“NEW YEAR’S EVE PRO WRESTLING 2022 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT~”, 31/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 615 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: MAO, Yuya Aoki & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Yukio Naya, Hideyoshi Kamitani & Kikutaro when MAO pinned Kikutaro after a Double Choke Slam from Naya & Kamitani (8:06).
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Sekifuda & MUSASHI Vs Chris Brookes, Daisuke Sekimoto & Isami Kodaka ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
2a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rule: Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Sekifuda & MUSASHI defeated Chris Brookes, Daisuke Sekimoto & Isami Kodaka when Higuchi pinned Brookes with a Cradle Turnback (1:03).
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuki Ueno, Daichi Hashimoto & Yuma Aoyagi defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Brahman Shu (w/ Brahman Kei) when Aoyagi pinned Kei with a School Boy (7:58).
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA, Yuki Ishikawa & Masashi Takeda defeated Takeshi Masada, Takuya Nomura & Masato Tanaka when Takeda pinned Masada with the Reverse U Crash (8:31).
5. Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, Jaki Numazawa & Kankuro Hoshino defeated Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Shunma Katsumata when Ito pinned Hirata with the Biribiri Dragon Splash (14:27).
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: MAO, Yuya Aoki & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Sekifuda & MUSASHI when Aoki pinned Sekifuda with the Blue Storm (10:15).
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yuki Ueno, Daichi Hashimoto & Yuma Aoyagi defeated HARASHIMA, Yuki Ishikawa & Masashi Takeda when Ueno pinned Ishikawa with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (11:16).
8. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Drew Parker, Cara Noir & RSP defeated Yuji Okabayashi, Kazumi Kikuta, Takuho Kato & Kazumasa Yoshida when Takeshita pinned Yoshida with the Zahi (15:23).
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: Yuki Ueno, Daichi Hashimoto & Yuma Aoyagi defeated MAO, Yuya Aoki & Yuko Miyamoto when Hashimoto pinned MAO with the Rising DDT (19:21).
Last year’s tournament being built around trios matches was kept around for this year’s edition. Each team featured one DDT wrestler, one Big Japan wrestler and one wild card all of which were random combinations. For everyone involved it was their last chance to grab some glory in the ring before the new year begins.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1
Ika Ra Takeshi Ki Asu Manji Hai (Driver’s High) Vs Big Bombers
The atmosphere of the show was set early by the team called Big Bombers. Their entrance included a video of MAO, Yuya Aoki & Yuko Miyamoto all travelling together for a road trip on motorbikes. Their opponents attempted to use a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who starts but Kikutaro misunderstood. He thought it was just a charade to jump Big Bombers while they weren’t looking so he charged them on his own and got beaten up for it. Kikutaro had even more bad luck, the worse of which involved MAO manipulating Yukio Naya & Hideyoshi Kamitani into Double Choke Slamming their own partner. MAO slipped in for the pin afterward to keep his team’s road trip going.
Team 2023 Vs Super J Cups
The only time limit draw on the show took place in the second match. The Super J Cups are called that because it is a trio of junior heavyweight champions. Supposedly. Kazusada Higuchi’s weight was announced in the venue as 99.999999kg so he was really pushing it. Higuchi spent the end of the match fighting with Daisuke Sekimoto too so nobody was complaining about getting to see that heavyweight battle. It built up to Sekimoto leading Chris Brookes & Isami Kodaka into a Triple Topé Suicida aimed at Higuchi, Kota Sekifuda & MUSASHI. The time limit was reached right when Sekimoto gave Higuchi the German Suplex. When overtime began Sekimoto went straight for the pin but Higuchi kicked out immediately. Brookes tagged in and caught Higuchi in a Prawn Hold. However Higuchi reversed the move and rolled himself on top of Brookes to steal the 1 Count pin needed to win.
Zero Hyaku Vs BraNoue In The Sky With Diamonds
If there is one thing everyone knows about The Brahman Brothers its that they like to stay clean, am I right? Tetsuya Endo & Yasufumi Nakanoue shared their concerns and carried around disinfectant spray. Oh, the two of them were also Brahman-ised and happy to take part in their cheating during the match. Yuma Aoyagi fought back by covering his arms with the metal hoses and Lariating both Brahmans but he ended up pinning Brahman Kei by mistake so the match continued. Nakanoue placed a stake up to Yuki Ueno’s butt (after disinfecting the butt first of course) and Brahman Shu hit it with a chairshot. The gameplan then fell apart due to miscommunication. Endo accidentally hit Kei over the head with a steel tray and then the suitcase thrown by Nakanoue hit Shu instead of Aoyagi. It ended up costing them the match and Zero Hyaku advanced at their expense.
Emi Chichichi (Wara Chichichi) Vs Team Kansai
Round 1 almost closed out with a little bit of death match flavour. Masashi Takeda brought out a pair of scissors which annoyed the referee Yukinori Matsui. When that was taken away we were left with a match on the regular level of danger. I mean Takeda and Masato Tanaka were still on opposite sides of the ring here. We also had HARASHIMA and Takuya Nomura trading kicks against each other. Takeshi Masada though ended up getting the worst of everything. He took a Swan Dive Body Press from HARASHIMA, a Double Stomp from Yuki Ishikawa and was finished off with the Takeda’s Reverse U Crash.
Non-Tournament 8-Man Tag Match
DDT and Big Japan got threw some of their veterans together for an inter-promotional 8-Man Tag. Danshoku Dieno was back to his old self looking for men in the audience to kiss during his entrance. Shunma Katsumata took to taunting Ryuji Ito when the opportunity presented itself. Antonio Honda tried to tell a Gongitsune joke but Jaki Numazawa cut him off so he could tell his own jokes. Gongitsune groaned after every punchline. Kazuki Hirata put on the Hirata GO! glasses and danced until Kankuro Hoshino placed fox ears over his head. The music changed to “What Does The Fox Say” and the two danced until Hirata realised what was going on and fainted. Dieno set himself up in the Hell Gate position in the corner to charge up his teammate’s attacks. Abdullah Kobayashi then revealed he has the same ability, it only works once every four years. Kobayashi then formed his own Hell Gate. Ito placed a steel plate over his chest, used Kobayashi to charge it up and then did the Dragon Splash onto Hirata to give Big Japan the win. Ito declared Big Japan as the winners of the feud against DDT but Dieno refused to accept defeat. Ito and Dieno threw challenges at each other and both left the ring in a huff.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final
Ika Ra Takeshi Ki Asu Manji Hai (Driver’s High) Vs Super J Cups
People still didn’t believe that Higuchi is a junior heavyweight so he tried vaulting the top rope along with his tag partners. The whole thing didn’t work because Sekifuda & MUSASHI were both pulled down and Higuchi tripped. The Driver’s High team capitalised and all three hit Handspring Back Elbows to the opposition. Sekifuda recovered and keep trying to go for the win until Aoki cut him off and stole the win with the Blue Storm.
