (EBARA WAVE Arena Ota)
3,969 Fans (No Vacancy)

3. Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, Daisuke Sasaki, Nick Wayne & Valiente Jr. defeated Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X, Titán, Gedo & Daiki Nagai when Taguchi submitted Gedo with the Oh My & Garankle (10:25).

Sasaki’s last match on the final night was a complete smorgasbord of wrestlers from all over including some from AEW and CMLL. Gedo was the odd man out because he was the only person in the 10-Man Tag Match to have not competed in BOSJ this year. Sasaki wasn’t enthusiastic to team with Ryusuke Taguchi but did seem to get along with Master Wato. After the match Sasaki told New Japan when he comes back in 14 years he doesn’t want to team with wrestlers like those two again.


Charismania Updates, Kyoraku Kyomei Does Not Want A Title Match? Kasai & Son

June 12, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2026 ~NEXT DOOR~ IN YOKOHAMA”, 13/06/2026
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Pom Harajuku Vs Arisu Endo
2. HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida Vs Toga & Uta Takami
3. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Shion Kanzaki
4. Suzume & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Wakana Uehara & Chika Nanase
5. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Ren Konatsu Vs Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Raku
6. Yuki Arai, Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Miyu Yamashita, Sakura Hattori & Kira Summer

Tomorrow’s Tokyo Joshi Pro show in Yokohama is sold out. The road to “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’26” begins here!

DDT “YOKOHAMA NIGHT SPLASH 2026”, 13/06/2026
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Ilusion Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Danshoku Dieno, KANON & Kazuki Hirata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul Vs MAO, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO)
4. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Rukiya Vs Shinya Aoki, Junta Miyawaki & Yuki Ishida
6. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y

The contract signing for the next DDT Extreme Title match will be held at the start of this show. That will be when Hideki Okatani tells Junta Miyawaki what the stipulation of their match on 21st June will be.

DDT “TROPICAL NANIWAN SUMMER 2026”, 20/06/2026
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. Yuki Ishida Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
3. MAO, KANON & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Akiyama, Rukiya & Masami Inahata
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Akito, Junta Miyawaki, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuni
5. Special Single Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Viento Levante
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs FANTÔMES DRAMATIC!: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda

More focus is being put on The 37KAMIINA against FANTÔMES DRAMATIC as we head towards the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on 21st June.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2026 ~NEXT DOOR~ IN NAGOYA”, 21/06/2026
Aichi Chunichi Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Sakura Hattori
2. Mizuki & Uta Takami Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Raku
3. Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Toga & Chika Nanase
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Wakana Uehara & Kira Summer
5. Rika Tatsumi Vs Shoko Nakajima
6. Miu Watanabe Vs Hyper Misao
7. Yuki Arai & Ren Konatsu Vs Miyu Yamashita & Shion Kanzaki

After passing her first year in pro wrestling, Ren Konatsu is being rewarded with a main event spot teaming up with Yuki Arai! However Shion Kanzaki is only six months into her career though and she’s in the same spot teaming with Miyu Yamashita so who is to say which is the better reward for the respective amount of time in the business.

The two singles matches underneath could end up being previews for a non-existent match down the line. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao don’t have a problem with wrestling Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi under normal circumstances but they’re not so enthusiastic over the reason why the these matches are happening here.

DDT “OWARI WARS 2026”, 21/06/2026
Aichi Chunichi Hall & Conference

1. Akito Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Jun Akiyama & Rukiya Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Masami Inahata
3. Special Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & Kumadori Vs Yuni & Yuk Ishida
4. Special 10-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante Vs Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion
6. DDT Extreme Title: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Junta Miyawaki
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y

Starting from this show Kumadori is scheduled to appear on DDT shows twice a month for the rest of the summer.

BASARA “BASARA 309 ~UTAGE~”, 23/06/2026
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Tournament Block A – Semi Final: Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Daiki Shimomura
2. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Tournament Block B – Semi Final: FUMA Vs Lil’ Kraken
3. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Ryota Nakatsu, Daichi Kazato & Seiya Morohashi Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Yasu Urano & Gouma Ryu
4. Isami Kodaka, SAGAT & Minoru Fujita Vs Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Takeru Inoue
5. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Tournament – Final: Winner Of Block A Vs Winner Of Block B

By the end of the night either the next Union MAX Title challengers will be either Takumi Tsukamoto, Daiki Shimomura, FUMA or Lil’ Kraken.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW SPRING TOUR 2026 ~NEXT DOOR~ FINAL”, 27/06/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. Yuki Arai, Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & Suzume Vs Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Wakana Uehara

It’s a champions versus challengers 8-Woman Tag Match once again.

DDT “CHARISMANIA IV”, 02/07/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Single Match: MJ Paul Vs Ryunosuke Nagai
2. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs Keisuke Ishii

The further Daisuke Sasaki moves on from Best Of The Super Jr. the better. At least he doesn’t have to think about the tournament again for another 14 years. Now he can think about defending the O-40 Title with two opponents now chosen for the next title bout. Shuji Ishikawa and Keisuke Ishii both fit the bill so Sasaki will be fighting both in a 3 Way Match.

Ryunosuke Nagai is the 29 year old son of Mitsuya Nagai. He his pro debut last December and is showing up to “CHARISMANIA IV” for a match against MJ Paul.

The remaining lineup of the show at the moment is Hideki Okatani, Ilusion, Minoru Fujita, Yasu Urano, Sangre Aztca Jr. and Naohiro Katsumi.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’26”, 18/07/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Arisu Endo
2. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Wakana Uehara
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

We’re approaching the match that will either break the cycle or just start it all over again. Yuki Arai will be next defending the Princess Of Princess Title against Miyu Yamashita. In recent memory Yamashita once beat Arai in just over a minute but Arai then got to make Yamashita tap out in a 6 Way No. 1 Contender’s match that eventually led Arai to becoming the champion. With that said, Arai does not feel like she can call herself the true champion unless she can beat Yamashita one on one. Yamashita is coming into this match having just won the EVE International Title in England. Doing that made her want to win back the Princess Title even more. Is there no end to her insatiable desire for winning that championship again?!?

Last year’s “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS” had Kyoraku Kyomei beating Daydream in a defence of the Princess Tag Team Titles. This time around Daydream are the champs and they want a rematch at the show to avenge that defeat. The only problem is Kyoraku Kyomei do not want to challenge for the belts right now because they do not feel it is the right time to do so. They couldn’t win the titles in Las Vegas earlier this year and they don’t feel ready to climb that mountain again this soon. Daydream wants the match to happen anyway and it looks like they got their way. Protests from Nakajima & Misao may be on the way unless something happens to change their minds.

There’s no such trepidation in regards to the International Princess Title match though. Wakana Uehara is hungry to become the champion and isn’t shy about making puns about her appetite when it comes to challenging Suzume for the championship.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs X & X
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Daichi Sato (c) Vs X
3. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & X Vs Antonio Honda & X
4. Dramatic Dream Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kaisei Takechi

It is only a matter of time until Hinata Kasai gets to team up with his dad Jun Kasai. It’s going to happen right when he celebrates the end of his first year as a pro wrestler. In the meantime, Hinata made it his goal to get his first direct win in a match before this show takes place.


DDT “DRAMATIC STYLE 2026” Results

June 10, 2026

DDT “DRAMATIC STYLE 2026”, 10/06/2026
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Yuni defeated HARASHIMA & Hinata Kasai when Yuni pinned Kasai with the Jorge Clutch (9:09).
2. Junta Miyawaki Three Match Trial – Final Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Junta Miyawaki by Referee Stoppage with the Lip Lock (10:08).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shunma Katsumata defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a School Boy (7:38 pm).
*Shunma Katsumata becomes the 1,821st champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Shunma Katsumata (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (7:48 pm).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,822nd champion.
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato defeated Shunma Katsumata, Kazuki Hirata (c) & Kumadori when Koroku submitted Hirata with an Arm Lock (10:49).
*Yuya Koroku becomes the 1,823rd champion.
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Ishida & Rukiya defeated Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda and Naomi Yoshimura & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Ishida pinned Matsunaga with an Izorikatame (8:45).
5. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y defeated Shinya Aoki & Akito wen Ueno pinned Akito with the WR (15:11).
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Ilusion & Haruto Sakuraba defeated MAO, KANON, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante when Sakuraba pinned Levante with the Jackhammer (20:22).
*V1 for DAMNATION T.A.

It’s been about six months since the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles were last defended. DAMNATION T.A have been missing Demus during that time period but the rules of the championship allow up to two substitutes to allow the title match to still go ahead. The challengers Strange Love Connection welcomed back Yuki Iino, who wrestled wearing a bandana to hide his haircut and showed none of the “PASSION~!” that he’s been developing over in NOAH lately. DAMNATION T.A brought out the big guns for this match, having Haruto Sakuraba come in to take Demus’s place. MAO & Yukio Naya almost had Ilusion beat with their Charge Love Heart double team move but MJ Paul pulled the referee away during the pinfall. Daisuke Sasaki then ran in to hit people with a chair. The newly renamed Viento Levante landed a rope walk Diving Headbutt onto Sakuraba but the pin was stopped with a Brain Claw by “The Monster”. Sakuraba then hit Levante with Lariats before beating him with the Jackhammer.

