DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019”, 05/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall 210 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Akito & Kota Umeda defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Akito submitted Hirata with the Scorpion Lock (8:44).
2. 3 Way Match: Sammy Guevara defeated Antonio Honda and Gota Ihashi when Guevara pinned Ihashi with the Shooting Star Press (7:42).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the God’s Right Knee (9:33).
4. CIMA, El Lindaman, Duan Yingnan & Seiki Yoshioka defeated HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno, Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase when Yoshioka pinned Watase with the SK (15:19).
5. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino when Sasaki submitted Iino with the Cross Facelock (14:48).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles & STRONGEST-K TAG Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (K/c) defeated Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (S/c) when MAO pinned Oishi after the Michinoku Tornado Driver (23:41). *V2 for The Moonlight Express. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi fail in V2. The Moonlight Express becomes the 40th STRONGEST-K TAG Champions!
The Moonlight Express are now double tag team champions! Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi set MAO up for the Cactus Flower in the corner but Mike Bailey crushed them from above with the Ultima Weapon. From there Bailey & MAO kept Asahi aside and pinned Oishi with the Michinoku Tornado Driver. MAO said Oishi & Asahi are two wrestlers he admires so he is pleased to have beaten them for the STRONGEST-K TAG Titles.
When the former champions left the ring, Shuten-dōji came out to challenge the Express. Masahiro Takanashi said it is only fair for a team from the same generation as Oishi & Asahi be the one to beat the Express for the belts. Tetsuya Koda decided to book the Express Vs Takanashi & Yukio Sakaguchi for just the KO-D Tag Team Titles at Sumo Hall on 17th February when suddenly #STRONGHEARTS came out! CIMA wants his group to be in the title match to make it more exciting. Hisaya Imabayashi offered to make it a 3 Way Match and CIMA agreed to take part with Seiki Yoshioka on his team. Sakaguchi asked Yoshioka who he is and if he is strong? Sakaguchi will fight him anytime. El Lindaman then stepped in to make fun of Sakaguchi’s blonde hair. The only wrestlers who have proper blonde hair are El Lindaman and Stan Hansen! Sakaguchi attacked Lindaman and the two were pulled apart. Sakaguchi then challenged Lindaman to a match on 27th January.
Daisuke Sasaki is all set on facing Konosuke Takeshita next month. Takeshita is on a roll after winning the D-Ou Grand Prix and pinning CIMA. But Sasaki is always on a roll 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Sasaki wants to feel excitement for the next month so he wants Takeshita to have some fun with him.
So yeah, #STRONGHEARTS are sticking around in DDT after all. The unit appeared before Match #4 could begin. CIMA explained that they were going to leave DDT but he received a message from the OWE office in Shanghai telling them not to come back until they defeat DDT! So CIMA gathered everyone together to crash this show. #STRONGHEARTS challenged the participants of the match they interrupted to an 8-Man Tag Match. T-Hawk decided to not to take part because he had already wrestled earlier in the day, winning the WRESTLE-1 Championship over at Korakuen Hall. Team DDT accepted but ended up losing the battle.
Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki was announced for 27th January.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike (8:12).
2. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango when Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee (7:49).
3. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Kuishinbo Kamen with the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow (16:57). Order Of Elimination: Sanshiro Takagi, Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed), Atsushi Maruyama, Makoto Oishi, Hen China and Kuishinbo Kamen.
4. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto defeated Kota Umeda with the Shining Wizard (11:50).
5. New Year! 3 Way Tag Ladder Match: MAO & Jun Kasai defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda and Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase when MAO grabbed the Otoshidama (12:33).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION! ~ Lucha Libre Rules: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King when HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato (15:13).
7. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) defeated Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) by TKO with a Left Hook (R3 1:14). *V1 for Shinya Aoki.
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) when Takeshita pinned CIMA with the Fable (19:18). *#STRONGHEARTS fails in V1. ALL OUT becomes the 37th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
ALL OUT kicks off 2019 by winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from #STRONGHEARTS! The invading force led by CIMA has been a thorn in ALL OUT’s side for over three months. Today ALL OUT got their absolute victory over them. CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan were a handful at first and Akito took the brunt of the champion team’s offence. That was until Yuki Iino used his power to clear the ring, leading to CIMA facing off with Konosuke Takeshita once more. CIMA hit the Thrust Kick only for Takeshita to shake it off and Lariat him. Takeshita avoided the Schwein and stuck CIMA with his knee. Then the finish happened. Takeshita used the very move he was inspired to create after losing to CIMA at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Takeshita hit the Fable and pinned CIMA to win the titles for ALL OUT!
After the match Takeshita said that after he wins the KO-D Openweight Title he can take the challenge to defend it against CIMA, T-Hawk and Yingnan. CIMA mentioned that he’s been wrestling for the same number of years that Takeshita’s been alive. He accepts defeat for the entire unit today, not just in the main event but also from the opening match. #STRONGHEARTS are going to go have a meeting to figure out where to shake things up next in 2019. CIMA said his goodbyes and it seems that for now #STRONGHEARTS’s time with DDT has come to an end.
The show ended with the confirmed matches for “JUDGEMENT 2019” at Sumo Hall on 17th February. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Title is the main event. Also Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito will face Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha in a Hardcore Match! Sasaki and Takeshita faced off in the ring to close out the show.
A round system was added to the DDT Extreme Title match by Tanomusaku Toba’s request. The match could have lasted for 15 rounds of three minutes each but Shinya Aoki only needed three to knock Toba out. Apparently Hayato “Mach” Sakurai knew all of Aoki’s weak points but Toba was unable to hear his instructions during the match. HARASHIMA approached Aoki after the match to ask for a title rematch. Aoki agreed and it was decided it will take place at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. Aoki said he and HARASHIMA will show a strong side of DDT that only those two can do.
Puma King and Toru Owashi both asked for the 10-Man Tag Match between DAMNATION and DISASTER BOX to be held under Lucha Libre rules. All hell broke loose in the ring until HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato. Sasaki wore a Shuji Ishikawa shirt for the match and placed it in the middle of the ring when it was over. He invited Ishikawa down to the ring to give everyone the sad news. Since Ishikawa has now signed a contract with All Japan, Sasaki thinks that means he will also be leaving DAMNATION. Tetsuya Endo was asked to give his favourite memories with Ishikawa but he didn’t have any. Ishikawa walked away from the ring so upset that Mad Paulie followed to console him. Sasaki switched the subject to Puma King having his last match in DDT today. It is now time for DAMNATION to rebuild. Suddenly “Matsuken Samba” played and Paulie came out dancing. Ishikawa came back out wearing a DAMNATION shirt singing about how “Shu-chan” won’t quit DAMNATION! Sasaki hit him over the head with a microphone to make him stop. If Ishikawa isn’t quitting then that means “DAMNATION, Forever!”
