DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2” Results

May 17, 2024

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 17/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
346 Fans

1. HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Nakamura pinned Ishida with the Diving Headbutt (11:47).
2. Shinobazu Pond Elimination Match: Toru Owashi & Akito defeated MAO & To-y when Akito eliminated MAO & To-y by Ring Out (7:57).
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (8:42).
4. Chris Brookes defeated Yuya Koroku with a Heel Hook (12:00).
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata when Iino pinned Hirata with the Spear (12:37).
6. Danshoku Dieno Birthday Eve Commemorative Match ~ Danshoku Dieno Succession Match: Kazuma Sumi defeated Takeshi Masada after the Danshoku Driver from Danshoku Dieno (12:02). (Special Referee: Danshoku Dieno)
7. DDT Extreme Title – Leave History Behind!! 3 Round Pokkiri Strategy Match: Shunma Katsumata (c) (2) defeated Antonio Honda (1).
7a. 1 Count Fall Wasabi Cream Puff Death Match: Antonio Honda defeated Shunma Katsumata (5:17).
7b. Scramble Bunkhouse Bra Hunt Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Antonio Honda when Katsumata put on the Bra (6:49).
7c. 2 Count Fall Only Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Antonio Honda with a Backward Rolling Cradle (5:00).
*V3 for Shunma Katsumata.

The early summer edition of DDT’s beer garden shows ended with Yuki Ueno calling out Sanshiro Takagi and telling him he wants to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against him. Takagi wants the same and already had a contract for the match written up so it can take place as soon as possible. The title match will take place in Shinjuku FACE on 5th June. That is a few days after Takagi is no longer the president of CyberFight so he will be free to fight Ueno with less responsibilities to worry about. The two shared a toast to celebrate until Takagi gave Ueno the Stunner. Ueno said he is looking forward to the match because even though DDT is changing, he is still here.

Three falls consisting of random rules determined who was leaving today as the DDT Extreme Champion. The 1st fall was a Wasabi Cream Puff Death Match. When you pinned your opponent for a 1 Count, the opponent’s second at ringside would have to pick a cream puff and eat it. If the puff contained wasabi then the round would end. Antonio Honda ended up winning the fall when To-y ate the wasabi puff. The 2nd Fall was a Scramble Bunkhouse Bra Hunt Match. Honda and Shunma Katsumata had to race down to the ring and be the first one to put on a bra. Honda used Gongitsune to slow down Katsumata. He got his hands on a bra first but struggled for too long. Katsumata got his own bra and wore it before Honda could to even the score. The final deciding fall could only be won with a 2 Count Pinfall. Katsumata came out on top and used a Backwards Rolling Cradle to win the match and defend his championship.

Katsumata already knows where he will defend the title next. It will be at the Aqua Yukari sauna in Chiba on 21st June. He called out for anyone to challenge him on the date. He ended up getting three challengers. Yukio Naya, To-y and Illusion all entered the ring demanding to be in the match. Katsumata agreed to defend the title against all of them in a Falls Count Anywhere Survival 4 Way match at the sauna.

Since tomorrow is Danshoku Dieno’s birthday he felt it is time for him to find a successor. He officiated a match between Takeshi Masada and Kazuma Sumi with the intention to pass down his gimmick to the winner. He encouraged and then later forced the two participants to wrestle like he does. Neither Masada nor Sumi wanted to win and both tried to throw the match to each other. Eventually Sumi decided to go along with the idea when he gave Masada the Danshoku Driver for a nearfall. He then gave Masada the Lip Lock and left him for Dieno to do the real Danshoku Driver. Sumi pinned him afterward and Dieno counted the fall. The match was immediately followed by a press conference where Dieno announced Sumi will now be called Danshoku Dieno II! He changed into Dieno’s wrestling tights and ran around giving everyone Lip Locks to celebrate. However a couple of hours after the show DDT announced that Dieno II had changed his mind and will go back to being Kazuma Sumi.

The stage in Ueno Park’s theater features a small pool area in front of it. For Match #2 the wrestlers agreed to have a Pond Elimination match where the first team to get both of their opponents out of the pond at the same time would win. Toru Owashi got close to eliminating both MAO & To-y with a Double Headscissors Takeover. He was able to go through with it when Akito pushed all three of them out of the pool to win.

A press conference was held at the start of the show featuring the four semi-finalists of this year’s King Of DDT. MAO said he is two wins away from winning the tournament and therefore three wins away from becoming the KO-D Champion. He not only has momentum but also a mysterious power that will make him win the whole thing. Kazusada Higuchi simply reminded everyone he is taking things one match at a time and wants to focus on beating MAO. Chris Brookes said he can beat Daisuke Sasaki in a fair fight but Sasaki likes to cheat. Brookes knows how to cheat too so he requested their bout be turned into a No DQ Match. Sasaki agreed to it and called for Hisaya Imabayashi to make it happen.


DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1” Results

May 16, 2024

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 16/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
298 Fans

1. 3 Way Match: Keigo Nakamura defeated Soma Takao and Ilusion when Nakamura pinned Ilusion with a Modified Crucifix Pin (7:49).
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama defeated Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi when Takagi pinned Sumi with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (7:42).
3. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty NG Behaviour Penalty Match: Shunma Katsumata, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Iino was Disqualified for doing 3 NG acts (9:12).
4. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty Doki Doki! Special Rules Match – 1 Count Fall Rules: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Takanashi pinned Hirata with a Cradle (0:39).
4a. Rematch – Falls Count Anywhere 1,000 Count Death Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Brookes pinned Hirata (66:03).
5. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito defeated Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul when Akito pinned KANON with a Stepover Toe Hold (12:52).
6. Yuki Ishida Return Match ~ The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida when To-y pinned Ishida with the Kojima Impact (21:00).

Today was the return of Yuki Ishida to the ring after having a lower back injury that took him out for half a year. His team lost and he took the fall in the main event but that did not spoil the big news he announced after the show. Starting on 20th May he will be working for a sumo entertainment company called SUMO Agency and he’ll be relocating to Osaka to be part of a sumo show targeted towards foreign tourists. This new job means he will only be able to wrestle for DDT once or twice a month. He wanted to return to his roots in order to shine brighter and bring whatever momentum he makes back to DDT.

The Smile Squash revival is going to stick around a little while longer. After the trio defeated DAMNATION T.A in a non-title match Akito realized that Smile Squash never held the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles together. He made the challenge for a title shot, HARASHIMA agreed because he never held that championship before and Yasu Urano is joining along so he can get more DDT bookings. During the match itself Smile Squash almost gained a new member. They encouraged KANON to join them because he has a nice smile. He jumped sides until Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul force fed him beer to turn him back to his, er, normal self.

There was a secret special rule applied to Match #4. It took everyone under a minute to discover the rule was 1 Count Pinfalls when Masahiro Takanashi pinned Kazuki Hirata and immediately won the match. Hirata demanded a rematch and this time the winning team would be whichever one scores a combined total of 1,000 counts from pinfalls, countouts and DQ counts! CDK agreed and restarted the match. The total count went up to 34 when both teams fought too far away from the venue to follow so the show continued without them. They reappeared after the main event where the count was somewhere in the late 900s. The main eventers were still in the ring so Danshoku Dieno decided to give Ishida a Lip Lock just because. Ishida remained involved and hit Hirata with the Ensho. CDK then piled on top of them to score the 1,000th pin count and win the match.

Match #3 also had a rule built around secret. The referees determined that every wrestler would have one move or action be deemed NG or No Good for the match. If a wrestler performed a No Good action they would be sent off to the penalty area up in the balcony. They would only be allowed back in the match if one of their partners also did a No Good move and had to replace them in the penalty area. But if someone did a No Good move three times their team would be disqualified. The wrestlers were not told what the banned moves were so it was up to them to figure it out as the match went on. Yuki Iino was immediately sent off for shouting “BURNING!”. Shunma Katsumata was sent off for doing the NeppoWER pose. Toru Owashi was sent off for doing a Horizontal Chop. Makoto Oishi was sent off for clapping. Tetsuya Endo was sent off for doing a Swan Dive move. Yuya Koroku was sent off for doing a Brainbuster. In the end Iino was disqualified for saying “BURNING!” three times. He ended up getting confused which caused him to say “BURNING!” and “NeppoWER!” over and over.

Both Sanshiro Takagi and Akito didn’t let their CyberFight demotions ruin their wrestling performances. They both won their matches today. Takagi told the fans he will continue to be in charge of DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro from his new Vice President position. Really the only problem he has to deal with is his Big President merch is now inaccurate and he will need to make a replacement shirt.

Takagi was also challenged to a singles match by Super Sasadango Machine. He was surprised to hear the earlier news about Takagi and felt there is limited time for them to have one more match together before Takagi takes a break from being a wrestler. Takagi’s schedule was full until Sasadango came up with an idea. Their match will be on a one-match show at Shinjuku FACE on 26th June! Fifty unique types of ticket deals for the show will be made available with more to be added if there is demand.