After the match Sakuraba said he’s been in slumber for almost a year and yet here he is holding a championship belt without lifting a finger (I’m unsure if the rules have been changed to now recognize him as one of the champions). He told the fans to tremble in fear until the next time he wakes up! Backstage Sakuraba said SLC are all defective while DAMNATION T.A is a perfect unit with a charismatic leader. Ilusion then asked when will be the next title defence? It might be in another six months time or at the end of the year again. Who knows?

Yuki Ueno and Shinya Aoki got to sign the contract for their KO-D Openweight Title match before the show began. Ueno always respected Aoki but has grown to love him because Aoki loves pro wrestling and DDT so much. It makes Ueno think the way to beat Aoki is to conquer him with love. Aoki can see Ueno is carrying more weight on his shoulders now compared to their first title match in 2024. He understands the scale of what Ueno is trying to accomplish as champion this time around. After their tag match on today’s show, Ueno told Aoki that wrestling him is so much fun. He’ll be sad when he beats him and the buildup over the title match is over. Aoki said he is going to give Ueno a good beating.

Now that the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title is back in DDT, it has brought the hot potato title switches back to DDT shows. Kazuki Hirata lost the title to his own partner Shunma Katsumata before the match even began. Kumadori got the two of them to stop arguing in the middle of the match and dance with him instead. During the dance Hirata grabbed Katsumata and pinned him with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the belt back. Yuya Koroku then pulled Hirata into an Arm Lock and made him tap out so he now has the title. Hirata is not panicking over what happened because there is plenty of time to win it back before the Sumo Hall show later this summer. He might turn into “Hammer Hirata” again to get the belt back.

Junta Miyawaki’s DDT trial ended in defeat thanks to Danshoku Dieno using the Lip Lock with a Wrist Lock applied rendering Miyawaki unconscious. Dieno gave him another Lip Lock after the match to resuscitate him. He does not know why Miyawaki has come to DDT when he could have just stayed in NOAH and be a proper, respectable pro wrestler. Dieno has been in the business for 25 years and he has learned one thing more than anything else. When you put what you find is fun in life into your wrestling and the fans enjoy it then that is DDT. He then tried to give Miyawaki another Lip Lock but Miyawaki escaped and ran off.

Backstage, Miyawaki talked about his experiences in the trial series. He hates negative people but Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata and Danshoku Dieno are all the opposite of those kinds of people. He wants to wrestle them more so he can absorb their warm-hearted feelings. That was shown during the match with Dieno where Miyawaki used some of Honda’s and Hirata’s moves. He also admits he does not know how long he will be sticking around in DDT which is why he is cherishing every match he has here.

During the week DDT announced that Hinata Kasai is going to team up with his dad Jun Kasai for the first time ever at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” on 11th August to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of Hinata’s debut. Although he lost again today, this past week has felt like Christmas and New Year’s all happening at once for him because it’s been so hectic. He thinks he is nowhere near being able to stand with his father in the ring yet. The first thing he needs to do in order to begin closing the gap is to get his first win before that match takes place.


DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION PART 2” Results

June 8, 2026

DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION PART 2 ~SASADANGO-GUN VS YANO-GUN 5-ON-5 ELIMINATION TAG BATTLE~”, 08/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Special Exhibition Match: Hinata Kasai Vs Tatsuya Matsumoto ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).
0a. Overtime: Tatsuya Matsumoto defeated Hinata Kasai with a Crab Hold (3:32).
1. Fluorescent Lighttube IPPON Hell: MAO & Akito defeated El Desperado & KUSHIDA by IPPON when Desperado broke the Lighttube (8:46).
2. Blindfold Butt-Finding Hell: YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated MAO & Akito when MAO & Akito had their bare butts exposed (6:51).
3. Give UP A Hellish Situation Where Only Submission Is Possible: Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi ended in a Draw when they all submitted to Milano Collection A.T.’s Paradise Lock (11:08).
4. If Your Junior Laughs, You Lose! A Junior Role Model Death Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Super Sasadango Machine by Submission with the GTR (8:50).
5. Danshoku Dieno Vs Hirooki Goto ended in a No Contest (7:55).
6. Weapon Rumble Hell: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Toru Yano ended in a No Contest when the match gets cancelled (23:31).
7. Special Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Toru Yano & Super Sasadango Machine when TAKESHITA pinned Sasadango with the Raging Fire (2:01).
8. Special Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, YOH, Masatora Yasuda, Tatsuya Matsumoto, Taisei Nakahara, Super Sasadango Machine, Danshoku Dieno, MAO, KANON, Kazuki Hirata, Akito, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai defeated Sanshiro Takagi when TAKESHITA pinned Takagi with a Stunner (1:38).

One year ago a rivalry between Super Sasadango Machine and Toru Yano brought DDT and New Japan together, mending a decade long broken relationship in the process. The event was such a success that both parties agreed to do it again, this time under more friendlier circumstances. With a hot summer of sport about to begin, an agreement was made by both sides to provide the best sportsmanship and keep things fair throughout the day. But as the show hit its stride, the trust between DDT and NJPW would be taken advantage of by some for the sake of getting the competitive advantage.

For an inter-promotional show such as this it was necessary that everything would be presented 50/50. It aired as a PPV on both NJPW World and Wrestle Universe with each streaming service providing their own full scale broadcast on separate screens side-by-side. That meant separate commentary teams with their own special guests, separate ring announcers, alternating referees, etc. Korakuen Hall even tried to split itself in half with the green DDT side having a security fence installed while the red NJPW side was barrier free. The NJPW World commentators were Yohei Onishi, Milano Collection A.T. and special guest Hiroshi Tanahashi. The Wrestle Universe commentators were Haruo Murata, Ken Suzuki.txt and special guest Yuki Ueno. Murata wants to be neutral because he works with both companies but his interactions with Daisuke Sasaki during the Best Of The Super Jr. meant he was DDT through and through no matter what he says.

A signing ceremony was planned to take place but first Yano had an announcement to make regarding his team. Tomoaki Honma was unable to appear at the show today because of illness so a substitute was called in at the last minute. His replacement is KUSHIDA! With that news out of the way, Sasadango and Yano signed the contract and started to hype up the fans to chant for their favorite side.

The chants turned into a cheering contest with Yano ordering Tatsuya Matsumoto to encourage even louder chants for New Japan. Hinata Kasai tried to do the same with the DDT fans, leading the two young wrestlers to get in each other’s way and then begin arguing. The arguing turned into a staredown and the staredown was going to turn into a fight!

All of a sudden a three minute long wrestling exhibition broke out between Matsumoto and Kasai. The two fought back and forth until the time expired but both kept trying to fight so they were allowed another five minutes to settle their differences. Kasai locked in an STF but Matsumoto broke free and got a nearfall with a Body Slam. As the match hit the 3 minute mark, Matsumoto put Kasai in a Crab Hold and got him to give up.

Everything was now calm again after that fired up display so it was time for the show to begin proper. DDT and New Japan would face each other in a gauntlet of singles matches with mystery lineups made out of five participants on each team. However a match could be turned into a tag team bout if both sides agree to the change beforehand. Sasadango and Yano together gave an oath promising to uphold good sportsmanship in every match… but it was all a trick! A video played on the two screens showing an unmasked Sasadango dressed up as the famous fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki. Here, “Kazuko Sasaki” informed Yano that DDT had just invited NJPW into taking part in a special tour… The DDT Hell Tour!

Sasadango admits he was foolish to think his team could beat New Japan in five regular pro wrestling matches so he hatched a plan. The DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi then showed Yano the contract he signed included an extra sentence written in English that was not included in the Japanese print. “All match rules must be accepted as decided by DDT.” Yano was tricked into letting DDT decide the rules for every match tonight!

DDT used the surprise to their immediate advantage by making the first match an IPPON Lighttube Tag Death Match! In this match there is only one lighttube and the loser is the person whose body breaks it. DDT sent the master of the match Akito out there to team with MAO while NJPW were represented by KUSHIDA & El Desperado. The sudden rule change made things more dangerous for KUSHIDA because lately he likes to wrestle barefoot. Akito made fun of that by shoving a sock into KUSHIDA’s mouth near the end of the match. However as everyone fought over the lighttube or tried to avoid touching it, MAO and Desperado formed their own alliance because of their friendship and agreed to break the lighttube together. They both climbed up the same turnbuckle, counted down together and… only Desperado went ahead with the trust fall. He smashed landed on the lighttube while MAO remained on the turnbuckles to celebrate winning the match. Desperado was so furious over the betrayal he abducted Viento Maligno at ringside and threatened to harm him with the remains of the broken lighttube unless MAO apologizes.