The new year tradition of otoshidama (an envelope filled with gift money) hung above Korakuen Hall for the 3 Way Tag Ladder match. MAO gave Jun Kasai some bananas to get on his good side but Kasai rejected them because he is tired of eating them. Kasai put Kazusada Higuchi through a table with a Flying Body Press (doesn’t count as the Pearl Harbour Splash because he wasn’t wearing his goggles). MAO used the bananas to lure Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda into a ladder trap at the corner, incapacitating them. Mizuki Watase was knocked off the ladder onto a plastic box that Kasai placed below him. That allowed MAO to grab the otoshidama and win the match. MAO opened it up to see how much was inside and found only a single 500 yen coin. However, Hisaya Imabayashi then told MAO he could also make one wish. MAO asked for a Round One entertainment centre to be built in Aoyama. He was only joking. Instead MAO wishes to create his own kind of hardcore wrestling in DDT. MAO asked Kasai to help him. Kasai will but only on a bigger stage because DDT is too cheap to give them proper prize money. Kasai then kicked MAO and ran off with the 500 yen.
Kota Umeda continues to be winless in his trial series. Match 6 of 7 was against Daichi Hashimoto in a match dominated by kicks. Hashimoto did the deal with a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. The Shining Wizard afterwards ended the match. Hashimoto said he had a lot of fun doing the the kicking duel with Umeda. With one match left in Umeda’s trial he found out who his opponent will be on 27th January. It’s Shuji Ishikawa! Umeda approached him for a handshake but instead slapped Ishikawa across the face. Ishikawa returned a slap of his own and left the ring.
DDT’s search for the next breakout comedy wrestler took place with Sanshiro Takagi and Makoto Oishi holding a Battle Royal. Hen China was the first entrant but he spent most of his time attaching glow sticks to the ring ropes death match style. Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) outwrestled Oishi with his dazzlingly flabby Tiger Mask style. Gorgeous Matsuno’s singing entrance was cut off by Kuishinbo Kamen reading his children’s picture book to the audience. The final entrant Atsushi Maruyama was annoyed that DDT booked him in this match instead of something major. Matsuno used Rocket Punches to eliminate the field until it was down to him and Kamen. The rest of the wrestlers stuck around to do comedy spots. They kept encouraging Matsuno to do the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow to Kamen over and over to make it look cool. It made Matsuno so tired that he had to crawl really slowly to cover Kamen. He still got the three count and everyone piled on top of him to celebrate his win.
Shuten-dōji were victorious over their ragtag collection of opponents in the 8-Man Tag Match. Yukio Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee.
The other #STRONGHEARTS defeat today came at the hands of Nobuhiro Shimatani of all people! He pinned El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike crucifix slam. Lindaman played a good sport after the match until he gave Shimatani a Low Blow and left the ring. That won’t upset Shimatani though. He’s starting off the year with a win. Everything’s coming up Nobu!
The show began with news that DDT has formed a partnership with the English promotion Fight Club: PRO. FCP co-owner Martin Zaki joined Takagi, MAO and Mike Bailey in the ring for the announcement. Takagi wants DDT to appeal across the world in 2019 so he’s joining in with the Japanese scene’s growing ventures to the UK. Both companies will be sending wrestlers back and forth to each other throughout the year. Zaki says this is a big opportunity to bring talent rich in personality, both male and female, over to the UK. It also gives British wrestlers the opportunity to learn both the spiritual and physical elements of pro wrestling in Japan. Maybe even a new style combining British and Japanese wrestling philosophies can be discovered through this.
Yukio Naya from Real Japan will compete at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. He is the grandson of the legendary sumo wrestler Taiho Koki. Naya has only been wrestling for over a year and says he will be honored to wrestle in Sumo Hall.
Danshoku Dieno’s newest creation OsuMAN Dankon is debuting at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. I don’t know what it is. I don’t think I want to know what it is.
In Tokyo Joshi Pro news Natsumi Maki appeared on this show to confirm her debut with TJPW on tomorrow’s Korakuen show.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
3. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
4. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
5. New Year! 3 Way Tag Ladder Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
6. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
7. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai)
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
It is now confirmed that the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match is the main event for DDT’s first show of the year. #STRONGHEARTS defend against ALL OUT and there’s a few small stories to keep track of. CIMA wants Akito to take the fall so #STRONGHEARTS will have swept over the entire ALL OUT unit. CIMA is also encouraging Duan Yingnan to beat Konosuke Takeshita to raise the newcomer’s reputation. Takeshita is riding a wave of momentum by winning the D-Ou Grand Prix as well as the New Year Shuffle Tag Tournament. #STRONGHEART’s only defeat in DDT happened because of Akito and he’s the sole person in the company to claim a win over the invaders. Yuki Iino is eager to show what he learned teaming with Daisuke Sekimoto on the New Year’s Eve show.
The 3 Way Tag is now a Ladder match with an otoshidama gift envelope hanging above the ring for the wrestlers to fight over.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’19”, 04/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Millie McKenzie & X
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuna Manase Vs Veda Scott
3. Marika Kobashi Return Battle: Marika Kobashi, Mina Shirakawa, Haruna Neko & Pom Harajuku Vs Raku, Hikari Noa, Pipipipi Pinano & Miu Watanabe
4. Unagi Himawari Debut Match: Saki Akai & YUMI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Unagi Himawari
5. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Reika Saiki
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Riho
7. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Itoh
For those attending this show, it will end at around 2:30pm so you’ll have plenty of time to get ready for the Tokyo Dome afterwards.