Zero Hyaku Vs Emi Chichichi (Wara Chichichi)
The death match flavour did show up in this match. Takeda took out his scissors again but put them away, promising to fight fair. Zero Hyaku had a lot of communication problems when Ueno tried to direct Hashimoto & Aoyagi into setting up a Triple Power Bomb properly. The match then broke down when chairs were brought into the ring. Ishikawa and even HARASHIMA threw chairshots at their opponents. Ueno took the chair and hit HARASHIMA with it. Takeda then pulled out a stapler and stapled a show poster onto Ueno’s chest! Ueno got his revenge by stapling the poster onto Ishikawa’s forehead and then pinning him with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher.
Special 8-Man Tag Match
Before the final could take place there was another non-tournament match to get through. Konosuke Takeshita led a team of foreign wrestlers against Yuji Okabayashi and his band of Strong BJ fighters. The DDT related side won this one. Everything was built up to Takeshita, Drew Parker and RSP doing stereo Swanton Bombs along with the Fable on Kazumi Kikuta, Takuho Kato & Kazumasa Yoshida. Takeshita then pinned Yoshida with the Zahi. After the match backstage RSP said he first wrestled in Japan for Big Japan but now he considers himself part if DDT. Takeshita thinks 2023 will see the full return of wrestlers travelling everywhere around the world. Cara Noir did not say anything. Okabayashi is impressed by how much Takeshita has improved since the last time they fought. However he is also happy with the knowledge that his Chops are still effective against Takeshita. Kikuta told the DDT team not to get carried away just because they won. Kato spoke about Parker’s success since leaving Big Japan. He considers himself close to Parker because they are the same age and their birthdays are only a few days apart. Yoshida was happy to get to fight Takeshita.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final
Ika Ra Takeshi Ki Asu Manji Hai (Driver’s High) Vs Zero Hyaku
The final came down to this. The Driver’s High team came out all wearing gear matching with Miyamoto’s. Late in the match MAO & Aoki focused on Missile attacks to Hashimoto until the tables turned. Ueno caught MAO with the Dropkick, Aoyagi hit the Rockstar Buster and Hashimoto hit the Shining Wizard. MAO kicked out of both at one so Hashimoto had to drop him with the Rising DDT, crowning Zero Hyaku as the tournament winners!
The winners received their prize from Sayoko Mita. Aoyagi was happy to win because this was his first New Year’s Eve show. Hashimoto said the team went from Zero to Hyaku! Ueno admitted he never expected Hashimoto to be so mischievous and Aoyagi to be so nice. He doesn’t know what to expect in 2023 but the three of them will continue to change pro wrestling. Aoyagi wants the three of them to reunite for next year’s tournament but he was told it can only happen if the random lottery somehow pairs the three of them together again.
1. MUSASHI Vs Fujita Jr. Hayato (Michinoku Pro, 1st July)
2. Jun Kasai Vs El Desperado (JUST TAP OUT, 12th September)
3. Hartley Jackson Vs Mizuki Watase (Ganbare☆Pro, th )
4. Drew Parker Vs Masashi Takeda (FREEDOMS, 16th November)
5. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo (DDT, 20th March)
Best Unit
1. Pheromones
2. The 37KAMIINA
3. Astronauts
4. CDK
5. Speed Of Sounds
Best Box Office
1. Big Japan @ Yokohama Budokan, 5th May
2. Ganbare☆Pro @ Ota Ward Gymnasium, 10th July
3. Michinoku Pro @ Korakuen Hall, 1st July
4. FREEDOMS @ Yokohama Budokan, 3rd May
5. DDT @ Ryogoku Kokugikan, 20th March
DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022 Tokyo Dome City Hall 1,207 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima defeated Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi when Okatani pinned Sumi with the Diving Knee Drop (9:32).
0. Dark Match: Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Soma Takao & Antonio Honda when KANON submitted Honda with the Cobra Twist (9:31).
1. Sanshiro Takagi defeated Takeshi Masada with a Texas Cloverleaf (4:42).
2. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida when HARASHIMA pinned Ishida with the Somato (10:08).
3. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces ~ Dissolution & Pet Dogs Contra One Day Experience: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata when Iino pinned Katsumata with the Badonkadonk (16:20). *Shunma Katsumata must join Pheromones for one day.
4. Special Single Match: Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Shinya Aoki with the Albright (8:21).
5. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai defeated Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata when Akai pinned Kawahata with the Quetzalcoatl (12:40).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada defeated Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) when Endo pinned Hirata with the Burning Star Press (12:25). *Doi-gumi fails in V1. BURNING becomes the 49th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. DDT Extreme Title – If 45-Year-Old Sasadango Machine’s Weight Loss Fails We Will Have A Normal Rules Match! Special: Jun Akiyama (c) defeated Super Sasadango Machine with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder (2:30). *V1 for Jun Akiyama.
8. Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yukio Naya defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & RSP when Naya pinned RSP with the Back Drop (17:43).
9. International 4 Way Match: MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes and Cara Noir when MAO pinned Brookes with a Modified Backslide Pin (13:22).
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Yuki Ueno with the Brain Claw Slam (27:57). *V5 for Kazusada Higuchi.
The finale of DDT’s 25th year in business took place in Tokyo Dome City Hall. The year also closes out with the KO-D Openweight Title remaining firmly around Kazusada Higuchi’s waist. He successfully defended the belt against Yuki Ueno, the current DDT Universal Champion in a match between arguably the two top wrestlers in the company right now. Ueno’s gameplan was to overwhelm Higuchi with his high flying. Higuchi’s toughness won out with the highlight being him taking a Dropkick to the face and shrugging it off. Ueno kept up the pressure but both the BME missed its target and Higuchi kicked out of the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher. The challenger’s last move in his pocket was the WR but Higuchi had ways to block it. His first counter was to grab Ueno in the Brain Claw, then his second counter was using Naomi Yoshimura’s Harai Goshi throw! A Headbutt thrown afterwards left Ueno stunned long enough for Higuchi to hit him with the Brain Claw Slam and win.