Akito & MAO remained in the ring to take part in the second match. This one showed everybody how DDT’s plan could backfire on them in a spectacular manner. It was a Blindfold Butt-Finding Hell Match where every wrestler had to fight blindfolded in their underwear and the first one to have their backside exposed would lose. NJPW sent out the two wrestlers that were guaranteed to thrive under such a ruleset, YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi! Both men walked out wearing an extra pair of underwear over their heads along with slingkinis and stockings. Keep in mind this show is taking place exactly one day after YOH won BOSJ! The blindness led to Akito & MAO almost fighting each other until they recognized each other by their body shape. The two of them as well as YOH all ended up wandering outside the ring while back inside Taguchi was trying to do Hip Attacks into thin air. When everyone got back into the ring MAO slid up from underneath Taguchi only to bump into YOH and accidentally Lip Lock him. The four wrestlers then formed a chain by all reaching out to the person in front of them to grab their tights. The NJPW team won the duel and exposed the DDT wrestlers’ butts to win the match. According to MAO, the lesson he learned from this match is everybody from Miyagi is weird. YOH proved it later by telling reporters backstage that the experience he went through today feels so good.

Match #3 had DDT send out reinforcements in the form of Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata because the only way to win the match was to make your opponents give up. The DDT team jumped YOH & Taguchi but the NJPW duo would taunt them on the microphone whenever they were asked to give up. Honda told Hirata to put them in the Paradise Lock but Hirata confessed he does not know how to do the move. Honda went outside to bring Milano Collection A.T. into the ring so they could learn it from him. But Honda tripped over the ropes on the way back in. He had injured himself and decided it was time to give up but first he needed to tell his latest Gongitsune joke. It turned into an attack that led to everyone brawling. As the dust settled, only Milano was left standing. He noticed a pair of Hirata GO! glasses had fallen onto the canvas so he put them on and “Tokyo GO!” began to play. He tried to ignore it until he couldn’t help but dance to the music belonging to an old foe. As this was happening, Honda and Taguchi were doing Gongitsune attacks and they both wound up pinching Milano by the nipples. Milano’s response was to put the both of them in Paradise Locks and then continue dancing on top of them. Both Honda and Taguchi gave up at the same time, causing the match to end in a tie.

The series was reaching its halfway point so Sasadango decided now was a good time to do a PowerPoint Presentation… From Hell! He explained to the audience that the ideal way of doing inter-promotional matches is to help develop the next generation. His presentation was suddenly interrupted when his laptop decided to reset itself for updates. While the fans started chanting for the laptop to restart, Sasadango handed his microphone to Hiroshi Tanahashi and asked him to talk for a bit. Tanahashi spoke about the repaired relationship between New Japan and DDT, entirely crediting himself for making it happen. Sasadango then gave up on the laptop and tried to continue his presentation without PowerPoint. He and Yano then broke out into an argument until they noticed Rukiya and Tatsuya Matsumoto both laughing at them nearby. Sasadango and Yano agreed they need to set a good example to their juniors or they would lose their respect. So for the next match the wrestlers involved would lose if their junior laughs at them!

Sasadango would step into the ring to finally be part of the action but his opponent was Hirooki Goto! Rukiya and Matsumoto were made to sit down near the ring with instructions to fill their mouths with water. Every time one of them laughed and spat the water out, their respective wrestler would lose a point. The first to lose three points would lose the match. Both of them laughed at the same time when Goto accidentally unmasked Sasadango during a Headlock off of the ropes. Rukiya then laughed a second time when Sasadango took a Lariat, apologized to Goto and then retreated from the ring. When Sasadango returned, he all of a sudden looked like a completely different person with a ripped physique. Goto was able to unmask him, revealing it was KANON under the mask. That made Matsumoto laugh. The real Sasadango returned to launch a sneak attack on Goto but that failed. He then challenged Goto to a sumo match and encouraged the fans to chant “Edmond” at Goto (because he plays E. Honda in the upcoming Street Fighter movie). Sasadango tricked Goto into taking a Dropkick but Goto got back up and grabbed his opponent. Just when Goto was in position to do the GTR, Sasadango instantly gave up so he wouldn’t take the move. Rukiya laughed at this, taking away Sasadango’s last point. Goto gave him th GTR anyway and pinned him for the three count so he ended up having three different ways to claim victory for the match.

Sasadango was beaten but DDT was not. He still had one more card to play. For many weeks leading up to this show, Sasadango has been trying to recruit one wrestler more than any other but his advances were rejected every time. Well it turns out this person finally agreed to show up because Danshoku Dieno made a big entrance to have a match with Goto! It didn’t take long for the match to get out of hand because the referees Yumehito Imanari, Marty Asami and Daisuke Kiso were all knocked out with Lip Locks that were intended for Goto. Akito ran into the ring to help put Dieno into the Hell Gate position over the top turnbuckle. Chaos then broke out with many wrestlers from both teams all running down to the ring to fight each other and then get their heads shoved into Dieno’s backside. Everything was so out of control that the match had to be called off.

By this point the DDT had run out of all of their players while the NJPW team still had only Toru Yano remaining. Yano thought this meant the series was over and his team had won without him even having to do anything. However Sasadango had one more trick up his sleeve. As much as he works hard for DDT, he does not have a contract with them and in fact wrestles as a freelancer. He is not really a DDT wrestler so that means the result of his match against Goto does not count towards the contest! Yano was furious over the revelation and demanded whoever is in charge of DDT to come out and face him. Sanshiro Takagi did just that and introduced himself to Yano as the supreme commander of DDT. For one more twist of the knife, Takagi and Yano would now face off in a Weapon Rumble!

The rules are a new weapon would be brought down to the ring Royal Rumble style and each weapon was decided upon by either DDT or New Japan. Yano complained that his team didn’t prepare any weapons but Sasadango revealed that he surveyed YOH about it beforehand and was able to get the weapons he suggested. The weapons included a blonde wig, a fire extinguisher, a “Yano Set” of a chair and sake, Mecha Mummy armed with the Mecha Drill, Daisuke Sasaki drinking tequila and El Desperado drinking tequila. The big surprise of all came when Takagi brought out his greatest weapon, Konosuke Takeshita! He had travelled to Japan just to be at this show and he attacked Yano on Takagi’s behalf. But just as Takeshita was about to give Yano the Raging Fire, the countdown for Yano’s next weapon fell to zero and it was revealed to be… Konosuke Takeshita?!? He played along with the rules and switched to attacking Takagi until Takagi started protesting. He said Takeshita belongs to DDT while Yano argued he also belongs to New Japan. Sasadango then stepped into the ring with Tanahashi as everyone agreed this was an issue that needed to be sorted out immediately.

Sasadango pointed out to Takeshita that this is the drawback to having contracts with three different wrestling companies. Two of them are here today so he needed to make a choice between them. Takagi spoke about Takeshita contacting him at 15 years old asking to become a pro wrestler because he was so confident he could reach to the top. Takagi always believes Takeshita will come back to DDT even when he is winning championships in AEW and New Japan. Tanahashi reminded Takeshita of the singles match they had in Sumo Hall back in 2014. He could feel Takeshita’s potential all the way back then and he still has high expectations for him going forward.

Sasadango handed Takeshita a “Final Rose” for him to give to the person he wants to be with (exactly like what Yuma Anzai experienced in Japan’s version of The Bachelorette recently). Takeshita said when he watched NJPW as a kid it gave him dreams and DDT made those dreams come true. He belongs to both companies solely out of gratitude with a desire to repay their kindness. He told Tanahashi he will do his best to protect NJPW from now on. He also made a promise to Takagi he will work hard to help him bring DDT to the Tokyo Dome!

Takeshita was about to hand the Final Rose to both Tanahashi and Takagi when Yano angrily cut him off. Yano complained he cannot choose both and Sasadango agreed that nobody would be satisfied with this ending. Sasadango then said if DDT carelessly goes into the Tokyo Dome and fails miserably then DDT will be finished and everyone will be left out on the streets! All of a sudden Yano & Sasadango now wanted to fight Takeshita in a Handicap match. It didn’t take long for Takeshita to dispatch both of them before pinning Sasadango with the Raging Fire.

After the impromptu match, Takeshita felt it was time he explained himself. He couldn’t find the way to properly convey his feelings up to this point so he got Muscle Sakai to help him out by creating a PowerPoint Presentation for him. It is titled “Why I Belong To Three Pro Wrestling Organizations” He introduced himself as a 31 year old wrestler currently living in Orlando with two special skills: working out and pro wrestling. He won the KO-D Openweight Title in DDT at a young age and still holds the record for most title defences. In New Japan he won the G1 Climax and then held the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. Recently in AEW he defeated Kazuchika Okada (the crowd popped at the mention of this) to become the new AEW International Champion. He is confident he is one of the busiest wrestlers in the world.

He gets all sorts of requests from the companies he works for. NJPW wants him on more domestic tours, DDT wants him to bring them to the Tokyo Dome and AEW doesn’t want any other company taking him away from them. The reason he is signed to all three companies is a simple one. He wants to share his world of pro wrestling to more people. He felt left out when he was not a part of last year’s DDT Vs New Japan show and it is one of his biggest regrets because he belongs to both companies. An all star show like this is supposed to be the most entertaining showdown but there are many ways for people to entertain themselves these days. Takeshita has other hobbies to keep himself occupied but pro wrestling will always be the most interesting.