Will Miyu Yamashita’s curiosity about Maki Itoh’s abilities get in the way of her own performance? Two months ago she intentionally beat Itoh with a Crab Hold in order to see how Itoh would recover her momentum. A month later Itoh was able to pin Yamashita as part of a 2/3 Falls Tag Match so Itoh is capable of beating the champion even if it’s by fluke. Yamashita is certain they will have an interesting match together and wants to find out what version of Itoh shows up for the big main event. Itoh thinks this is the most special TOKYO Princess Title match ever. She knows that the fanbase are expecting her to lose but that only means they won’t see it coming when she wins! Itoh lost a lot and went through many twists and turns to get here. If she becomes champion, fans can look at her and think “Maybe I am a loser like Itoh, but I might be able to win like her too.”
The Magical Sugar Rabbits are determined to hold onto the TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles because the championship is what makes their team. They will always be on good terms but should they lose the belts to the Twin Cam Monsters then it would greatly diminish their bond. The belts are what brought them together in the first place and they’re having too much fun together to let it fade away like that.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “IT’S A HAPPY STORY IN THE BEGINNING FOR WRESTLING IN THE NEW YEAR!”, 05/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
It’s the Raw After Mani-… The New Year’s D-… The Hangov-no wait they don’t drink… It’s the Tokyo Joshi Pro version of that show that takes place the day after the big event!
DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019”, 05/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito & Kota Umeda
2. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Jun Kasai & Antonio Honda Vs Sammy Guevara & Gota Ihashi
4. HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
5. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles & STRONGEST-K TAG Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (K/c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (S/c)
Shuji Ishikawa has signed a contract with All Japan which means he won’t be around for DAMNATION any more. Daisuke Sasaki tweeted that he now has to look for a new pet. Maybe Mad Paulie can cheer him up. Will Sasaki be in the right mindset for Takeshita at Sumo Hall next month? Was he even in the right mindset before?
BASARA “BASARA 85 ~SHUFFLE~”, 06/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Yasu Urano Vs Masato Kamino
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Tatsuhiko Yoshino
3. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Jun Masaoka
4. Sento Minzoku Vs Best Stretchmen: Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man
5. Isami Kodaka Returns To War: Isami Kodaka Vs Naoki Tanizaki
6. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka (c) Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizara
On New Year’s Day, Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka successfully defended the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champions over at ZERO1. Since they are already scheduled to take on Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizara in a tag match, the Sparky members want the belts to be put on the line. The champions accepted the challenge and we now have a main event title match added to BASARA’s first event of 2019!
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2018 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,242 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino defeated Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda (w/ Jaki Numazawa) when Sekimoto submitted Honda with a Scorpion Lock (6:26).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata when Okabayashi submitted Hirata with the Argentine Backbreaker (6:57).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi (w/ Brahman Shu) when Miyamoto submitted Takanashi with a Cross Armbreaker (5:53).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey defeated Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara when Ueki pinned Kojika with a School Boy (6:44).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuya Aoki & MAO defeated Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo when Aoki pinned Yoshino with a Modified Backslide Pin (7:37).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki) when Hashimoto pinned Takagi with the Shining Wizard (1:22).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao when Higuchi pinned Takao with a Cradle (5:38).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA defeated Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno when Takeda pinned Ueno with a One Man Conchairto (6:50).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino when Sakaguchi pinned Iino with the God’s Right Knee (9:50).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey when Miyamoto submitted Ueki with a Heel Hold (9:21).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuya Aoki & MAO when Sasaki submitted Aoki with the Cross Facelock (9:14).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
12a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA defeated Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi when HARASHIMA pinned Higuchi with a Jackknife Pin (0:41).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki when Okabayashi pinned Hashimoto with the Golem Splash (10:07).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
14a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA when Takeshita pinned HARASHIMA with a Rolling Leg Clutch (1:54).
15. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi when Takeshita pinned Sakaguchi with the Fable (13:10).
The annual New Year’s tradition of a massive inter-promotional tournament in Korakuen Hall is back again. The teams all contained one Big Japan wrestler and one DDT wrestler although a few had an extra wrestler aiding them from ringside one way or another. Let’s get through this marathon.
Round 1
Muscle Wolf Vs Hama Ton Antonio Honda was able to poke Daisuke Sekimoto in the eyes with Gongitsune but Yuki Iino was one step ahead and countered Honda with a nipple pinch when the attack was aimed at him. This is the point where Ryota Hama thinks his team lost the match. From there Sekimoto gave Honda an Atomic Drop and then submitted him with a Scorpion Deathlock. Jaki Numazawa was in Hama & Honda’s corner for the match. He blames himself for the team losing.
Bald & Blonde Vs ☆Team Nomura☆ Takuya Nomura came out dressed like Kazuki Hirata. The two were about to dance for their entrance when Yukio Sakaguchi immediately attacked Hirata. Nomura stood up to his opponents with his kicks but his momentum was purposely stopped by Hirata so he could tag in. Hirata’s knock out chop worked against Yuji Okabayashi although it took a few moments for it to take effect. Nomura & Hirata got to do their dance but unbeknownst to them, Okabayashi & Sakaguchi got up behind them also wearing Hirata Go glasses! The bald and blonde wrestlers beat up their opponents along to the music until Okabayashi submitted Hirata with the Argentine Backbreaker. Nomura said he doesn’t remember anything after he put on the glasses. He also never learned Hirata’s dance and blames that for the loss. On the bright side, Hirata thinks there are infinite possibilities for them together as a team. He hopes they work together again so he can harness that power to beat Sakaguchi!
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Toryumon Refugees
This year Yuko Miyamoto has been promoting himself as the strongest Joshi wrestler in Japan. In the opening round he was going to prove it by transforming himself into Shinobu Kandori! He entered to Kandori’s song “GET IT BACK” and wore an identical costume to hers. Maybe she would have found it funny but she was too busy losing her shit at a Brazilian She Hulk over at the RIZIN show during this time. Masahiro Takanashi and the Brahman Brothers also paid a tribute of their own to their mentor Ultimo Dragon by entering to his music. Brahman Shu was also wearing an Ultimo Dragon mask. The usual Brahmans plunder came out like their suitcase and bowling ball. Konosuke Takeshita threw the briefcase at Takanashi then handled the Brahmans while Miyamoto scrambled with Takanashi. Miyamoto rolled Takanashi into a Cross Armbreaker for the submission victory. He and Takanashi then gave the Brahmans a taste of their own medicine by doing the bowling ball spot on them. Backstage Takanashi & Brahman Kei begged Shu/Dragon for forgiveness. Kei/Dragon demanded they become Toryumon trainees againt and pay the tuition fees along with it.