Higuchi thanked Ueno after the match and said as champions and tournament winners this year they supported DDT together alongside each other. The two embraced each other and Ueno left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi told Higuchi it was a fitting match to end DDT in 2022. The GM then asked Higuchi who he wants to defend the KO-D Title against on 29th January? Before Higuchi could answer, Yuji Hino interrupted him! He congratulated Higuchi and said he deserved to win tonight. Hino also thinks Higuchi is the only person who can go head-to-head with him, referring to the 30 minute draw they had in November where they chopped each other non-stop until the time limit expired. Hino normally wouldn’t be interested in becoming the KO-D Champion for a second time but since it is Higuchi’s belt he now wants it! Higuchi accepted the challenge because he too wants to settle who is stronger once and for all.
When Hino left, Higuchi gave a speech to the fans thanking them for their support. He does not know what to expect in 2023 because this year he surpassed everyone in DDT. However he promised DDT will continue to push forward with their hearts. The show ended with Higuchi meeting up with everybody backstage, Yoshimura included and they all got together for a group farewell to the audience.
The International 4 Way Match turned TDC Hall into a glorious venue for the return of Cara Noir. Not all of the welcomes was warm for him though. Daisuke Sasaki Headbutted him during the start of match handshake. MAO also took his entrance cloak and then impersonated him. Noir Headbutted MAO in response. The match continued to be chaotic as all four wrestlers fought each other, made alliances, switched those alliances and did whatever they could to win. It ended up with Chris Brookes dropping Sasaki with a Tombstone Piledriver. After Sasaki kicked out, MAO suddenly caught Brookes in a Backslide Pin on top of Sasaki for leverage to get the win out of nowhere. The result represents MAO’s 2022. He said 2020 was a bad year, 2021 he stayed patient and this year he blossomed. Sasaki was pissed at the result and complained about not trusting anybody whethere they are British or Japanese. CDK were suprised by how MAO won the match. That was a CDK-like move and Masahiro Takanashi admits he never thought MAO could pull off something like that. Today’s result is a lesson they learned before the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on 3rd January. Noir did not leave any comment.
Yukio Naya is another wrestler who gets to end his year on a good note. He was the one standing tall in an all heavyweight tag team match. The focus for a lot of the match though was on Konosuke Takeshita clashing with Daisuke Sekimoto. Not even Naya & RSP trying to pull them away for German Suplexes could stop them. Takeshita and Sekimoto ended up German Suplexing both of them for getting in their way! They then traded German Suplexes to each other, leaving each other too beaten to continue fighting. So the match came down to Naya and RSP against each other. Naya pulled off a big move by hitting an Avalanche Choke Slam before pinning him for the three count. Takeshita admitted that the match was the first time in a long time he had an out of body experience. He’s been fighting strong wrestlers in America but nothing compares to the strength of Sekimoto! He also wondered if everyone in DDT has become harder hitters since he was gone. Naya confirmed so and Takeshita said that’s a good thing. He also said he wants a singles match against Sekimoto and he does not care if it is in DDT or Big Japan. He warns that if neither of them do it then it might end up happening in America. Naya then told Takeshita he wants a singles match against him some day and to keep an eye on him throughout 2023.
The match stipulation for the DDT Extreme Title bout hung on the weight of Super Sasadango Machine. He’s been losing weight and was given a target by Jun Akiyama to drop down below 110kg. If Sasadango met the goal he would choose the match stipulation. Unfortunately he could only get down to 119.6kg (116.9kg without the costume) so it was going to be a traditional PWF rules wrestling bout instead. However Sasadango had a trick up his sleeve. When he signed the contract for the match his signature was written as “1/12 Super Sasadango Machine” referring to a 1/12 scale plastic toy model of himself that he possesses. That means only his plastic figure had to be under 110kg, not him! The model passed the weighing test (it’s only 59g) and Sasadango decided the Extreme Title will be contested in a “TonTon Pro Wrestling” match between Sasadango’s model and an acrylic stand of Jun Akiyama!
Before the match began, Sasadango held his latest PowerPoint Presentation. He has spent years developing his plastic model and is proud of the result. While he is happy to have dropped loads of weight for this match, his current physique now renders his model obsolete when it’s supposed to be the strongest plastic model on the market! He also claimed Akiyama’s demands for Sasadango to update his progress regularly on social media was against CyberAgent employee policy. When he was done it was time for the title match. TonTon wrestling games involve each player placing their model on the game board and tapping the board with their fingers to make them move. Whoever falls over first loses. Here one model needs to fall on top of the other and pin it for three seconds for the player to be declared the winner. The game began and not much happened. Sasadango complained about Akiyama’s acrylic stand had an unfair advantage because it has a flat base preventing it from tipping over. Akiyama agreed to find a replacement and took out his NOAH action figure customized by a fan to look up to date (i.e. bald). The game continued and both models fell over. Yukinori Matsui asked the audience who they thought won and when they sounded more in favour of Akiyama, he grabbed Sasadango’s model and snapped it in half! Sasadango quickly agreed to do a normal wrestling match instead.
The match re-started and Sasadango saw his only chance. He countered the Exploder Suplex into the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock but only got a nearfall. Akiyama hit him in the face with Knee Strikes, including one with his kneepad pulled down. He threw an Exploder Suplex and then just for good measure used the Wrist-Clutch Exploder as the finish. After the match Imabayashi informed Akiyama the next Extreme Title defence will be in Yokohama on 21st January. Akiyama called for someone to come down and challenge him. Antonio Honda was already in the ring trying to get Sasadango out. He suddenly stumbled in front of Akiyama, making the champion think he is the next challenger! Imabayashi confirmed Honda will get the title shot on 21st January whether he wants to do it or not.
This past week Naruki Doi & Toru Owashi had the chance to hold trios championships in both Dragongate and DDT at the same time. It did not turn out that way and instead they don’t have any championships at all! Today they along with Kazuki Hirata lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles to BURNING. Hirata’s insistance to get tagged in may be what cost them the belts because it was Hirata who dropped the fall to Tetsuya Endo. After the match Pheromones entered the ring demanding a title shot against BURNING. Danshoku Dieno said there is no more threat of them splitting up so 2023 will be spent taking championships starting with the 6-Man Tag Titles. Endo accepted and told Kotaro Suzuki that when you come here to DDT this path is unavoidable. He promised that he, Suzuki & Yusuke Okada will show Pheromones what sexy really looks like! The title match will happen on 29th January.