Endo’s Not Injured! Kamiyu Is Now A Double Crown Champion, Tominaga Finds A CWP Tag Partner

May 8, 2024

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 2ND ROUND”, 11/05/2024
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. 3 Way Tag Match: KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Akito Vs Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
2. Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Poison Sawada JULIE, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno Vs Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: To-y Vs MAO
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Sanshiro Takagi
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kazusada Higuchi
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Chris Brookes Vs Tetsuya Endo

A minor left heel injury suffered on Sunday’s DDT show took Tetsuya Endo off of the “ALL TOGETHER” show that happened the next day. Thankfully after getting it examined Endo found out his heel has not been fractured and he is cleared to continue competing in the King Of DDT this weekend.

Even though Poison Sawada JULIE was eliminated from the tournament, he will be hanging around for a little while longer. He gets to form a DDT Legend team with HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno to take on the young blood.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 11/05/2024
Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall

1. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Chika Nanase
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Shino Suzuki
3. Yuki Aino Vs Toga
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Uta Takami Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI Vs Maki Itoh, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
6. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Mizuki, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami

The new champions cleared their first defences over the weekend and will be teaming up in Osaka. Also Shino Suzuki is rewarded for earning her first singles win by getting to wrestle Rika Tatsumi one on one.

Nao Kakuta is not at the show because she will be performing in a stage play. Kira Summer has been feeling unwell lately so she will not be at the show either.

BASARA “BASARA 248 ~TAKAGARI 24~”, 11/05/2024
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. FUMA, KUBITO & Yasu Urano Vs Lil’ Kraken, Leo Isaka & Takahiro Katori
2. Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Chicharito Shoki & Daiju Wakamatsu
3. Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster
4. Minoru Fujita Vs SAGAT
5. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Daichi Kazato

No. 1 Contendership is on the line when Isami Kodaka and Daichi Kazato fight for who gets the next Union MAX Title shot. Kodaka has built up his case but Kazato hit a speed bump at the most recent BASARA show when he lost his match. Can he get the job done without the momentum that took him up to this point?

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN MIYAGI”, 12/05/2024
Miyagi Yume Messe West Building Hall

1. Akito & Yuya Koroku Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
2. Danshoku Dieno, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
5. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

Rukiya is still out injured so Tomomitsu Matsunaga will be replacing him in Match #3.

A year ago Keigo Nakamura teamed with HARASHIMA to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. They reunite this weekend to face the current champions BURNING in a non-title match.

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 16/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Soma Takao Vs Ilusion
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
3. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty NG Behaviour Penalty Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Shunma Katsumata, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi
4. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty Doki Doki! Special Rules Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata
5. Yuki Ishida Return Match ~ The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
6. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul

We only just recently had Smile Squash back together again so let’s keep it going for one of the Beer Garden shows. Also on the undercard are two tag matches each with different special rules applied.

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 17/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Chris Brookes Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi
4. MAO & To-y Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata
6. Danshoku Dieno Birthday Eve Commemorative Match ~ Special 3 Way Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya (Special Referee: Danshoku Dieno)
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Antonio Honda

Oh there’s Toru Owashi. He disappeared from DDT for a minute there. I only just noticed now.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 18/05/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Alexis Lee

All of a sudden Yuki Kamifuku has created an Asian Double Crown championship! She has held the Queen Of Asia Title since last November and just a few days ago won the brand new VPW Women’s Title in Vietnam. Both of those title wins came from Kamifuku defeating Alexis Lee, a 10 year veteran of the Southeast Asian wrestling scene. Her name has come up a lot in my DDT Around The World reports because she is the go-to opponent for whenever somebody from Tokyo Joshi Pro travels to Singapore. Lee has not given up on getting revenge for losing both championships to Kamifuku and is coming to TJPW for a double title rematch!

Wakana Uehara will not be at the show because she will be performing at a stage show elsewhere that day.

GANBARE☆PRO “EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE 2024”, 18/05/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Shota Kawakami Debut Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Kitsune World Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs YuuRI
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & Daisuke®️
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Kouki Iwasaki

Shinichiro Tominaga had to go looking through the student pro wrestling scene for a partner so he can challenge GROUND ABSOLUTE for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles. What he found is Daisuke®️ from Tomginaga’s other home promotion CWP. Daisuke®️ is allegedly a former trainee from another company whose name he cannot reveal. He’s been wrestling in CWP since 2019 with the dragon gene in his heart and his goal is to one day open CWP’s dream gate.

BASARA “BASARA 249 ~UTAGE~”, 28/05/2024
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster

There is a very slight naming change to the IRON FIST Tag Team Titles. BASARA noticed that the media and wrestlers keep writing the name of the championship in katakana instead of using the upper case “IRON FIST”. So from now on they decided it will be written as “Iron Fist Tag Team Titles” (アイアンフィストタッグ選手権).

Also something to note is BASARA themselves aren’t quite sure where Judomaster belongs to. His affiliation is written as “Free?” on their website.