Japan-US 4 Dimensional Combination Vs Team Let’s Go Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey got along great, screaming “Let’s Go!” at everyone and each other for the entire match. Bailey was also wearing his own Ueki’s style shirt with his name on it. Sammy Guevara gave both of them the middle finger and The Great Kojika did the same later. Kojika got into a strike exchange with Bailey until Ueki snuck in a School Boy to pin him. Kojika enjoyed teaming with Guevara and wants to do it again next year. Guevara asked Kojika how old he was. Kojika said he was 60…
2nd Generation Party Boys Vs Cherry Boys On The Run Tetsuya Endo wasn’t eager to team with Tatsuhiko Yoshino. He had to be encouraged down to the ring by Yoshino and Kota Sekifuda. During the match MAO put Endo in a Crab Hold and Endo couldn’t move. Sekifuda got into the ring and along with the audience taught Endo how to reach the ropes. Endo tried to follow the instructions but MAO dragged him back into the centre and Yoshino had to break up the hold. When Yoshino got tagged in the match became more cheeky when he pulled down the back of Yuya Aoki & MAO’s tights, exposing their backsides. Endo & Yoshino would end up having the back of their tights pulled back too. Aoki put an end to the match by backsliding Yoshino into a pin and bridging over on top of him for the pin. Endo told Yoshino he would be muting him on Twitter because of what happened.
Super Fighting Three Musketeers Vs Black Tri-Stars
This was weird. Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki came out doing a mashup act of The Three Musketeers: Daichi’s father Shinya Hashimoto, Masahiro Chono and Keiji Muto. They were supposed to fight Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi with Hideki Suzuki in their corner but they were nowhere to be found. Instead the Black Tri-Star Gundams appeared! They circled around Korakuen Hall until they finally attacked. Sasaki grabbed their cannon and struck them with it. Hashimoto then channeled Muto and his chronic knee pain to hit the Shining Wizard and win the match. The Black Tri-Stars fled but not before attacking Mita Sayoko at the commentary table along the way.
Team Katagi Vs MudNATION Yasufumi Nakanoue carried a wooden sword to the ring and acted like Kazusada Higuchi’s mentor for the match. Nakanoue tried to strike Soma Takao with the sword but he moved and Higuchi took the blow. Minoru Fujita grabbed the sword and tried to attack Higuchi. Higuchi also moved out of the ring and Takao got hit. That allowed Higuchi to cradle Takao for the three count. Both Fujita & Takao said they couldn’t hear each other during the match and would have needed subtitles to communicate better.
Team A Line Vs Crazy Smile Yuki Ueno got in the death match mood by dressing up like Ryuji Ito and asking for the match to be held under Hardcore rules. On the other side, Masashi Takeda wore one of HARASHIMA’s ring jackets for his entrance and wanted to wrestle a normal match. Chairs were brought into the ring anyway and were used a lot. Ueno didn’t hesitate to hit his DISASTER BOX leader HARASHIMA with a chair but that meant HARASHIMA also would not hold back when the roles were reversed. Takeda wasn’t able to hit the Reverse U-Crash, Ueno countered it into a Cradle for a nearfall. Takeda instead placed a chair on top of Ueno’s face then hit it with another chair to keep Ueno down for the pin count. Ito & Ueno admitted they did not communicate with each other much before the show. They only shared 4 or 5 direct messages with each other. If they team up again they promise to message each other more.
Round 2
Muscle Wolf Vs Bald & Blonde
Big lads collided a bunch to kick off the second round. In the dying seconds of the match Sakaguchi hit Iino with the God’s Right Knee to get the win. Iino thinks he pulled a muscle in his leg after doing the Spear. However he says he learned a lot teaming with Sekimoto and will use it to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in DDT on 3rd January. Iino and Sekimoto also promised to keep in touch through DMs.
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Team Let’s Go
Ueki came up with the perfect plan to counter Miyamoto’s Shinobu Kandori tribute. He came out dressed as Aja Kong! Bailey also joined in by having his face painted like Kong’s. The Kandori Vs Kong match up was historically accurate until Ueki lost his temper and pulled out his gun. Ueki then crotched himself on the top rope and Miyamoto submitted him with a Heel Hold. Ueki admitted that Miyamoto really is the world’s strongest male Joshi wrestler.
Cherry Boys On The Run Vs Super Fighting Three Musketeers
Hashimoto continued the Muto tribute by putting Aoki in the Figure 4 Leg Lock. Sasaki was put in danger after MAO dove onto him. However Sasaki avoided Aoki’s Tiger Suplex and trapped him in the Cross Facelock. Aoki fought to reach the ropes but Sasaki rolled him back into the centre and made him tap out. MAO felt regretful because their elimination from the tournament means the Cherry Boys’ youth has come to an end and they now have to become adults. Maybe it’s not all bad though. MAO heard that a 23 year old’s sex drive is bigger than an 18 year old’s. So maybe he can still work hard when he reaches the ripe old age of 23…
Team Katagi Vs Crazy Smile
The first time limit draw of the show happened here. This time HARASHIMA got into Takeda’s state of mind by wearing Takeda’s entrance gear to the ring. He held Higuchi in place for Takeda to stick a bundle of bamboo skewers into his head. Higuchi then got revenge by sticking skewers in HARASHIMA’s head. They scrambled for a pin but the 10 minute time limit was reached. The match restarted with One Count Pinfall rules to determine the winners. Higuchi went for the Doctor Bomb but HARASHIMA countered it into a Jackknife for the one count victory. Backstage Higuchi took responsibility for the “scandal” of his team losing. He is blessed to have a “big brother” like Nakanoue looking over him. Nakanoue then told him the team was disbanded and he walked out of the room, leaving Higuchi all alone.
Semi Finals
Bald & Blonde Vs Super Fighting Three Musketeers
The semi final lottery paired Okabayashi & Sakaguchi against Hashimoto & Sasaki. Things kicked off literally with Sakaguchi and Hashimoto laying into each other with kicks. Okabayashi blasted Sasaki with a Lariat then added another Lariat with the God’s Right Knee to combo Hashimoto. Sakaguchi kicked Sasaki away while Okabayashi pinned Hashimoto with the Golem Splash. Sasaki blamed Hashimoto for drawing a Muto Kitty on his shirt instead of the Muto Bear. He then came up with an idea to go drink at Seiji Sakaguchi’s house. Hashimoto tried to follow him but he still had Muto’s knee pain to deal with.