So Takeshita has come up with three ideas that will prove his point. The first idea is he wants to hold the world’s largest pro wrestling league consisting of 365 wrestlers all fighting each other in a gigantic year long round robin tournament! He watches so much wrestling in his off time that he is subscribed to all of the different streaming services. That means he’s been able to carefully select a list of 365 wrestlers from all over the world he wants to compete and has also created a tentative schedule of matches to be held across Japan so there will be tournament events every single day from the opening bouts on 1st January all the way to the final night on 31st December! He understands the schedule might be difficult to pull off which is why he thinks the league should only be held once every four years likes the Olympics.

 

Takeshita’s second idea is to revise pro wrestling’s rules so they are more in line to modern times. He recognizes that violence doesn’t solve anything and disputes can be resolved through discussion. A suggestion he has is to introduce AI judging and a scoring system based on technical points, artistic points, and compositional skills. His example of a scoring system that works is the annual M-1 Grand Prix comedy show that is always a huge hit at the end of the year. His third idea is to ultimately unify the world of pro wrestling. Today the polar opposites that are New Japan and DDT fought each other in exciting ways because of their completely different styles. If doing this with two companies is exciting then imagine adding countless more into the mix. In order to achieve that goal, Takeshita believes he must first become the world’s No. 1 pro wrestler! He asked for everyone’s support so they can all create the perfect world where pro wrestling is the best.

The presentation touched the hearts of everyone who listened… Well, almost everyone. Takagi was still in a fired up competitive mood and wasn’t going to stand there letting the action go to waste. He tried to rally the other wrestlers around him but everyone went over to the other side of the ring and all stared him down. It was time for the final match where Takagi had to fight everyone else all by himself! He got pummeled by everyone one after the other until Takeshita finished him off with a Stunner.

The show was now reaching its end and a few wrestlers wanted to give their final words. Sasadango asked all of the NJPW fans watching to continue supporting Takeshita. That request goes to the wrestlers in Hontai too. Yano announced that Takeshita was the winner of today’s series and Takagi told him to liven up the wrestling world even more. Tanahashi then led everyone to say the same catchphrase that was used to end last year’s show: “3, 2, 1, Love Muscle! Muscle!”

Wait, wait, wait, hang on. There’s one more thing. After everyone left the ring, Sasadango and Akito both suddenly remembered something and ran out of the room. They rushed through a hallway to find a closed out locker room featuring the final secret weapon that they completely forgot to use during the show. They opened up the door and there inside was the furious NOAH wrestler Kenoh! He demanded to know where Toru Yano was while Sasadango & Akito both desperately apologized to him. It turns out that even though DDT is the last place Kenoh ever wants to be, he has been trying to pick a fight with Yano for ages and agreed to be part of Sasadango’s plan if it meant he could finally get his hands on Yano. That didn’t happen so Kenoh stormed out of Korakuen Hall and went down to the NJPW store in near Suidobashi in search of Yano. The shop was closed and Yano was nowhere to be found so Kenoh decided to start a livestream on his YouTube channel and complain about the whole thing.


A Few Injury Comebacks, Takagi Wants To Fight MAO, Kira’s Summer Break

June 5, 2026

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 4”, 06/06/2025
Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue

0. Surprise Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase Vs Ren Konatsu & Shion Kanzaki
1. Shinjuku Takashimaya Half-Day Promotional Ambassador Time-Lag Entry Battle Royal: Junta Miyawaki Vs Yukio Naya Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni Vs Yuki Ishida Vs Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Pokotan
2. paleyouth Vs FANTÔMES DRAMATIC!: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Hinata Kasai
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs MAO, KANON & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO)

We can now all say it out loud that Keigo Nakamura is Viento Maligno. But he decided he will continue wrestling under that gimmick in his journey to get stronger.

The Battle Royal is show a few people with Kazuma Sumi and Rukiya both having to pull out due to their injuries.

DDT “DRAMATIC STYLE 2026”, 10/06/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Yuki Ishida & Rukiya
2. HARASHIMA & Hinata Kasai Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Yuni
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Shunma Katsumata, Kazuki Hirata & Kumadori
4. Junta Miyawaki Three Match Trial – Final Match: Junta Miyawaki Vs Danshoku Dieno
5. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Shinya Aoki & Akito
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Ilusion & Haruto Sakuraba Vs MAO, KANON, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno

The final match of Junta Miyawaki’s trial series ends with the most DDT opponent possible. He calls Danshoku Dieno a once in a lifetime opponent and does not have to wait long to get that match!

DDT “YOKOHAMA NIGHT SPLASH 2026”, 13/06/2026
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Ilusion Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Danshoku Dieno, KANON & Kazuki Hirata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul Vs MAO, Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO)
4. Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Rukiya Vs Shinya Aoki, Junta Miyawaki & Yuki Ishida
6. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y

This card has some changes made because of Sumi’s injury but Rukiya is expected to return. The main event isn’t affected because it focuses on To-y getting to fight Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA before their KO-D Tag Team Titles match.

GANBARE☆PRO “STENDHAL SYNDROME 2026”, 14/06/2026
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. YuuRI Vs Moe Hiiro
2. Shota Kawakami Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. Shigehiro Irie & Sentaro Motoshima Vs Baliyan Akki & Munetatsu Nakamura
4. Ken Ohka & Guts Ishijima Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Tominaga
5. Shuichiro Katsumura 50th Birthday Match: Shuichiro Katsumura, Yuya Susumu & Kikujiro Umezawa Vs Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada & Moeka Haruhi
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Tyson Maeguchi

A few guests here with Guts Ishijima, Shigehiro Irie and Kouki Iwasaki all showing up. YuuRI’s opponent Moe Hiiro is a teenage wrestler representing the Hot Shushu promotion. She has only been wrestling for one year, recently passing the first anniversary of her pro debut.

DDT “THAT’S RIGHT! LET’S GO TO BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2026”, 17/06/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno
2. Takeshi Masada & Daichi Sato Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Masami Inahata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Yuki Ishida, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai
4. Special Single Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Single Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Junta Miyawaki
6. Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO)

Another preview of the KO-D Tag Titles match can be found within the chaos of a 4 Way Tag Match.

DDT announced that Masami Inahata will return from his injury at this show.

DDT “LET’S GO! BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2026”, 18/06/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Jun Akiyama, Rukiya & Masami Inahata Vs Junta Miyawaki, KANON & Yuki Ishida
2. Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Akito
3. Yuki Ueno Vs Hinata Kasai
4. Crocodile Death Match BEYOND: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs MAO, Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO)
5. Ring Removal Death Match: HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Shunma Katsumata, To-y & Yuni

Sumi has been replaced with To-y in the Ring Removal Death Match. That is the main event while the rest of the match order is to be determined.

DDT “OWARI WARS 2026”, 21/06/2026
Aichi Chunichi Hall & Conference

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion
2. DDT Extreme Title: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Junta Miyawaki
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y

Has To-y figured out the key to beating Brookes is to annoy the hell out of him? He’s going around calling himself the Prince Of Nagoya who comes from the future where he and Yuki Ueno win the KO-D Tag Titles from Brookes & HARASHIMA. Brookes is quickly getting fed up with his wacky behavior.

There will be a post about Daisuke Sasaki and his Best Of The Super Jr. adventure next week but he is returning to DDT with a losing record in the tournament. However Ilusion has gotten him and MJ Paul a chance to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles again so DAMNATION T.A can increase their current collection of championships to ten belts.

DDT “KING OF KINGS ~TENKA TAIRAN~”, 28/06/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Junta Miyawaki & Viento Maligno Vs Akito & Miles Karu
1. The 37KAMIINA Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs KANON & Yuki Iino (w/ KIMIHIRO)
2. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion
3. Soma Takao Comeback Match: Soma Takao & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Kazuma Sumi, Yuni & Kumadori
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Jun Akiyama, Rukiya & Masami Inahata
6. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs MAO
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Shinya Aoki

There is just so much energy coming out of Sanshiro Takagi with his return to the ring and he wants to use it against someone he hasn’t fought in a singles match in a while. The last time Takagi fought MAO one on one was in New York back in 2019 (ignoring the Baka Gaijin + Friends universe where Takagi Sanshirobo fought Tyrannosaurus Inoue).

We have one more Minoru Suzuki appearance to wrap up the King Of DDT arc. Too bad for him he has to go team up with Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata.

The Dropkick Bar is being well represented for Soma Takao’s comeback match. He along with Naomi Yoshimura, Yukio Naya and Yuki Ishida all work there in one form or another.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 31: SUSPENDED ANIMATION”, 30/06/2026
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Miles Karu

The Japan excursion continues for Miles Karu with a stop by Baka Gaijin + Friends added to his schedule for the end of the month.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’26”, 18/07/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Aja Kong Vs Arisu Endo

It’s going to be the thumbs up from Arisu Endo battling against the Uraken fist of Aja Kong.

Also planned to appear on the show are Sakura Hirota and MIRAI.