Reiwa AA Cannon were victorious against the visiting team of Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata in a close match. Saki Akai was in trouble when she took Double Jumping High Kicks from her opponents. Anou threw her over with a German Suplex and Kawahawa went for the Moonsault. Akai moved out of the way and Yuki Arai came in reverse the momentum. She took out Anou with the Full Nelson Buster followed by the Finally. Then Akai & Arai hit Kawahata with the Double Rookie Award. With no one there to save her, Kawahata was pinned by Akai with the Quetzalcoatl. Backstage Anou admitted she underestimated Arai. She thought she was just a cute face and found out the weight of her attacks were way more heavier than she expected. As for her opinion of Akai, Anou likes wrestling her and would come back to DDT to do more matches like this. Anou also wants Arai to know that her name also starts with A so if she ever gets tired of teaming with Akai, give her a call.
There was a message sent loud and clear by Chihiro Hashimoto today. She is physically and mentally as good as anyone in the world. Shinya Aoki however is not good enough. Those were the comments she made after beating Aoki clean, countering his Cross Armbreaker into a Doctor Bomb and then pinning him with the Albright. Even though she won she is still feeling frustration in a way she hasn’t felt since fighting Meiko Satomura. Aoki can’t figure out why he lost, particularly how Hashimoto was able to use a Power Bomb to counter his submission hold.
As mentioned earlier, Pheromones did not disband today. They won their high stakes match against Akito’s subjugation squad. It was the one time the politicians Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu did not want their constituents to watch them wrestle because they were left embarrassed by their opponents. Kawamatsu tried to shout down Yuki Iino by telling him he isn’t sexy at all. It didn’t work and Pheromones got to do their thing, knocking out members of Akito’s team one by one with their perverted moveset while Yumehito Imanari filmed the whole thing. The match ended with Iino pinning Shunma Katsumata meaning Katsumata has to spend 24 hours with Pheromones. “Chunma” is now going to be their pet dog! He reluctantly played along by barking into the microphone while on his hands and knees. Dieno then revealed that “Chunma” isn’t going to be with Pheromones for 24 hours. He’s going to be with them for a whole month! Akito tried to cheer up the others by saying every fight has sacrifices and Katsumata’s sacrifice will not be in vain. Today is just a bad dream that everyone can pretend never happened.
There’s something to this tag team pairing of HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi. They won against Hino & Yuki Ishida to show that it’s not just the young wrestlers who are doing their best. Sakaguchi said he was happy to team with HARASHIMA and win on his last show of 2022. HARASHIMA thinks 2023 is going to be tough but his generation are going to make things exciting too.
Sanshiro Takagi dashed Takeshi Masada’s dreams of going to Hollywood next year but there may still be hope yet for the youngster. Takagi’s dodgy shoulder had healed and he was able to show it by doing an Avalanche Double Arm Suplex. When he applied a Crab Hold, Masada reached the ropes so Takagi kicked at his legs before putting on a Texas Cloverleaf to win. After the match Takagi called in all of the young DDT wrestlers to enter the ring. He thinks it is unfair that Masada was the only rookie given the chance to win a spot for DDT’s shows in America next year. So Takagi has created the D GENERATIONS CUP! It will be a league for DDT’s rookies to compete in and the winner goes to the Hollywood show in March!
There were two matches on the pre-show. DAMNATION T.A defeated Takanashi, Soma Takao & Honda in one of them. KANON got the win by making Honda submit to the Cobra Twist.
The other pre-show match featured the younger wrestlers. Toi Kojima wiped out Yuya Koroku with a Diving Body Attack out of the ring. Hideki Okatani then pinned Kazuma Sumi with the Diving Knee Drop.
The long awaited Anal Explosion opening ceremony hosted by LiLiCo was almost ruined by the appearance of Danshoku Dieno. He was chosen to detonate the explosive placed inside LiLiCo and she refused to let that responsibility be given to one of her enemies. The problem was solved when her husband Ryohei Odai unexpectedly showed up. He was supposed to be at rehearsals for the NHK New Year’s Eve show but found out at the last minute it was pushed back to tomorrow. He made it to TDC Hall as fast as he could so he would be the one to set off the love of his life’s Anal Explosion. He also suggested that next year when he has more free time he could perform one himself because that’s how important the bond between a husband and wife is to him. Dieno was moved to tears and allowed Odai to ignite the bomb. It went off without a hitch. LiLiCo was still alive afterwards and said her love for Odai has deepened. She also wants to make a pro wrestling comeback next year if her anus has healed. Unfortunately the doctor on site informed her that her anus is currently in serious condition (Odai said that part of LiLiCo’s body now “looks like a black hole”). Will LiLiCo ever return to wrestling in one piece?
Keigo Nakamura announced he has fully recovered from his knee injury and will return to the ring on 13th January. His last match was in November 2021.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT AUTUMN ~HAMAMATSU PERFORMANCE~”, 10/12/2022 Shizuoka Entetsu Hall
1. Suzume Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Hyper Misao Vs Mahiro Kiryu
3. Hikari Noa Vs Haruna Neko
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima, Yuki Aino & Arisu Endo Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Rhio
Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku are both missing from this Saturday’s show because they will be wrestling in Malaysia. Nao Kakuta is also absent because of her stage work.
“BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS”, 13/12/2022 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa
1. Interdimensional Kaiju Vs Fucked Up Warfare: MAO Vs Death Worm
2. Gatoh Move Tag: Mei Suruga & Miya Yostuba Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Chie Koishikawa
3. Double Anniversary Special: Chris Brookes Vs Drew Parker
A mat pro wrestling show is taking place at ARENA Shimokitazawa to celebrate Chris Brookes’ 15th Anniversary as well as Drew Parker’s 10th Anniversary. Guests from Gatoh Move and IWA Japan are involved on the undercard and there is also going to be a solo acoustic performance by Antonio Honda.
DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION”, 21/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Tradition 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Thanomsak Toba Vs Tesuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & DJ Nira
2. Novelty Single Match: Naruki Doi Vs Shunma Katsumata
3. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
4. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Muscle Sakai
A first time ever match between Naruki Doi and Shunma Katsumata is one of the matches Danshoku Dieno made for his book launch event. He also put together a standard 6-Man Tag match between Harimao and BURNING with Thanomsak Toba and DJ Nira also sprinkled in.
GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2022”, 27/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Munetatsu Nakamura Debut Match: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
2. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI
3. Shota Triumphant Return Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shota Vs Soma Takao & Shigehiro Irie
4. Kouki Iwasaki Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Last Match: Keisuke Ishii Vs Kouki Iwasaki
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Mizuki Watase
Shota’s American excursion is coming to and end and he will be back home in Japan before the year is over. His big return match for Ganbare☆Pro sees him teaming with Shuichiro Katsumura against the Team Drift pair of Soma Takao & Shigehiro Irie.