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Crazy Smile
Miyamoto ditched the Shinobu Kandori jokes and wrestled as his normal self for the rest of the show. Takeshita also wore custom made Yankee gear to match with his tag partner. Another time limit draw happened this time with 15 minutes not being enough to get a result. Sudden death did not immediately begin because the draw happened minutes before 2018 ended and 2019 would begin. The locker room emptied out for the countdown and everyone celebrate the New Year! Overtime then began and HARASHIMA went for the Somato on Takeshita. Takeshita moved and HARASHIMA crashed into the corner. Miyamoto then hit a Somato to HARASHIMA from behind and Takeshita used a Rolling Leg Clutch to pin HARASHIMA for the one count! Takeda & HARASHIMA both had fun teaming together. Takeda was praised for the big success he is currently achieving. HARASHIMA hopes to reach a similar level in 2019. Takeda also talked about Abdullah Kobayashi who was originally supposed to team with HARASHIMA on this show before suffering a shoulder injury.
Sumo Hall Announcements
The first big news of 2019 is DDT and Big Japan announcing a Sumo Hall double header happening this November. DDT runs Sumo Hall on 3rd November and Big Japan has their show on the 4th. Both Sanshiro Takagi and Eiji Kosaka acted like they didn’t expect the other to make their announcement. Yukinori Matsui went ahead with setting up the ticket sales for both shows anyway. Both companies see the situation as friendly competition. They would like to make hundreds of millions of yen this year but may need something like a donation from Floyd Mayweather to make that happen.
Final
Bald & Blonde Vs Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man
Is this definitely the first pro wrestling match of 2019 around the world? Let’s go with that until somebody says otherwise. With no time limit, a winner must be decided definitively. Takeshita got rid of Okabayashi with a German Suplex followed by a Somato from Miyamoto. Sakaguchi aimed the God’s Right Knee at Takeshita but it was blocked and turned into a Reverse Implant Driver. Takeshita ended the night by hitting the Fable on Sakaguchi to win the tournament! Takeshita thanked Miyamoto for helping him reach the final for the 4th year in a row. Miyamoto promised to get his own custom Takeshita gear to return the favour for Takeshita’s costume. Takeshita ended the show by saying both DDT and Big Japan will do their best not to lose against the larger pro wrestling companies this year. The Sumo Hall double header in November will show that.
Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards
There was a break after the 2nd Round for the Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards ceremony to be held. Masashi Takeda dominated the contest by winning the MVP award and being featured FOUR times in the Best Match category! He hopes to become a triple champion in 2019. Isami Kodaka wants to win Best Bout again in 2019 but this time as the match winner. El Lindaman accepted the Best Unit Award on behalf of #STRONGHEARTS. He said 2019 will be an important year not just for the unit but also OWE. He personally also wants to win another championship so he can be a double champion. Best Newcomer Syuuou Fujiwara couldn’t be at the show but he was able to send in a video message. In the message Fujiwara said he is upset that Mita Sayoko is being physically given the award instead of him. He threatened to come down to Samurai! TV studio to take it back. When Eiji Kosaka accepted the Best Show Award for BJW’s Sumo Hall show, he promised to protect Mita from Fujiwara because she is his favourite Mita.
Best Bout
1. Masashi Takeda Vs Isami Kodaka (Big Japan, 20th June)
2. Hideki Suzuki Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan, 11th November)
3. Masashi Takeda Vs Violent Jack (FREEDOMS, 2nd May)
4. Masashi Takeda Vs Jun Kasai (Jun Kasai Produce, 28th August)
5. Masashi Takeda Vs Masaya Takahashi (Big Japan, 11th November)
Best Unit
1. #STRONGHEARTS
2. Kobayashi-gun
3. Arrival
4. DAMNATION
5. 3rd Generation Bloody Brothers
Best Box Office
1. Big Japan at Sumo Hall, 11th November
2. DDT at Sumo Hall, 21st October
3. Jun Kasai Produce at Korakuen Hall, 28th August
4. Masahiro Takanashi Produce at Ryogoku KFC Hall, 8th July
5. Guts World at Shinjuku FACE, 15th April
Best Newcomer
1. Syuuou Fujiwara
2. Yuya Aoki
3. Koju Takeda
4. Yoshihisa Uto
5. Ayame Sasamura
Naomi Yoshimura suffered a cervical sprain from today’s match when he took a Pedigree from Daisuke Sasaki and spiked his head into the canvas. He was allowed to go home from the hospital but decided to stay because he still feels numbness in his neck. There is no date yet for his return to the ring and his match against Sasaki on 3rd January has been cancelled.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP UP GIRLS (PRO WRESTLING) PRO WRESTLING WOMEN’S FESTIVAL”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Shibuya GARRET
1. Hinano & Raku Vs Makoto Oishi & Hyper Misao
2. Hikari & Miu Vs Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima
The Up Up Girls (Fake) are making their return to ruin the big day for the real Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) group.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2018 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino Vs Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brahman Shu or Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara Vs Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Aoki & MAO
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki)
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #1 Vs Winners Of Match #2
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #3 Vs Winners Of Match #4
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #5 Vs Winners Of Match #6
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #7 Vs Winners Of Match #8
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
15. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: X & X Vs X & X
The year ends with this ridiculous card. How many of these matches will be shorter than Floyd Mayweather Vs Tenshin Nasukawa?
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
4. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
5. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
8. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai)
With the KO-D Openweight Title match cancelled it gets replaced with a 10-Man Tag between DAMNATION and DISASTER BOX. That match was already planned as an 8-Man Tag but now Daisuke Sasaki and Keisuke Ishii have been added to it. Looking at the schedule page on DDT’s official website they are now listing the DDT Extreme Title match as the new main event.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’19”, 04/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Millie McKenzie & X
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuna Manase Vs Veda Scott
3. Marika Kobashi Return Battle: Marika Kobashi, Mina Shirakawa, Haruna Neko & Pom Harajuku Vs Raku, Hikari, Hinano & Miu
4. Unagi Himawari Debut Match: Saki Akai & YUMI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Unagi Himawari
5. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Reika Saiki
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Riho
7. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Ito
Hyper Misao will take a leave of absence after 5th January for personal reasons. She is taking time off to go on a journey and explore new ways of being a hero. She apologises for the sudden and selfish decision but promises to come back.