Kira Summer will not be on the show because she will be spending a month back home in Australia. She will be gone from Tokyo Joshi Pro from 18th July to 16th August but will be wrestling a few times in Australia during that period.


DDT “DDT MY LOVE 2026” Results

June 3, 2026

DDT “DDT MY LOVE 2026”, 03/06/2026
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Special Tag Match – 2 Out Of 3 Falls: Sanshiro Takagi & Akito (2) defeated Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata (0).
1a. Standard Rules: Sanshiro Takagi (1) pinned Shunma Katsumata (0) with a Cradle (6:30).
1b. Falls Count Anywhere: Sanshiro Takagi (2) pinned Shunma Katsumata (0) with a Cradle (109:19).
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Munetatsu Nakamura and Danshoku Dieno, Naomi Yoshimura & KANON when Ilusion pinned Koroku with a School Boy (9:02).
3. Junta Miyawaki Three Match Trial – Match 2: Junta Miyawaki defeated Kazuki Hirata with a School Boy (10:56).
4. MAO & Yukio Naya (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when MAO pinned Matsunaga after the Charge Love Heart (9:43).
5. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Viento Maligno with a Modified Butterfly Lock (11:25).
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai defeated Daichi Sato, To-y, Yuni & Yuki Ishida when Honda pinned Yuni with a Samson Clutch (19:36).

It turns out there was more background to the Shinya Aoki Vs Viento Maligno match than I first thought. Before the King Of DDT tournament began, Aoki allegedly made a prediction that Maligno would unmask and compete in Best Of The Super Jr. so both of them could have a match between tournament winners. Aoki lived up to his end of the idea which is why after he won King Of DDT he called out Maligno and told him everybody knows what he is doing. They had a match today where Maligno tried to counter the Aoki Clutch but Aoki switched over to a Modified Butterfly Lock to make the luchador give up. He then ripped the mask off Maligno’s face to reveal it was Keigo Nakamura the whole time! Nakamura admitted his real identity and explained that he couldn’t adapt to wrestling in Mexico during his excursion. Even now he does not know who he is and his confidence has disappeared after he saw how all of his juniors have surpassed him. However he still gets support from everybody in Strange Love Connection and he wants to become stronger by being with them. Aoki asked him what will he do from now on and who does he want to fight? Nakamura put the mask back on and will continue to wrestle as Viento Maligno because he’s hit rock bottom has nothing else to lose.

The opening match was officially Sanshiro Takagi’s return to action in DDT (as long as you ignore Super Japan). He feels so reenergised from his time off that he asked for the match to be Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls with no time limit applied. The 37KAMIINA agreed and quickly tried to injure him again. However he blocked Shunma Katsumata’s Totonou Splash and then Cradled him to win the first fall. He then declared the 2nd Fall would be Falls Count Anywhere. For the next two hours Takagi, Akito, Yuki Ueno and Katsumata brawled all over Shinjuku FACE and even outside on the street. Since the action was happening away from ringside, DDT decided to go on with the show and it wasn’t until the very end when the opening match returned to the ring and Takagi pinned Katsumata again to win the match in two straight falls.

Takagi said this comeback could not have been possible if it wasn’t for the other wrestlers in the match and he is feeling super pumped about winning. He’s been cheating on DDT a little bit with Super Japan but he thinks DDT is the best and he is super motivated to wrestle here again. There is one guy in particular he wants to wrestle again to reignite his passion even more. It is MAO, who he hasn’t fought against one on one since 2019 in New York! He challenged MAO to a singles match on 28th June. MAO agreed and blamed Takagi for making him the wrestler he is today. So all of the times he tried to run Takagi over with a car is really Takagi’s fault.

Junta Miyawaki’s trial through DDT’s roster is going well with two wins out of two matches so far. He fought and danced with Kazuki Hirata until Hirata was too spent to continue. Before he could be beaten, Hirata got on the microphone and reminisced about the times back when Miyawaki was a NOAH trainee when they would hang out and eat meals together. He couldn’t continue so he asked Miyawaki to complete the dance by himself but it was only so Hirata could roll him up for a nearfall. Miyawaki countered by putting the Hirata GO! glasses on Hirata’s face, forcing him to dance and be vulnerable to be pinned with a School Boy. Afterwards Miyawaki was informed by Hisaya Imabayashi that the third and final match of his trial will happen on 10th June. It will be against Danshoku Dieno! With that announcement, Dieno entered the ring carrying his pet dog Haku in a protective bag. Miyawaki asked if this is a mistake because Dieno is tougher than any other opponent he could imagine. He promised to give it his all becaue this is a once in a lifetime match for him.

A win in the 3 Way Trios match prompted DAMNATION T.A to challenge paleyouth for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles afterward. Ilusion said his unit is filled with belt collectors and if they take those titles from paleyouth they would then have 10 belts in their collection (DDT Extreme Title with Hideki Okatani, O-40 Title with Daisuke Sasaki and the group has the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles which currently makes seven). Ilusion said the challenging team will be himself, MJ Paul and Sasaki once he comes back from New Japan. The challenge was accepted and will take place on 21st June in Nagoya. Ilusion later made fun of paleyouth being full of old people because only Daichi Sato is younger than him. Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku didn’t appreciate being Ilusion calling them old geezers.

A contract signing for the KO-D Tag Team Titles match between FANTÔMES DRAMATIC and The 37KAMIINA took place at the start of the show. One of the challengers To-y unexpectedly announced he is from the future where he wins the title with Yuki Ueno and builds a castle as the Prince Of Nagoya. Chris Brookes lost his patience and kept rushing To-y to finish up his story so the show could continue. To-y ignored him and tried to get Ueno to play along that they are the champions from the future and it is they who are defending the belts instead of Brookes & HARASHIMA. Both Ueno and HARASHIMA tried to keep things on track but Brookes is clearly becoming fed up with To-y’s quirky personality.


Sumi Injured, Aoki Vs Ueno For KO-D Title, Sasaki’s Deflating Summer

June 2, 2026

DDT “DDT MY LOVE 2026”, 03/06/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Akito
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Danshoku Dieno, Naomi Yoshimura & KANON
3. Junta Miyawaki Three Match Trial – Match 2: Junta Miyawaki Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. MAO & Yukio Naya (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Viento Maligno
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai Vs Daichi Sato, To-y, Yuni & Yuki Ishida

You can add Kazuma Sumi to the injury list along with Rukiya. He suffered an eye injury while wrestling in France last month but worked through it up to this past weekend. He was then diagnosed with a fractured medial wall in his right orbit and told not to wrestle for a month. He will be back after the 27th June show but until then DDT has to shuffle around their upcoming cards for his absence as well as Rukiya being hurt too. Tomorrow’s show had a couple of changes to its matchmaking from the main event right down to the opener.

Something is up with Viento Maligno and Shinya Aoki has figured it out. Well he had to go do something else when he couldn’t find Keigo Nakamura anywhere. Whatever it is he wants Maligno to admit in front of everybody, he has a chance to stretch it out of him tomorrow.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 4”, 06/06/2025
Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue

0. Surprise Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Haru Kazashiro & Chika Nanase Vs Ren Konatsu & Shion Kanzaki
1. Shinjuku Takashimaya Half-Day Promotional Ambassador Time-Lag Entry Battle Royal: Kazuma Sumi Vs Junta Miyawaki Vs Yukio Naya Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni Vs Yuki Ishida Vs Rukiya Vs Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Pokotan
2. paleyouth Vs FANTÔMES DRAMATIC!: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Hinata Kasai
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs MAO, KANON & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO)

A bonus Tokyo Joshi Pro tag match is happening before DDT’s day at Shinjuku Takashimaya officially begins. For Shion Kanzaki she will be returning to the scene of the crime where she witnessed Sumire Uesaka assault her boss Tetsuya Koda in the lead up to “GRAND PRINCESS ’26” earlier this year.

DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION PART 2 ~SASADANGO-GUN VS YANO-GUN 5-ON-5 ELIMINATION TAG BATTLE~”, 08/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
2. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
3. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
4. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
5. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X

Sasadango-gun: Super Sasadango Machine, MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Akito, Antonio Honda

Yano-gun: Toru Yano, El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, Hirooki Goto

On paper this looks like the final lineup because it’s five versus five but who knows what other surprises are in store. Toru Yano has added a strong wrestler to his team with Hirooki Goto as the fifth man. Super Sasadango Machine had to do with just picking Antonio Honda because Danshoku Dieno keeps finding excuses not to take part. The latest is he wants to balance his sleeping schedule in order to watch World Cup matches live in the middle of the night.

The show is going for more of a sports feel by having Yano’s team be in red while Sasadango’s team will be in green. Fans are being encouraged to show up wearing the colour of the team they want to support.

GANBARE☆PRO “STENDHAL SYNDROME 2026”, 14/06/2026
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Shuichiro Katsumura 50th Birthday Match: Shuichiro Katsumura, Yuya Susumu & Kikujiro Umezawa Vs Yumehito Imanari, Takuya Wada & Moeka Haruhi
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Tyson Maeguchi

It will be champion versus champion for the next Spirit Of Ganbare Title Match. Tyson Maeguchi currently holds one of the tag titles but he wants to fight Mizuki Watase for the singles championship. In return Watase will get to face The Deadlock for the tag titles somewhere down the line.