We’re getting a collaboration between Ganbare☆Joshi and Tokyo Joshi Pro. Previous opponents Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa are excited to be teaming together. Their opponents Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI not so much. I mean, YuuRI is thrilled because she looks up to Kamifuku. Shame that Kamifuku thinks little of YuuRI in return.
The Ganpro rookie Munetatsu Nakamura gets Shinichiro Tominaga as his first opponent. As long as he doesn’t take any of Tominaga’s advice on how to spend time with the opposite sex he’ll be fine.
DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022 Tokyo Dome City Hall
0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima Vs Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
0. Dark Match: Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Soma Takao & Antonio Honda
1. Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada
2. HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida
3. Pheromones Vs “Miyako & Ward” Pheromones Subjugation Allied Forces: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Shunma Katsumata
4. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
5. Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & RSP
6. International 4 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Chris Brookes Vs MAO Vs Cara Noir
7. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Chihiro Hashimoto
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada
9. DDT Extreme Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
DDT’s 25th year comes to a close at Tokyo Dome City Hall. The main event is Kazusada Higuchi putting the KO-D Openweight Title on the line against Yuki Ueno, the winner of this year’s D-Ou Grand Prix. Going back to the summer the main event scene in DDT has been built around who is the most capable to carry the company on their back. Higuchi ended up standing head and shoulders above everyone else and getting to fly the flag (in some cases literally) was his reward. Ueno has one of the loudest claims to being the rightful leader of DDT, purposely adding more pressure to himself in order to reach his goal. He just won the Grand Prix and is still the reigning DDT Universal Champion. He is going to get what he wants and stand toe to toe against DDT’s current symbol of strength Higuchi. Ueno’s plan if he becomes the double crown champion is to defend the Universal Title overseas. He also wants to defend both championships on a monthly basis as long as his body can take it.
Jun Akiyama is keeping himself busy going into the new year by coming up with a bunch of suggestions for DDT to work on. He is the new DDT Extreme Champion and already has a challenger lined up for him. Super Sasadango Machine asked for a title shot to make up for how little he wrestled this year. Akiyama agreed to it but thinks Sasadango has become overweight. He strongly advised Sasadango to lose 20kg in time for the match. In order to do this Akiyama suggested DDT should create the DDT Health Club which he can be president of. There used to be a NOAH Health Club so he got his idea from there. As champion Akiyama can also choose the match stipulation but he will consult with Kenta Kobashi before making that decision. He would rather Sasadango come up with the rules if it is allowed because the champion having that power gives him too much of an unfair advantage. In fact, Akiyama wants to form a committee for the Extreme Title and Kobashi to be the chairman. Akiyama also isn’t comfortable with holding a purple championship because he has a bad history with that colour. He asked DDT if they can change the Extreme Title to a white belt in tribute to the retired GHC Hardcore Openweight Title he was originally responsible for creating.
Well, Naruki Doi said he wanted a match with Tetsuya Endo so he’s getting one. Endo made it known during the Grand Prix his goal in DDT is to win all of the championships and right now his target is the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The match gives Yusuke Okada some sorely needed spotlight after spending the last few months on the undercard. Kotaro Suzuki adds a lot of firepower to the team as well. Can Doi rely on DISASTER BOX to carry their share of the work? Toru Owashi won’t let him down but Kazuki Hirata can go from completely useless to the luckiest man in the ring on a coin flip.
Time for Yukio Naya to dust himself off and move on to the next challenge. The D-Ou finalist gets to team with Konosuke Takeshita against the unusual pairing of Daisuke Sekimoto & RSP in an all heavyweight tag battle.
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022 Shinjuku FACE 302 Fans
0. Dark Match: SAKI & Yasu Urano (w/ KUDO) defeated Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen & Gota Ihashi (w/ Miyako Haru) when SAKI pinned Ihashi with the Kawaiild Knee Drop (4:11).
1. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki Vs Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama Vs Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W (17:05).
1a. Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama defeated Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki when Yoneyama pinned Koishikawa with the Chinese Steamed Bun Roll (3:20).
1b. Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama defeated Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno when Yoneyama pinned Cherry with a School Boy (5:12).
1c. Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango defeated Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama when Hoshitango pinned Shiryu with a Body Press (6:35).
1d. Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W defeated Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango when Sakur pinned Natsumi with La Magistral Cradle (9:35).
1e. Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) defeated Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W when Akai pinned Sakura with the Quetzalcoatl (13:55).
1f. Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) when Miyamoto pinned Kei with the I.W.C (17:05).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Ram Kaichow defeated Sak Akai with a Cradle (c) with (7:43 pm). *Ram Kaichow becomes the 1557th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated Ram Kaichow (c) after an Elbow Drop from Yuko Miyamoto (7:45 pm). *Ram Kaichow becomes the 1558th champion.
-. Special Match ~ Special Rules: Minoru Fujita Vs DJ Nira ended in a No Contest.
-. 3 Way Match: Minoru Fujita Vs DJ Nira Vs Daisuke Kiso did not end with a winner.
2. MAO defeated Mei Suruga with the Wedding Clutch (16:40).
3. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao defeated Chris Brookes, Mizuki Watase & Antonio Honda when Irie pinned Honda with the Beast Bomber (15:03).
4. Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Masahiro Takanashi with a Modified Muffler Hold (23:09).
The 2010 Miracle Match between Masahiro Takanashi Vs Daisuke Sekimoto was revisited on today’s independently promoted show. Much like the first time, Takanashi was the big underdog but this time he was a much more crafty veteran. He targeted Sekimoto’s arms and continued to do so after Sekimoto missed a Lariat outside the ring and hit the ring post. The power difference just couldn’t be avoided though. Takanashi tried to hit the Takatonic from the top rope in a moment that flashed everyone’s minds back to 2010. Sekimoto blocked the move but before he could drop down and crush his opponent just like he did back then, Takanashi instead flipped over and Power Bombed him from the rope. The Takatonic was blocked again and every failed attempt to pin Sekimoto afterwards saw Takanashi’s chances fade away. The German Suplex that would normally end the match wasn’t hit perfectly so Sekimoto grabbed Takanashi in a Muffler Stretch and held his opponent up until Takanashi gave up. The two shook hands after the match but neither of them gave any speeches. Instead the show ended with Takanashi bowing to the audience on his knees and leaving the ring without comment.
Team Drift used Keisuke Ishii’s old theme music for their entrance. Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao also wore the same Team Dream Futures shirt while Ishii wore the shirt made for their farewell.