DDT “HANDMADE IN JAPAN FESTIVAL WINTER (2019)”, 12/01/2019 Tokyo Big Sight West Hall Music & Play Area
1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Yuki Iino Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda Vs MAO & Mizuki Watase
This is happening on the same day as a Monorail Pro Wrestling match.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 2,018 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani when MAO pinned Shimatani with the Cannonball 450° (11:40).
2. Muscle Offer Match ~ M-Ou GRAND PRIX 2018 Total Victory Decision Battle Royal: Antonio Honda defeated Choun-Shiryu with a School Boy (7:10). Order Of Elimination: Yasu Urano and Makoto Oishi, Pedro Takaishi, Super Sasadango Machine, Choun-Shiryu.
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (9:49).
4. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda (w/ Hideki Suzuki) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) ended in a No Contest (5:08).
5. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka defeated Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda when CIMA pinned Iino with the Meteora (13:06).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara by TKO when Sasaki knocked out Yoshimura with the Pedigree (13:02).
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Go Shiozaki with the German Suplex (23:07). *V? for Konosuke Takeshita.
Konosuke Takeshita has booked his ticket for Sumo Hall next February because he is the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix winner! There was an uncomfortable vibe inside Korakuen Hall before the main event because of what happened to Naomi Yoshimura in the previous match (more on that below). Takeshita encouraged everyone to cheer for Yoshimura while he was on his way to the hospital. When they were done he then told Go Shiozaki not to hesitate fighting him at full force because of what happened earlier. Shiozaki didn’t hold back with his Chops and Lariats, leaving their mark on his opponent. Takeshita kicked out of the Go Flasher and did what he could to combat the Strong Arm Lariat. Takeshita successfully used the Fable then followed with a German Suplex to win the match and the Grand Prix. Since he is also the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion that also means a successful defence but that’s kind of a low priority from the list of accomplishments today. Takeshita now gets a KO-D Openweight Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2019” on 17th February.
After the match Takeshita said he never imagined he would ever wrestle against Shiozaki. But today near the end of Heisei era, Takeshita got to fight a member of the strongest class of pro wrestlers. He has never felt such pain or suffering before but he wants to go through it again. Takeshita’s pecs will always be ready to take Shiozaki’s Chops. The show ended with the people who made the most impact in DDT this year talking about their summaries of 2018. MAO said he did a lot of weird things this year and wants to do more next year. Meiko Satomura talked about winning the KO-D Title. HARASHIMA said 2018 was a good year because he is still smiling at the end of it. Takeshita gave the last word. He promises to bring fun and exciting pro wrestling with all of DDT in 2019!
The semi-main event was stopped after Naomi Yoshimura spiked his head against the canvas from Daisuke Sasaki’s Pedigree. Yoshimura was knocked out from the move and Yukinori Matsui called off the match so he could get stretchered out. Sasaki got on the microphone, called Yoshimura a waste of scrap that should be sent back home and left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi later gave everyone the update that Yoshimura could move his legs and was regaining his grip strength. Hours after the show was over it was announced that Yoshimura was diagnosed with a cervical sprain. There is no timetable yet for his return. The KO-D Title match scheduled for 3rd January has been cancelled and will be replaced with a DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION 10-Man Tag Match. Sasaki is annoyed because he was thought he now had free time to take a vacation to Hawaii.
#STRONGHEARTS have the upper hand over ALL OUT with today’s win. Yuki Iino was cut off by El Lindaman’s German Suplex. That allowed CIMA to hit the Schwein and the Meteora for the three count. Outside the ring Kota Umeda and Seiki Yoshioka had a face off after the match. CIMA noticed this and said that the difference between Umeda and Yoshioka is the same as the difference between Shunjuku and Ikebukuro. CIMA talked about the upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles defence on 3rd January. He has now beaten Takeshita and Iino. All that’s left for him to beat is Akito! Although he thinks T-Hawk can do that for him. Or maybe Duan Yingnan can leave his mark in DDT history by beating Takeshita?
When #STRONGHEARTS left the ring one by one, El Lindaman was the last to move until he was suddenly attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani! They faced off then stood back to back in a height measuring contest. Both men declared themselves the winner.
Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda brought along Hideki Suzuki to be their cornerman to even the odds against Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai by their side. This led to chaos when Okuda provoked Sakurai leading to a fight with his own partner Aoki! Okuda, Aoki and Suzuki fought each other among the audience until they found their way back into the ring. Things calmed down and Hisaya Imabayashi asked Aoki to pick the stipulation for his DDT Extreme Title match against Toba on 3rd January. Aoki told Okuda to pick for him and another fight broke out. When that brawl ended Aoki told Toba that they will have a Boxing Gloves Match!
It was an exciting day for Kazuki Hirata because he had a brand new pair of Hirata Go! glasses to show off to everyone. Yukio Sakaguchi didn’t care and tried to break the glasses by placing them on a chair and asking the other wrestlers to sit on it. They survived Saki Akai sitting on them but were crushed underneath Gota Ihashi. Hirata was devastated because if the glasses break then so too does his music. Hirata broke down into tears until Toru Owashi & Meiko Satomura put on their own pairs of glasses and sang “TOKYO GO” to him. Hirata danced along to it until Sakaguchi kicked him to oblivion. Sakaguchi then placed a fresh pair of glasses on Hirata’s body and imitated a line from the Hazuki Glasses commercial.
The D-Ou Grand Prix wasn’t the only big event on the show today. The return of Muscle to promote the sub-brand’s Sumo Hall show on 16th February led to a Battle Royal to determine who gets to be in the main event. The goal of the match is for a wrestler to phone the opponent they wish to face while pinning another wrestler. The winner would get that match as well as up to 1,000,000 yen to book that wrestler and 30% of that to be taken in as a booking fee. Antonio Honda wanted to book his father Tetsu Watanabe, Choun-Shiryu wanted to book Jackie Chan “of the Hong Kong International Police Department”, Pedro Takaishi wanted to book Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Yasu Urano wanted to book the comedian Kuro-chan. We didn’t hear who Makoto Oishi wanted because when he said he was going to book someone from K-DOJO he was cut off by the return of Amon Tsurumi! Tsurumi said he’s been gone for so long because he was busy producing movies. While doing this he discovered that ultra low budget movies can make good profits due to word of mouth. That means you don’t need to blow out your budget getting a big name in order to create a big success. He cancelled the Battle Royal and announced the start of the M-Ou Grand Prix round robin tournament! Urano complained that they don’t have time to do that. Everyone agreed on doing a normal Battle Royal after Tsurumi poked everyone in the eyes. Honda ended up winning the match. His prize was a briefcase representing his right to main event the Muscle show in February. Honda noticed it was heavy so he opened it up. Inside was a pile of unsold tickets for the show! Tsurumi said because Honda is main eventing the show it is now his responsibility to sell the remaining tickets. Only 780 tickets have been sold so far!