A party match is being thrown for Shuichiro Katsumura just a few days before he turns fifty. Some familiar faces will be there like Moeka Haruhi who Katsumura used to team with as part of THE HALFEE. The new face showing up is a wrestler from Tokyo named Kikujiro Umezawa. Katsumura used to wrestle him often on the smaller indies over a decade ago.

DDT “KING OF KINGS ~TENKA TAIRAN~”, 28/06/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Soma Takao Comeback Match: Soma Takao Vs X
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Shinya Aoki

This year’s King Of DDT winner Shinya Aoki is ready to fight his friend Yuki Ueno for DDT’s top prize once again. They fought over the KO-D Openweight Title once before back in August 2024 and Aoki won that encounter. How much they hold each other in high esteem promises both will be fighting their very best to be the KO-D Champion once again.

After being away from six months to deal with a knee injury, Soma Takao is ready to make his comeback. He thinks he has been away for so long that there’s since been a turnover in the DDT audience and the new fans don’t know him as anything other than the Dropkick Bar manager.

DDT “CHARISMANIA IV”, 02/07/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. O-40 Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs X

Well, the Best Of The Super Jr. isn’t working out the way Daisuke Sasaki would have liked it to. He still has the O-40 Title though and wants to defend it at his next “CHARISMANIA” show.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Sumire Uesaka (c) Vs X
2. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & X Vs Antonio Honda & X
3. Dramatic Dream Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kaisei Takechi

If that news doesn’t float your boat then how about Antonio Honda as one of his opponents for Sumo Hall this summer, huh? Huh? DDT doesn’t even want to put in the effort of booking their tag team partners so they told Sasaki and Honda to go find their own. There is still the competition attached to this where fans can predict what the match is going to be. Honda wants to find a partner that no one could ever guess. Sasaki is thinking the opposite and might go with his most obvious option available. Even then that leaves a big gap for guessing. Is it someone from DAMNATION T.A? How about Dick Togo, Shuji Ishikawa, El Desperado or AMAKUSA? See, it’s not be as obvious as it sounds.

GANBARE☆PRO “IT’S A SUMMER FILM 2026”, 15/08/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Chris Brookes

There might have been a chance Munetatsu Nakamura would be Watase’s next title challenger but it turns out the youngster already had a different idea he asked Ganbare☆Pro to set up for him. He wants a singles match against Chris Brookes as his way of saying thanks for everything Brookes has done for him up until now. This goes all the way back to Nakamura being a fan of Brookes to Brookes taking him under his wing as a wrestler and even helping pay for some of his medical treatment when he was out with a neck injury. The best way for Nakamura to pay him back is to beat him in a wrestling match!


DDT Around The World – May 2026

June 1, 2026

It happened. It’s now done. AEW finally made it to Konosuke Takeshita’s match with Kazuchika Okada and got Takeshita out of The Don Callis Family. At last we can move on with our lives and wait to see if Takeshita’s babyface turn will turn out to be more than just a lateral move. His wife Yuka Sakazaki got some more screentime on ROH this month including a PPV main event. MAO & Yoshihiko brought Kazuma Sumi along on their latest adventure in France, giving Sumi some invaluable overseas experience away from DDT. Chris Brookes gave Munetatsu Nakamura a similar opportunity with a wild weekend over in Manila. Will the summer provide even more wrestling to follow around the globe or can we all take a break for the World Cup? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s being ruined by American corporate greed and so on but Blue Lock seems to be timing their latest story arc to climax by the time the final takes place so that gives me something to look forward to after Ireland failed to qualify. Also getting to watch South Korea Vs Czech Republic at 3am is the kind of football sicko behavior that’s been missing in my life for a while.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/05/2026
Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

1. AEW World Title: Darby Allin (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita


ROH “SUPERCARD SHOWDOWN”, 14/05/2026
SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

1. Athena, Billie Starkz & Marina Shafir Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Maya World, Lacey Lane


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026
Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA

1. AEW International Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita


Kyle Fletcher BETRAYS Konosuke Takeshita! | AEW Double or Nothing 2026


AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026
Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Daniel Garcia

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Results


ROH “SUPERCARD SHOWDOWN”, 09/05/2026 (Aired 14/05/2026)
SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

1. Athena, Billie Starkz & Marina Shafir defeated Yuka Sakazaki, Maya World, Lacey Lane when Athena pinned Lane after the Swanton Bomb from Starkz

So Ring Of Honor taped a few matches at the same indoor golf course AEW was at last month and they didn’t let Yuka Sakazaki loose around the place? That was a missed opportunity. Instead her warmup match for Survival Of The Fittest also involved some of the other participants Athena, Billie Starkz and Maya World. However a lot of Sakazaki’s time in this match was spent wrestling with Marina Shafir and also building up the hot tag to Lacey Lane. She also hit a big dive out of the ring onto Shafir and World but that left Lane fighting on her own. Starkz gave Lane the Swanton Bomb but not before Athena blind tagged herself in so she could get the pinfall and take the glory for herself.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/05/2026
Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

1. AEW World Title: Darby Allin (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Coffin Drop (15:29).
*V5 for Darby Allin.

Even though Takeshita’s match with Okada was already on the schedule, he was given a big detour a few weeks before the show by getting an AEW World Title shot. It was the latest defence in Darby Allin’s eventful title run where he crammed in many title defences into one month. Takeshita couldn’t get the job done fast enough so El Clon ran down to distract the ref while Don Callis handed Takeshita the Dynamite Diamond Ring to use as a weapon. Takeshita refused to use it and threw it away. Too bad moral victories don’t win you championships because Allin made his comeback after that which included a Coffin Drop to the outside and also the Scorpion Death Drop on top of the steel steps. He hit another Coffin Drop outside the ring but Takeshita wouldn’t be beaten that way. He tried to make a comeback of his own but Allin cut it off with the Scorpion Death Lock, keeping Takeshita down long enough to land one more Coffin Drop for the win.


ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026
Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA

1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) defeated Maya World, Trish Adora, Zada Steel, Yuka Sakazaki and Billie Starkz (26:12).
1a. Athena eliminated Zayda Steel with a Rope-Assisted School Boy (5:01).
1b. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (15:39).
1c. Billie Starkz eliminated Yuka Sakazaki with the Avalanche Star 10 (17:27).
1d. Maya World eliminated Billie Starkz with a Jackknife Pin (21:47).
1e. Athena eliminated Maya World with the O-Face from the Ladder (26:12).
*V36 for Athena.

This turned out to be a mess of a match. It turned into a Hardcore Match midway through because of the whole “No DQs In In X Way Match” booking cliche so Sakazaki got to do an American style plunder match for once. She also scored an elimination by pinning Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round. Her time in the match came to an end a few minutes later when some high risk fighting ended with Sakazaki taking Starkz’s finisher from the top rope.


BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026
Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines
??? Fans

1. Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes defeated Hotdog De San Jose & Super P when Sabre submitted San Jose with a Manjigatame (?:??).
2. Main Ronn, Joya & Robienne Sane defeated Demonyitang Daniella Cavite, Crystal & Max Liwanag when Joya pinned Cavite with the Cutter (?:??).
3. Emman & “Mad Kat” Karina defeated Trainee Kenzo & Trainee Kiko when Emman pinned Kiko with the Styles Clash (?:??).
4. Jonathan Johnson defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with a Bridging Pin (?:??).
5. Jake De Leon & Shivam defeated Black Kat & Lifeguard Jack when De Leon pinned Black Kat with the Jumping Super Kick (?:??).

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026
Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: MBM & Ultima Sombra defeated MAO & Yoshihiko (c) and Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John when MBM pinned Yoshihiko with the Reincarnation Reversal (15:27).
*MAO & Yoshihiko fail in V8. Rivality become the 7th BZW Tag Team Champions!
2. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi (c) defeated Gringo Loco and Leedz Lewis when Sumi pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash (14:22).
*V2 for Kazuma Sumi.

Kazuma Sumi’s goal of defending the DDT Universal Title overseas finally came to pass this month. MAO got him booked for the BZW collab show with GCW in France. His match wasn’t an easy task at all because he had to fight the former Universal Champion Gringo Loco as well as French wrestler Leedz Lewis in a 3 Way bout where he could lose the title without being pinned. Sumi made the most of his moment and pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash to keep the belt and impress the fans in attendance. He said afterward that he now has a great sense of accomplishment because he can go do his style of wrestling anywhere in the world. He is eager to compete overseas again and spread his name around the planet.

The same success wasn’t there for MAO & Yoshihiko. Their year and a half long reign as BZW Tag Team Champions finally came to an end in a 3 Way Tag against a BZW team and a GCW team. Everybody brawled out of the venue and Yoshihiko did a dive off of a truck to put Jimmy Lloyd through a table. Rivality brought the belts back to their home promotion in the end when MBM found a counter to Yoshihiko’s finishing move, reversing the pin into one of his own for the three count. MAO feels happy that he got to wreak havoc in four different countries while holding the belts with Yoshihiko. His next goal in BZW is to win a singles championship so then some day DDT can hold a show in Europe!


DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. 4 Way Match: Robin Sane defeated Jonathan Johnson, Shaheen and Munetatsu Nakamura (?:??).
2. Dexcon World Title: Jake De Leon (c) defeated Chris Brookes (?:??).
*V5 for Jake De Leon.

Another packed weekend in the Philippines is in the books for Brookes. He wasn’t able to come back to Japan with another championship because Jake De Leon was able to defend his Dexcon World Title against him. Munetatsu Nakamura was also part of the Dexcon weekend, taking part in a high flying 4 Way Match where Robin Sane picked up the win over Shaheen.


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026
Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) with the Raging Fire (19:01).
*Kazuchika Okada fails in V10. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 13th AEW International Champion!

Being at the show live I can tell you the building was very excited to see Okada Vs Takeshita happen with the match graphic on the pre-show getting one of the largest pops out of the lineup. The match was fantastic even with the Don Callis drama at ringside happening midway through. Callis tried to play neutral by telling Okada not to risk injuring Takeshita. While Okada reluctantly followed that instruction, Takeshita did not do the same when Callis gave him the same order. It still took a lot for Takeshita to finally beat Okada, countering the Rainmaker with his own Lariat and then hitting a big Elbow Strike when the Wagamama only got a one count. But when he finally used the Raging Fire there was no fight left in Okada to kick out and Takeshita became the new AEW International Champion! The sweet taste of victory was quickly spoiled when The Don Callis Family all looked to turn on Takeshita after the match. Kyle Fletcher made his big return from injury to hug Takeshita only to turn on him with a backstabbing attack, confirming that our guy is now kicked out of the Family.


AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026
Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Daniel Garcia with the Raging Fire (14:27).
*V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.

Takeshita had to get over the heartbreak of ProtoShita being split up by having his first International Title defence against Daniel Garcia. A wrestler like Garcia has some tricks up his sleeve, like countering Takeshita’s top rope Clothesline into an Arm Drag to the canvas where he then applied the Sharpshooter. Takeshita blocked a rolling cradle that would have set up another submission hold, turning it over to a German Suplex. The big Elbow Strike after that set up the Raging Fire and Takeshita got his first defence in the bag, all while Jon Moxley was watching on from the commentary table. Members of The Don Callis Family ran into the ring to attack Takeshita after the match while outside the ring the Death Riders and Shane Taylor Promotions all suddenly appeared to brawl with each other. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, The Conglomeration entered the fight and cleared the room so it was only them and Takeshita left in the ring. So we end the month with Takeshita finding a new bunch of friends (or an old friend in Mike Bailey’s case).

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Upcoming Appearances


EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026
Big Penny Social, London, England

1. EVE International Title: Kris Statlander (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Right, let’s get things out of the way before the World Cup starts. Miyu Yamashita returns to EVE very soon hoping to win gold there again, this time fighting Kris Statlander from AEW for the EVE International Title. As much as I would love to see a result here that follows up from Yamashita’s match with Jamie Hayter last time around, I’m not sure if that’s something EVE is planning for.


WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026
Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire

Germany welcomes Jun Akiyama for the weekend where he will meet Ahura to team up against Cowboy Way.


CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

It is CMLL’s turn to host “FANTASTICA MANIA” and Konosuke Takeshita will be there on behalf of New Japan.


SETUP “HELLRAISER”, 27/06/2026
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hardcore Unsanctioned Anything Goes Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Jonathan Johnson

The travelling is not ending yet for Daisuke Sasaki. A few weeks after he is done with Best Of The Super Jr. he will be going over to Thailand for a SETUP show. Jonathan Johnson threw out a challenge recently to prove he is one of the best wrestlers in his corner of the world. Sasaki answered his challenge and wants it to be unsanctioned so anything goes!


DDT “KING OF DDT 2026 FINAL!!” Results

May 31, 2026

DDT “KING OF DDT 2026 FINAL!!”, 31/05/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Dark Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuki Ishida defeated Akito & Hinata Kasai when Ishida pinned Kasai with the Leg Scoop Suplex (7:59).
1. King Of DDT – Semi Final: Shinya Aoki defeated Minoru Suzuki with the European Clutch (9:37).
2. King Of DDT – Semi Final: MAO defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Iai Kick (11:54).
3. Jun Akiyama, Naomi Yoshimura & Junta Miyawaki defeated Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion when Miyawaki pinned Ilusion with the Sunshine Driver (9:05).
4. Special Tag Match ~ Kaisei Takechi Return Match: Yuki Ueno & Kaisei Takechi defeated Kazuki Hirata & To-y when Ueno submitted Hirata with a Crab Hold (0:01).
4a. Rematch: Yuki Ueno & Kaisei Takechi defeated Kazuki Hirata & To-y when Takechi pinned Hirata with the BREAK IT DOWN (9:15).
5. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda defeated KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI) when Brookes pinned Maligno with the Praying Mantis Bomb (12:08).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) defeated Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi when Masada pinned Yuni with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (14:56).
*V4 for paleyouth.
7. King Of DDT – Final: Shinya Aoki defeated MAO with the Aoki Clutch (17:20).

Shinya Aoki can now add his name to the list of quite frankly eccentric list of names to have won the King Of DDT tournament! His fighting style proved to be the most dominant throughout the bracket and tempted MAO into playing Aoki’s gameplan instead of his own in the final. Aoki then pulled out something different by using a Spinning Headscissors to throw MAO out of the ring so he could follow up with the Topé Suicida. MAO tried rolling up Aoki into cradles like the Japanese Leg Roll and the Crucifix Pin but that backfired big time when Aoki caught him in the Aoki Clutch, getting the three count and crowning himself the tournament winner.

As Aoki was receiving his trophy he started calling out to an unexpected member of Strange Love Connection. Aoki yelled at Viento Maligno to get in the ring and stop his nonsense because everybody knows what he’s doing… Maligno simply made a big “Wooooo” noise into the microphone before rejoining SLC and walking back to the locker room with them. Due to this interaction taking place, DDT later decided to book a singles match between Aoki and Maligno for 3rd June at Shinjuku FACE.

Aoki then declared his challenge to Yuki Ueno for the KO-D Openweight Title. He likes Aoki and said he is like family to him. But the more Aoki likes his opponent, the more power he unleashes on that person so he asked Ueno to be the very best he’ll ever be for the title match. The match is made for 28th June and Aoki promised to live his life to the fullest until then so he can beat Ueno. The champion remembers losing the KO-D Title to Aoki back in 2024 and does not want to repeat that. He is going to give his friend so much in the match that Aoki won’t be able to handle it!

MAO’s place in the semi final was secured when he defeated Danshoku Dieno earlier in the show. Dieno unleashed his full Danshoku power early but MAO expertly countered the attack by Kancho poking him up the backside. MAO then fought fire with fire by using the Lip Lock until Dieno overpowered him with the same move. The Danshoku Claw to the crotch couldn’t hold MAO back forever and he kept fighting even when the back of his tights were pulled down by Dieno for pinning leverage. A number of different strikes from MAO took their toll on Dieno and he was put down with the Iai Kick, bringing his spirited tournament run to an end.

The last time Aoki fought Minoru Suzuki in DDT, the DDT Universal Title was on the line and Suzuku pummeled his opponent into a KO victory. The rematch here was more grapple heavy this time with Suzuki and Aoki trying to bend whatever part of the opponent’s body they could grab onto. Suzuki avoided the Aoki Clutch but that isn’t the only move in Aoki’s arsenal. He switched over to a Modified Armbar that then turned into the European Clutch that kept Suzuki pinned down for the victory!

It was Yuni’s time to step up and do his part to make NωA Jr. the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions again. paleyouth didn’t see things that way because they still have things to do as champions, things that NωA Jr. couldn’t even scratch when they last held the belts. The challengers almost overwhelmed Takeshi Masada with their numbers. He was able to German Suplex Shunma Katsumata away but took a Canadian Destroyer from Kazuma Sumi and then the Messiah DDT from Yuni. Masada brought things to a halt for Yuni by giving him a Middle Kick and planting him with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki to retain the titles. After the match Daichi Sato said he was happy to have a tough title match with Yuni because they are near the same age. Yuya Koroku called Yuni a brat but also admitted he has incredible determination. paleyouth then said they are two defences away from tying the record for most KO-D 6-Man Tag Title defences and three more away from breaking it. Backstage Katsumata talked about how Yuni struggles the most out of D GENERATIONS because everyone else has achieved their own thing while he was focused on his university exams. He hopes today will be a turning point for Yuni because he can offer something unique to DDT just like how everyone else has their own thing.