The special costume Mei Suruga wears for her entrance included flashing lights. During an outside the ring brawl with MAO, Suruga put the costume back on and dived from one of the nearby counters. She landed her attack and MAO complained afterwards that he could have gotten an electric shock. He then wrapped the costume around his arm and hit Suruga with an Axe Bomber. Inside the ring Suruga tried to put on the Cattle Mutilation but MAO kept countering it, eventually putting her in the Wedding Clutch for the pinfall.
A surprise match between Minoru Fujita and DJ Nira took place that went awry after Nira knocked out Daisuke Kiso with his umbrella. When Kiso woke up and was provoked by Nira again, he declared he was adding himself to the match, making it a 3 Way. The three of them locked up and the room suddenly went dark. Then there was an announcement that Kiso had seriously injured his opponents and escaped, leaving the ring completely empty. There was then an announcment that a new life was suddenly born. A spotlight then shined over to Hoshitango wearing diapers and crying like a baby. Then there was another announcement, this one saying Sekimoto quietly passed away on the morning of his match against Takanashi 12 years ago.
There was a brief exchange back and forth of the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title between Saki Akai and Ram Kaichow. When their match ended, Kaichow rolled up Akai and pinned her for the belt. Akai then attacked her with the Brahman Brothers’ suitcase. Yuko Miyamoto tried to rescue Kaichow but accidentaly Elbow Dropped her instead. Akai then pinned Kaichow to win back the title.
The wrestler called Emi Sakura W in the Gauntlet Tag match is Papillon Akemi pretending to be her. The gimmick has been used in Gatoh Move before.
The UMA Corps turned on Gota Ihashi after the dark match after Miyako Haru ordered Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen to attack him. KUDO came to the rescue, scared them off and told Ihashi the Ebisuko Tavern was now protected. Ihashi told KUDO he hasn’t given up on his dream of becoming the tavern’s manager. KUDO gave Ihashi a Buzzsaw Kick in response and Ihashi apologised for trying to overthrow his boss.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022 Tokyo Dome City Hall
1. Aja Kong, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Max The Impaler
2. Mizuki Vs Hyper Misao
3. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki
The return of Alex Windsor to Japan is happening just in time because there is now a No. 1 Contender for her International Princess Title. Last week Miu Watanabe won the next title shot and will now face Windsor for the belt at “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”. Winning the title here will continue her big momentum coming out of the summer.
Two pro wrestling beasts will collide! For ages Tetsuya Koda thought that Aja Kong was the only monster left in joshi. Then he discovered Max The Impaler and brought the wasteland warrior over to Tokyo Joshi Pro. Max looked unstoppable in their few appearances here so Koda found himself in an embarrassing position to look for help, otherwise his roster is going to get destroyed by Max one wrestler at a time. Luckily for him, Kong always shows up at TJPW’s most important shows and Koda thinks she is the only one who can hunt down Max. There’s one problem though. If Kong and Max fight each other outside the ring they could end up causing a lot of damage around Tokyo Dome City Hall and TJPW will have to pay what will certainly be a massive repair bill. Koda’s solution is to ask the other four women in the match to stop that from happening and keep the two monsters within the squared circle. Kong gets along with Raku & Pom Harajuku while Max took a liking to Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino so there’s a chance our hapless heroes can somehow calm down the monsters enough to keep the match under control.
The main event is between a member of Kyoraku Kyomei and The Magical Sugar Rabbits. So let’s have the other halves of both teams face off against each other too. Hyper Misao and Mizuki have only one previous singles match together that happened back in 2018. Mizuki won that match. Misao will need to come up with something clever to even the score.
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN NANIWA HEALTH LAND HOT SPRING~TOPIA”, 10/10/2022 Osaka Naniwa Health Land Hot Spring~Topia
1. Falls Count Anywhere Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
DDT will be back in Osaka on 10th October for a second show celebrating Jun Akiyama’s 30th Anniversary. However that is not the only wrestling match DDT will hold that night. At the stroke of midnight Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima, Yukio Naya and Yuya Koroku will have a Falls Count Anywhere Tag match at a Naniwa hot spring. Fans coming over to watch the match have been advised to bring swimwear.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Settlement Battle FINAL: X Vs X
It’s the final battle between Sanshiro Takagi and Pheromones. Again. For like the fourth time I think? Well they mean it this time. Takagi is once more trying to destroy Pheromones for good before they destroy the company. With four members in the unit, Pheromones claim they are complete and at the pique of their power. But Takagi cannot risk letting them continue to exist in this way. The match type and participants for the climactic battle in this war has not been decided yet. If it’s all four members of Pheromones involved then that means Yuki Iino, Danshoku Dieno, Yumehito Imanari & Koju Takeda taking part. Takagi has been relying lately on Antonio Honda, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata to compete against them. So the cast is there for a 4 Vs 4 Tag match of some kind. That nothing has been decided yet makes me wonder if there is a wild card going to be played by either side.
“The Iai Puncher” Hikaru Machida will be on the show.
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022 Shinjuku FACE
1. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi
Twelve years ago in Shinjuku FACE there was a KO-D Openweight Title defence. The outsider champion Daisuke Sekimoto put the belt on the line against little Masa Takanashi. What followed was a classic David Vs Goliath bout with a performance from Takanashi that was seconds away from being described as a miracle victory. Sekimoto won the match in the end and remained champion. The two never had never faced against each other since then. Well soon will be time for the rematch in the same room. Masahiro Takanashi has grown a lot since that title challenge and after a twelve year wait is going to face Sekimoto one more time in the main event of his own self produced show.
“NEW YEAR’S WRESTLING 2021 ~TOSHIKOSHI! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 655 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka Vs Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rule: Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka when Fujita pinned Ito with the Modified Samson Clutch (0:52).
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa when Hashimoto submitted Aoki with the STF (9:06).
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Sekifuda & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) when Takeshita pinned Kei with a Cradle (5:17).
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie defeated Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Jun Kasai when MAO pinned Akito with the Cannonball 450° (8:50).
5. MUSASHI, Daisuke Kanehira, Takafumi & Tatsuya Hanami defeated Takuho Kato, Kosuke Sato, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida when MUSASHI submitted Ishida with the Modified Sasorikatame (13:40).
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita when Mashimo pinned Fujita with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (11:41).
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen Vs MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
7a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rule: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen defeated MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie when Kamen pinned MAO with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (0:44).
8. 3 Way Tag Match: Stan Kobayashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Jaki Numazawa & Antonio Honda Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kankuro Hoshino when Kobayashi pinned Hona with the Bakachinga Anal Elbow (14:21).
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen when HARASHIMA pinned Kamen with the Somato (16:19).