The Moonlight Express now have the perfect momentum for their Double Titles match on 5th January. They along with HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi were victorious over DAMNATION in the opener. The Express want to be the best tag team of 2019 so they are already planning appearances inside and outside of DDT. They will be at Fight Club: PRO’s Japan debut on 7th January and also K-DOJO’s next Korakuen show on the 13th no matter the result of the Double Titles match.
Ten minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner between Yuki Ueno and Mizuki Watase in the pre-show bout.
The big summer show in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 15th July will be called “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. DDT is asking fans to choose the Twitter hashtag for the show. The options are either #PeterPanDDT, #DDTPeterPan, #DDTWPP or #WrestlePeterPan.
Shuten-dōji’s self-produced show that they won from the Dramatic Election will be held in Shinjuku FACE on 17th April. They will bring in a lot of wrestlers associated with the unit and promise to deliver a ridiculous show. KUDO wasn’t there for the announcement so Shota took his place dressed just like Masahiro Takanashi. It was enough to make Sakaguchi laugh.
Shunma Katsumata is planning to return from his orbital injury this February. He had successful eye surgery on 11th December.
Jason “The Gift” Kincaid returns to DDT on 13th January. Space Monkey makes his debut on the 27th.
First of all a very Merry Christmas to everybody! I have an Electric Six Christmas album (yes it exists) playing on loop while I’m trying to finish this post so I can wrap up the blog for the next few days. I keep having to rewrite it with the stories coming out today (there’s now some sort of Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs HEAT-UP thing going on that I’m missing for now). I’m going to enjoy the break before things get busy next week. Last year I felt a general burnout from the DDT family being involved in five Korakuen Hall shows in the space of a week (six in less than two weeks if you include DDT’s Christmas Eve show). There is one less Korakuen event this time around and I’ve already lashed through plenty of busy tours in 2018 so hopefully the energy levels will be good all around.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE GOD OF PRO WRESTLING “MY ARMS FELL!” BLURRY CONFESSION”, 27/12/2018 Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall
Well this has gotten awkward. Rumours are going around that Natsumi Maki will be joining Tokyo Joshi Pro soon but she burned a bridge in the process. She was originally advertised to be in the main event of an Actwres girl’Z show in Amagasaki today but was pulled off the card last night. After the opening match Yumiko Hotta told the audience about Maki’s decision to go work with Tokyo Joshi. Hotta then said Maki made this deal without her permission and she cannot forgive her for it. So far neither Maki or Tokyo Joshi have confirmed the rumour of a deal between them. Maki has apologised to the AgZ fans for missing the show.
If this deal is true then Maki working with Tokyo Joshi was most likely going to be a surprise announcement at this Thursday’s show in the new Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall. I guess Maki would show up alongside a full card reveal for the 4th January where she can make her debut. Maki did announce in August that she would be leaving Actwres girl’Z at the end of 2018 so the questions I’m left with are when was her move to Tokyo Joshi planned and how exactly was this done against Hotta’s wishes? It’s one thing if contract tampering is involved but from what I gather Maki should be free from that. I also get that having your boss’s blessing to join another promotion is important in these circles even if it is not necessary. We just have to wait and see how this shakes out.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno
1. Muscle Offer Match ~ Live Call From The Match Venue! Yearly Fortune Telling Guest Student Booking Competition!!: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Pedro Takaishi Vs Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi
2. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura
4. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka Vs Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda
5. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda Vs Tanomusaku Toba & Keisuke Ishii
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Go Shiozaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Go Shiozaki enjoyed his time in the D-Ou Grand Prix and thinks it was a worthwhile experience. He was hesitant to take part at first, fearing it would be a career mistake to get involved. Instead the matches and opponents he got have gone above his expectations. After making it as far as the final he is now motivated to engrave his name in the tournament’s young history. Konosuke Takeshita is also motivated to raise the prestige of the Grand Prix. He cannot deny the match has an element of DDT Vs NOAH to it but he doesn’t want it to be just about that. Shiozaki Vs Takeshita should also be about two of the best wrestlers in Japan facing off against each other. Takeshita will be fighting not for DDT but for himself. The winner gets himself a spot in February’s Sumo Hall main event.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “IT IS THE LAST OF THE HEISEI!”, 31/12/2017 Saitama Super Arena – Community Arena
1. Shivering Armlocker Vs Temporary Manager Of DAMNATION: Takeshi Okada Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. GANBARE NEW ATTITUDE: Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
3. “I’m Determined To Do My Best, Do No Forget Your Talent” Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Keisuke Ishii & Shuhei Washida Vs Yumehito Imanari, Shota & Mitomi Masayuki
Ganpro ends its year at the RIZIN Martial Arts EXPO. The Ghost of DNA past joins in with Kouki Iwasaki, Kota Umeda and Mizuki Watase all involved in the same match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP UP GIRLS (PRO WRESTLING) PRO WRESTLING WOMEN’S FESTIVAL”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Shibuya GARRET
1. Hinano & Raku Vs X & X
2. Hikari & Miu Vs Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima
This event is going to reestablish the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) group. Each member will be getting a new ring name with new costumes and new entrance music. The two matches will be held on mats due to the venue’s small size.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
4. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
5. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Naomi Yoshimura
Danshoku Dieno has explained his desire to humiliate Daisuke Sasaki as revenge for what Sasaki did to him at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Getting stripped naked (Dieno is convinced Sasaki made him do it) and locked into a casket can do that to a person. Since Dieno is in no shape to enact revenge by himself, he formed an alliance with Naomi Yoshimura when the youngster returned from his overseas excursion. Yoshimura agreed to go along because he senses bad vibes in current DDT and Sasaki is to blame for it. Dieno & Yoshimura have been constantly taunting Sasaki, mostly regarding his failed “relationship” with Candice LeRae. Sasaki admits he is still in love with LeRae and he’s tried to send flowers priced 5,000 yen to her. While the mindgames have been effecting him negatively, Sasaki got a one up on Yoshimura by attacking him with a chair at today’s show in Koyama.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’19”, 04/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Reika Saiki
2. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Riho
3. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Ito
As mentioned above, I expect the full card for this show to be revealed on Thursday’s show.