The addition of YUZUKI to SLC hasn’t instantly paid off with success yet. She assisted the team by attacking Antonio Honda with a whip after he got sent outside the ring. Honda deserved it for being rude towards Maligno at the start of the match. He loudly shouted “Who are you?” while fighting him. HARASHIMA and Yukio Naya fought to a stalemate so Honda tagged in. He then tripped and tried to tell a story about his town being filled with kids who ring doorbells in the middle of the night and run away before he can answer them. KANON then blocked the Gongitsune attack and redirected Honda into striking his own partners. Chris Brookes saved Honda from being pinned by throwing a towel at Maligno and ended up pinning Maligno himself by using the Praying Mantis Bomb.

Kaisei Takechi’s big return from appendicitis ended right when it started. Yuki Ueno immediately threw To-y out of the ring and made Kazuki Hirata tap out to a Crab Hold without Takechi needing to do anything. Hisaya Imabayashi blew a gasket because the big star’s return was ruined. Takechi calmed things down by saying everyone in DDT is a star, including Hirata because of his dance skills. Takechi then encouraged everyone to restart the match so Hirata can show why he shouldn’t be giving up so easily. Imabayashi was touched by Takechi’s humility and allowed the match to restart. This time To-y & Hirata both put on a better fight together and Takechi got to dance with Hirata despite Ueno’s hatred of it. Ueno was briefly knocked out by his own partner so the dance could go ahead. Hirata tried to sneak attack Takechi during the dance but paid for it by taking the BREAK IT DOWN and take the losing fall again.

After the match Takechi told the fans he had to miss the King Of DDT tournament due to his illness so he is going to clear his schedule, get into shape and work hard so he will get to take part in it next year. Ueno then announced he will be holding a show at Korakuen Hall on 13th September to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of his debut. He promised to show everyone the DDT he’s been able to cultivate over the last 10 years. Takechi asked to be a part of it so Ueno is thinking about making him team up with Hirata. As for Ueno himself, he later brought up wanting to have a match against Katsumata on the show.

Momentum is looking to be on Junta Miyawaki’s side as he heads toward his DDT Extreme Title challenge against Hidaki Okatani. The heavy threat of MJ Paul was extinguished by Naomi Yoshimura and Miyawaki ducked under a bamboo stick swing, causing Okatani to hit Ilusion over the head instead. With Jun Akiyama’s help, Miyawaki gave Okatani a Swinging DDT before pinning Ilusion with the Sunshine Driver.

The dark match was changed on short notice because Rukiya’s neck is acting up and he wasn’t able to wrestle today. Akito took his place and teamed up with Hinata Kasai in a losing effort against Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuki Ishida. Kasai came close to winning but was stunned by Ishida’s Flame Palm and was then pinned with the Leg Scoop Suplex.

For the third time in weeks, Super Sasadango Machine approached Dieno asking him to be part of his team for the DDT Vs New Japan show happening in one week’s time. He met him in the ring at the end of the show, pointing out that King Of DDT is now finished and Dieno should now be completely free to help Sasadango out. If Dieno refused then Sasadango would do the unspeakable and reveal to everyone Dieno’s shoot name! Dieno’s response is it’s not the right time for him to do Sasadango’s show because the World Cup begins three days afterwards. Dieno wants to watch all of the late night games coming up so he needs the few days before that to save up on his sleeping habits. Sasadango begun to cry because he couldn’t believe Dieno would sit by and watch his beloved DDT get trampled by New Japan. As much as the show is being built around friendly competition, it is really a war that DDT cannot afford to lose! He threatened to bring Dieno to court where his real name would be exposed but Dieno told him to calm down so they can talk again later.

There is currently a brief break for the Best Of The Super Jr. tournament so Daisuke Sasaki was in attendance for today’s show. He was too embarrassed to talk because he currently has a losing record so he whispered his message into Imabayashi’s ear. Imabayashi encouraged Sasaki not to give up because he still has a chance to win his block if he wins his remaining matches. The GM then revealed one of Sasaki’s opponents for his tag match happening at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” on 11th August. It’s Antonio Honda! Imabayashi then revealed that DDT has not made a decision for who Sasaki or Honda’s tag partners will be. Instead it will be up to them to look into their connections and decide for themselves. Since DDT is holding a competition for fans to guess what the match is, Honda said he is going to pick someone who will surprise everybody. Sasaki on the other hand said his pick won’t surprise anyone.

Soma Takao announced his return match will happen on 28th June. He has been on the shelf with a left knee injury since January and is thrilled to be making his comeback soon. He said there are quite a few new DDT fans who only know him as the manager of the Dropkick Bar so he is excited for them to see him wrestle for the first time.

DDT will be holding a pro wrestling event attached to the Kumagawa Railway in Kumamoto on 22nd November. The Kumagawa Railway has been under repairs due to storm damage ever since the summer of 2020. This year those repairs will be completed and it is scheduled to finally reopen this September. DDT is celebrating the occasion by holding two matches to take place inside the train along with an actual wrestling show taking place at the journey’s destination Yunomae Station.


DDT “KING OF DDT 2026 2ND ROUND” Results

May 9, 2026

DDT “KING OF DDT 2026 2ND ROUND”, 09/05/2026
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated Kumadori, Masami Inahata & Hinata Kasai when Sasaki submitted Kasai with the Crossface Lock (9:05).
2. Yuya Koroku, Daichi Sato & Yuki Ishida defeated Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Yuni when Ishida pinned Hirata with an Iso-gatame (11:09).
3. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated Kazuma Sumi, Junta Miyawaki & Rukiya and KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno when Katsumata pinned Maligno with the ¡Hasta la vista! (9:54).
4. King Of DDT – Round 2: MAO defeated Hideki Okatani with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver II (10:27).
5. King Of DDT – Round 2: Danshoku Dieno defeated Takeshi Masada with an Inside Cradle (11:42).
6. King Of DDT – Round 2: Minoru Suzuki defeated Chris Brookes with a Heel Hold (20:29).
7. King Of DDT – Round 2: Shinya Aoki defeated HARASHIMA with the European Clutch (16:16).

Today is the last time the a King Of DDT round will be held inside Shinjuku FACE before the venue closes down later this year. It was the Quarter Finals with eight wrestlers still remaining in the tournament. Shinya Aoki knocked out a former two-time winner HARASHIMA in the main event. HARASHIMA countered Aoki’s submission game by hitting the Somato twice but Aoki kicked out of the pin both times. Aoki then used the ropes to prevent HARASHIMA from using the rare Yama-ori finisher. Instead Aoki put him in position for the dreaded European Clutch, ultimately winning the struggle to pin HARASHIMA’s shoulders for the three count.

A brawl broke out between Chris Brookes and Minoru Suzuki early on in their match. Suzuki got the advantage by hurting Brookes’s left leg with a chair and then targeting it from around ringside. The plan worked out when Brookes repeatedly went for Penalty Kicks using his left leg, reducing the effectiveness of the move until Suzuki could block a kick and grab Brookes into a Heel Hold for the instant submission victory. Suzuki looked like he was going to show Brookes respect after the match by reaching out his hand but it was only so he could grab his leg one more time and slam it against the canvas.

Danshoku Dieno continues his unlikely run through the tournament by making it to the semi final! Takeshi Masada tried to weaken him by using the two finger attack that was effective against To-y but it did not work out in the end. Dieno stripped down to give Masada a more dangerous version of the Danshoku Driver but Masada defended himself from it. Dieno instead pulled the win out of nowhere when he countered Masada’s finisher into a Small Package for the pinfall. After the match, Super Sasadango Machine entered the ring to once again ask Dieno to join his team of DDT wrestlers who will fight against Toru Yano and New Japan next month. Dieno continued to turn him down in order to focus on winning King Of DDT.

A victory by any means necessary was on Hideki Okatani’s mind. He tried to get MAO counted out with an attack outside the ring but MAO narrowly got back in on time by jumping from the counter to the ring apron. Okatani then stabbed a bundle of skewers into MAO’s head but got a taste of his own medicine when MAO did the same to him! Okatani had some of MAO’s other tactics scouted but ran into a finish he could not have anticipated. When he charged towards MAO in the corner, MAO hopped up to the top turnbuckle and grabbed Okatani up with him in order to give him the Avalanche Michinoku Driver II! That was enough for MAO to advance to the final four.

The four finalists all met in the ring at the end of the show for the semi final drawing. It didn’t taking long for the pairings to be determined because Dieno and MAO immediately picked the same colour to fill out one semi final match, meaning Aoki and Suzuki will fight in the other! Those two had a deep stare down in the middle of the ring while Dieno and MAO were next to them playing with each other’s balls. Backstage Dieno admits he is the weakest of the four but is counting on MAO to become complacent and underestimate him. Having reached this far, MAO is now compelled to challenge Yuki Ueno for the KO-D Openweight Title again otherwise what will become of DDT if that rematch never happens in the future? Suzuki thinks it is destiny that he is going to fight Aoki again and he is going to beat him to a pulp just like last time. Aoki didn’t have much to say backstage other that simply state he will face Suzuki in the semi final.

This weekend is Daisuke Sasaki’s last matches with DDT before he goes over to New Japan to compete in the Best Of The Super Jr. He told the fans that if he does not win the tournament, he will never come back to DDT!