The annual New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament switched over to a trios format for the end of 2021. Each team consisted of a DDT wrestler, a Big Japan wrestler and a “Dream Slot” wrestler from another company or batch of freelancers.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1
I’ll Do It!! Vs Three Brothers Kawaii
Fans didn’t have to wait long for the reveal of Chris Brookes & Takuya Nomura’s mystery partner. It was Minoru Fujita! Their combined cuteness went to a 10 minute stalemate against the rugged trio of Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka. In the final seconds Fujita hit Ito with the SAYONARA but time ran out before the pin. Sudden death overtime meant One Count Fall rules to win. Koshinaka misfired the Hip Attack and hit Ito by accident, allowing Fujita to get the 1 Count to win.
Ikemen’s Vs LEFTOVERS
Next up the team of Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa all walked out dressed and posing like Masahiro Chono. They continued the Chono tribute by locking in a Triple STF to HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo. They got a taste of their own medicine at the end when Hashimoto locked Aoki into his own version of the STF to win. He then encouraged his own team to do Chono’s pose.
Deadlifters Vs I Dream Of Twins, Lizards And Naomi
Things got weirder because next up was The Brahman Brothers entering the ring with Naomi Yoshimura & Kota Sekifuda behind them carrying stuffed toy lizards. Konosuke Takeshita and Yuji Okabayashi brought out chairs looking ready for a fight until they had powder thrown in their faces. Kuishinbo Kamen tried to help but couldn’t do much. Takeshita was given a Low Blow but found a way in his doubled over state to block a Sunset Flip and press down to get the three count.
Ugo Association Vs Team Saiyuki
Before this match began Shigehiro Irie and MAO shook hands to show that their problems are in the past and they can work together. Jun Kasai announced he created a new move and it is punching MAO a lot. MAO took a beating from Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Kasai but toughed it out so Yasufumi Nakanoue & Irie could come for the rescue. Akito then got singled out and fell to the trademark moves of his opponents.
Non-Tournament 8-Man Tag Match
The buffer match after Round 1 brought together a mixture of wrestlers from across the indies. DDT & Big Japan were represented by their young generation of Takuho Kato, Kosuke Sato, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida. Their opponents were MUSASHI from Michinoku Pro, Daisuke Kanehira from HEAT-UP, Takafumi from ZERO1 & Tatsuya Hanami from 2AW. In the end MUSASHI picked up the win by making Ishida submit.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final
Three Brothers Kawaii Vs LEFTOVERS
The semi-finals had a tense start when Hashimoto and HARASHIMA declined to shake the other team’s hands. Fujita and Mashimo had a back and forth that ended with Fujita asking for a handshake only to get attacked. HARAHSIMA and Nomura got into a spirited kick-off and Fujita almost pinned Mashimo with the SAYONARA. The tables were turned when Fujita was hit with a Triple Super Kick and Mashimo pinned him with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster.
Deadlifters Vs Ugo Association
Kamen was targeted as the weak link in this match. While Takeshita & Okabayashi cancelled out Nakanoue & Irie the dying moments of the match fell down to Kamen and MAO. Kamen was caught in the Clothespin submission but held out for the last 30 seconds so the match could end in a draw. When Sudden Death began Kamen was quickly given more big blows but when MAO attempted La Magistral Cradle, Kamen blocked it and stole the win with the 1 Count fall.
3 Way Tag Match
The other non-tournament match brought the show back to weird territory. Danshoku Dieno jumped into the Hell Gate position, Kazuki Hirata started dancing, Kankuro Hoshino vanished to be replaced by Kenshiro Hoshino, then Abdullah Kobayashi disappeared and Stan Kobayashi took his place. To cap it all off, Jaki Numazawa left and returned as RoboCop! Antonio Honda was ready to finish the match but tripped and injured his knee. Kobayashi ended up using Dieno’s backside to charge up his Lariat arm and pin Honda with the Bakachinga Elbow.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final
LEFTOVERS Vs Deadlifters
Poor old Kuishinbo Kamen has never won a tournament in his career. His run of luck in these things is so bad that back in Osaka Pro it was a known flaw that he would get eliminated early in their annual tournaments. By making it to the final, today could have finally been his day. Sadly it just wasn’t to be. He brought out some fun antics at the beginning but was there to win with his partners as the match heated up. Okabayashi floored HARASHIMA with a Lariat and Takeshita wiped out Hashimoto & Mashimo with a Topé. But HARASHIMA regained control of the match against Kamen and pinned him with the Somato to win the final.
The tournament winners celebrated and HARASHIMA said he felt good fortunes with his team this year. They were all the last people picked in the lottery draft which is why they called themselves LEFTOVERS in the first place. Hashimoto agreed and thinks it is a sign that the new year will be good to them. He’d like LEFTOVERS to team together for next year’s Shuffle Tag show but doesn’t know if that will happen. Mashimo credited all of the wrestlers involved for making today and exciting tournament and he invited all of them out for a group photo to end the show.
1. Takuya Nomura Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan, 18th October)
2. The Great Sasuke Vs Jinsei Shinzaki (Michinoku Pro, 4th June)
3. Jun Akiyama Vs Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 21st August)
4. HARASHIMA Vs Yuji Okabayashi (DDT, 21st November)
5. Tetsu Inada Vs Shota Okamura (Hiragana Muscle, 1st September)
Best Unit
1. Pheromones
2. Astronauts
3. Speed Of Sounds
4. The 37KAMIINA
5. E.R.E
Best Box Office
1. Hiragana Muscle @ Korakuen Hall, 1st September
2. DDT @ Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki, 21st August
3. CyberFight Festival @ Saitama Super Arena, 6th June
4. Big Japan @ Sapporo Chateraise Gateaux Kingdom, 20th September
5. Masahiro Takanashi Produce @ Shinjuku FACE, 1st August
“NEW YEAR’S WRESTLING 2021 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
2. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
3. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
4. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
5. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
6. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
7. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
Team Saiyuki – Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Jun Kasai
Ikemen’s – Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa
I Dream Of Twins, Lizards And Naomi – Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Sekifuda & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu)
Three Brothers Kawaii – Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & X
I’ll Do It!! – Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka
Deadlifters – Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen
Ugo Association – MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie
LEFTOVERS – HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo
A draw was held to determine the eight teams competing in the trios tournament. Each trio also came up with team names for themselves. The most notable team is Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen. They are calling themselves Deadlifters because they claim that is what they all have in common. Takeshita can deadlift 250kg, Okabayashi can lift 300kg and Kamen they guess can probably lift 50kg. Also Takeshita and Okabayashi are currently neck and neck fighting for a spot in the D-Ou Grand Prix final. Kamen is counting on his partners to win the matches without him getting involved.