BASARA “BASARA 85 ~SHUFFLE~”, 06/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Yasu Urano Vs Masato Kamino
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Tatsuhiko Yoshino
3. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Jun Masaoka
4. Sento Minzoku Vs Best Stretchmen: Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man
5. Sparky Vs Aiseki Tag: Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizara Vs Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka
6. Isami Kodaka Returns To War: Isami Kodaka Vs Naoki Tanizaki
Ryota Nakatsu and Ikuto Hidaka matches seems to happen whenever BASARA hits a milestone. It was the opening match of the debut show and was held again on its one year anniversary. Now it happens again with BASARA’s visit to the reopened Kitazawa Town Hall. While this next match is only a tag bout, Nakatsu gets to find out if he has come any closer to Hidaka’s level.
DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018”, 23/12/2018 Tochigi Koyama City Cultural Center 145 Fans
1. Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase with the Perfect Driver (10:31).
2. 3 Way Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Mad Paulie and Gota Ihashi when Takanashi pinned Ihashi with an Oklahoma Roll (7:25).
3. Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Antonio Honda & Veda Scott when Oishi pinned Honda with the Nekodora (11:12).
4. Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Bailey pinned Shimatani after the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:45).
5. Koyama Specialty! Lucky Town Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda when Sasaki submitted Umeda with the Cross Facelock (15:30).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno when Takeshita pinned Ueno with the Fable (21:15).
Konosuke Takeshita promoted both the D-Ou Grand Prix final on 30th December and ALL OUT challenging for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 3rd January. For the Grand Prix, Takeshita wants to be Go Shiozaki on behalf of DDT. For the 6-Man Tag Titles match, it will be a win for ALL OUT no matter if it’s Takeshita, Akito or Yuki Iino that scores the pin.
Danshoku Dieno & Naomi Yoshimura came out to taunt Daisuke Sasaki after Match #5. They brought out dumplings to eat and jokingly asked if Sasaki wanted some. Sasaki then dove out of the ring onto Yoshimura and the two began fighting. Sasaki brought a chair into the ring but Yoshimura hit him with a Lariat. When Yoshimura picked up the chair, Sasaki Dropkicked it into his face. Sasaki then smashed the chair over Yoshimura’s head and left him laying among the remains of dumplings around the ring.
A story between Makoto Oishi, Shiori Asahi and the Moonlight Express was brewing over the weekend. Mike Bailey & MAO approached the other two at a K-DOJO show yesterday asking for a STRONGEST-K TAG Title shot. Oishi & Asahi would only accept the challenge if the KO-D Tag Team Titles were also put on the line to make it a Double Title match! Both teams agreed on the stipulation and it will take place in DDT on 5th January. Today Oishi approached them after their mask to give an answer. He said he was disappointed that they did not bring their own belts to the show that day because today Oishi pulled up his hoodie to show that he was wearing his STRONGEST-K TAG belt underneath. Oishi and MAO were about to shake hands for a fair fight when Oishi spat in his face. He physically manipulated MAO into putting Bailey into a Reverse Indian Deathlock then gave MAO a Russian Leg Sweep, hurting both of the Express. Oishi then posed with his tag belt along with one of the KO-D Tag belts.
Antonio Honda now has a homemade Gongitsune sock puppet. Veda Scott made it for him. He and Makoto Oishi ended up fighting over Scott’s giant cat head.
DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018”, 23/12/2018 Tochigi Koyama City Cultural Center
1. 3 Way Match: Mad Paulie Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Gota Ihashi
2. Antonio Honda & Veda Scott Vs Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Soma Takao Vs Mizuki Watase
4. Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Tatsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani
5. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
6. Koyama Specialty! Lucky Town Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda
It hasn’t been all doom and gloom for Daisuke Sasaki these last few days. His friendship with Puma King from outside wrestling has become strong enough for the luchador to be allied with DAMNATION for the rest of his DDT tour.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno
1. Muscle Offer Match ~ Live Call From The Match Venue! Yearly Fortune Telling Guest Student Booking Competition!!: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Pedro Takaishi Vs Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi
2. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura
4. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka Vs Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda
5. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda Vs Tanomusaku Toba & Keisuke Ishii
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Go Shiozaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita
DDt’s busiest period of the year(s?) inside Korakuen Hall kicks off with the D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 final. Go Shiozaki and Konosuke Takeshita battle it out with a KO-D Openweight Title shot at Sumo Hall on the line. Meanwhile the champion Sasaki has trouble in his head with Naomi Yoshimura teasing his way into getting the first KO-D Title shot of 2019. Over in the DDT Extreme Title side, Shinya Aoki got an unlikely challenger in the form of Tanomusaku Toba so they’re both gearing up for their match. #STRONGHEARTS returns to prepare for their KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence against ALL OUT with a non-title match. Last but not least Meiko Satomura makes her return to DDT.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
4. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
5. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Naomi Yoshimura
DDT’s 2019 opener has three title matches, Kota Umeda squaring off against Daichi Hashimoto and the search for a new comedy wrestler to replace Danshoku Dieno. We also have a match between the two short tempered, short fused and just plain short wrestlers from DAMNATION and #STRONGHEARTS.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “DO IT ON YOUR OWN HANDS 2019”, 06/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
2. Special Single Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Minoru Fujita
With Ken Ohka defeated, Yumehito Imanari is now left leading the wounded Ganbare☆Wrestling against Minoru Fujita and Sento Minzoku. Imanari calls Fujita an “A Class War Criminal” who he must defeat. Fujita meanwhile is disappointed in Ganpro’s stunted growth and is struggling to find a reason to stick around. Maybe Imanari can give him a reason.
Shuichiro Katsumura previously fought and lost to Keisuke Ishii for the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title back in June. After winning Ganpro’s MVP award yesterday, Katsumura now wants another chance.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 