There are some powerful teams put together. Maybe the strongest was formed entirely out of luck. HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo were all the last ones left in their pools so they came up with LEFTOVERS as their team name. Mashimo is happy with who he ended up with so he doesn’t care about being picked last.
Akito feels indebted to Daisuke Sekimoto & Jun Kasai because early in his career he worked with Big Japan (he was trained by BJW wrestler Hakaru Imai) and they were his seniors.
The annual NTV new year’s comedy show has been cancelled so Shuji Ishikawa now has time to concentrate on the tournament. Soma Takao is looking forward to teaming with him again. Yuya Aoki thinks all three of them have nothing in common. He believes they can have something in common by becoming tournament winners together.
One team is a reunion of sorts. Naomi Yoshimura and Brahman Kei were on the same team for the 2019 tournament but Brahman Shu was absent with the flu. Now the three of them are together with Kota Sekifuda as the missing piece of the puzzle. They used the song “I Dream Of Naomi” for their entrance in 2019 and Kei wants to reference that again. That is why their team is called I Dream Of Twins, Lizards And Naomi.
Chris Brookes and Takuya Nomura were opponents at the tournament two years ago. There is no heat between them, instead they both think they are cute. The third member of their team is the mystery wrestler and they are sure that wrestler is cute too. Therefore they are Three Brothers Kawaii!
Having the legendary Shiro Koshinaka on their team will encourage Kazusada Higuchi & Ryuji Ito to Hip Attack their way to victory. Higuchi is honoured to team with the two veterans. Ito thinks the team has other specialties but they should win the tournament with the Hip Attack.
There is another team with nothing in common and even worse, none of the members can find anything positive about that. MAO and Shigehiro Irie never got along. MAO describes their relationship as a Cold War that Yasufumi Nakanoue is now in the middle in as a neutral party. He hopes nothing gets bad enough for Nakanoue to press the nuclear button. All Nakanoue can promise is that the team will make things work.
There will be two non-tournament matches also happening on the show.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 8 ~LAUGHING GATE FORTUNE~”, 17/10/2021 Osaka City Abeno Ward Center 299 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Akito, Yukio Naya & Mizuki Watase defeated Keigo Nakamura, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when Watase pinned Koroku with the Back Drop (11:13).
1. A Song Of Geniuses! Tokuno 4 Way Tag Match – No Tag Rules: Yasu Urano & Kengo Takai defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Takai pinned Honda with the Dera Hof Buster (11:59).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Duel of Tohoku, Osaka And Shinjuku Bloodlines~: Soma Takao, Tsubasa & HUB defeated Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Billy Ken Kid when HUB pinned Katsumata with the Aruma Shuryo (12:45).
3. Masahiro Takanashi Returns To Osaka! Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Sasaki submitted Takanashi with the Crossface Lock (10:54).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Research, Extreme, Fierce, Crash~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuaki Mihara when HARASHIMA pinned Higuchi with the Somato (17:55).
5. Special Tag Match ~ South Osaka Great War! Izumi Vs Kishiwada: Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada defeated Magnitude Kishiwada & Inaba no Buffalo when Okada pinned Buffalo with the Tricolor (15:09).
6. Double Main Event – Special Singles Match To Commemorate Yukinori Matsui’s 25th Anniversary Of His Debut Two Years Later: Kikutaro defeated Kuishinbo Kamen with the Hawaiian Prison Lock (16:53).
7. Double Main Event – Special Tag Match ~OSAKA THE BEST~: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno defeated Shigehiro Irie & Naomi Yoshimura when Ueno pinned Yoshimura with the BME (25:57).
The main event was put together to deliver a message to the world. “OSAKA THE BEST!” Shigehiro Irie left Yuki Ueno beaten with the Beast Bomber, leaving Naomi Yoshimura to hit his own Lariat expecting to win the match with it. Ueno kicked out and Konosuke Takeshita got in for the rescue. Together they smashed Yoshimura with a Knee Strike & Dropkick combo. Ueno kept standing and threw another Lariat but Ueno knocked him down with a Dropkick and pinned him with the BME. Ueno thanked the fans for coming to celebrate Yukinori Matsui’s party today. He then passed the microphone over to Yoshimura which confused his former tag partner. When he got it together, Yoshimura said he was disappointed to lose the match but he is now a KO-D Tag Team Champion with HARASHIMA. He is in the same D-Ou Grand Prix block as Ueno so they will meet again soon and he won’t lose to him in singles matches. Irie also congratulated Matsui before leaving the ring. Takeshita said all four wrestlers grew up in Osaka watching Osaka Pro and they will always think Osaka is the best from the bottom of their hearts.
Matsui’s big party needed clowns and there are no two who have a bigger history with him than Kuishinbo Kamen and Kikutaro. They made their first appearances early, interrupting Matsui’s opening speech and beating him up so they could finish the call themselves. The match was a greatest hits of their comedy spots with something new added to the end. Kikutaro tricked Matsui into picking Kamen up in a Power Bomb position. Kikutaro then tripped Matsui so he Power Bombed Kamen onto the canvas. The move only got a 2 count but Kikutaro put Kamen in the Hawaiian Prison Lock to make him give up. Kikutaro congratulated Matsui on his 25th Anniversary even though it’s two years too late. He also said he is proud of their comedy style and it has a good foundation. They will continue to joke around so everyone can laugh, smile and be happy.
There was no funny business in the match before that though. Magnitude Kishiwada & Inaba no Buffalo were here for a fight. They attacked Yusuke Okada with chairs and put him through a table, then attacked Jun Akiyama with the table’s remains. The Junretsu team survived the onslaught and got the win in the end. Akiyama threw Buffalo with the Exploder Suplex and Okada got the pin with the Tricolor. The bell ringing didn’t stop Akiyama and Kishiwada from fighting after the match was done.
HARASHIMA asked Daisuke Sekimoto if he remembers a match they had way back in 2005 for a independent show called NGB (New Generation Blood). The show also had Yuji Hino on it and the three of them teaming up today brought back memories of that show for HARASHIMA. Sekimoto doesn’t remember it. For Tetsuya Endo the match reminded him he still can’t lift Hino for the Torture Rack Bomb yet. Endo also told Kazusada Higuchi he is expecting to see him in the D-Ou final.
A chairshot from MJ Paul to Masahiro Takanashi gave Daisuke Sasaki the opening to put his opponent in the Crossface Lock. Sasaki’s comments backstage included saying Chris Brookes should pick a better tag team partner. He also said Takanashi should quit and go back to the countryside because he is not talented.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 