DDT “SPA & POOL AQUA YUKARI – SAUNA ROJO PRO WRESTLING”, 21/06/2024
Chiba Aqua Yukari

1. Shunma Katsumata Vs X

The next street wrestling match DDT has come up with will be at the Aqua Yukari hot spring in Chiba. Shunma Katsumata is the first wrestler announced to take part.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP! UP! TJPW (2) ~TANABATA FESITVAL WITH NIKI-CHAN~”, 07/07/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. X Vs X
2. X Vs X
3. X Vs X
4. X Vs X

TJPW is teaming up with one of the other versions of The Up Up Girls for an outdoor show held at Ueno Park. The event will feature concerts from both Up Up Girls (2) and Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling). There will also be a short TJPW show taking place with 4 or 5 matches scheduled to happen.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X

Minoru Suzuki will be on the show, joining Konosuke Takeshita and El Desperado among the first bunch of names announced.


DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND” Results

May 5, 2024

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND”, 05/05/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,025 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Soma Takao, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuni, Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Sumi with the Diving Headbutt (9:25).
0. Dark Match: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (0:09).
0a. Rematch: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (4:43).
1. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: MAO defeated Poison Sawada JULIE with the Iai Kick (9:16).
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: To-y defeated KANON with a Frankensteiner (11:09).
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Yuki Ueno with the Stone Cold Stunner (11:09).
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Iino with the Standing Crossover Face Lock (11:15).
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya with the Buchikamashi (14:12).
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Shuji Ishikawa defeated HARASHIMA with the Giant Slam (13:58).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Burning Tanetsuke Press (18:26).
8. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Chris Brookes defeated Takeshi Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb (15:53).

2004 was the year when DDT held its first King Of DDT tournament. It was not held on an annual basis until 2009 but the history of the tournament is filled with winners who have gone on to accomplish many things in DDT and pro wrestling as a whole. This year is the 20th anniversary of the first King Of DDT and the 18th edition of the event. The main show began with all of the 16 participants lining up in the ring for the opening ceremony.

The main event was all about SCHADENFREUDE International as two of its members faced off in the last of the Round 1 matches. Brookes had a special guest with him because Zack Sabre Jr. was there to be in his corner. Takeshi Masada wanted to win badly and tried using the Takatonic and the KOBU Mukimuki. He even tried to withstand the pain from taking an Avalanche Tiger Suplex but at that point Brookes just had to keep up the attack until he won. Masada had one last chance left when he countered the Praying Mantis Bomb but Brookes countered the Mukimuki, hit two Somatos and pinned Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb. After the match Brookes told Masada that any bad things he said about him at the press conference was lies and he really wanted him to do his best today. Backstage Brookes and Sabre talked up the tag match they are having at “ALL TOGETHER” tomorrow.

Meeting Brookes in the next round is Tetsuya Endo. He had to dig in deep to beat Danshoku Dieno because Dieno was ready to avoid the Burning Star Press at any opportunity. One of the counters Dieno pulled off was a top rope Frankensteiner! He also had Makoto Oishi interfering when the two of them gave Endo the 3D after the referee was knocked out with a Lip Lock. Dieno went into the Hell Gate position over the turnbuckles but it was Oishi who got a face full of the Gate. Endo then grabbed Dieno by the crotch and Headbutted his butt! When Endo climbed the top rope to finally hit the Burning Star Press, Dieno had one last idea to defend himself. He rolled over and stuck his butt into the air daring Endo to jump in. Endo did exactly what Dieno wanted except first he pulled off Dieno’s tights and then hit the Burning Star Press! He was able to turn Dieno over and pin him without exposing anything further to the crowd.

After the match El Desperado unexpectedly entered the ring while Oishi was getting Dieno’s trunks back on him. He has a lot to look forward to this summer but he isn’t here to talk about the Best Of The Super Juniors or his next DDT appearance at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”. Instead he pulled out two invitations for the “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” event he is holding at Korakuen Hall on 10th June. The two invitations are for Dieno and a wrestler of his choice. If it was up entirely to Desperado he would have wanted his main event to be Pheromones Vs House Of Torture just so he could see Dieno chase EVIL around the ring. Dieno confirmed to him that Pheromones have disbanded and cannot be brought back. Desperado will give him the invitations anyway and trusts Dieno to find a suitable partner so they can do something similar to Pheromones at the show. Dieno asked if that means his partner does not have to be anybody from DDT? Desperado said yes, the choice is all up to Dieno and no one else.

One of the former King Of DDT winners Shuji Ishikawa returned with a bang by eliminating HARASHIMA in Round 1. HARASHIMA was able to kick out of the Splash Mountain, Running Knee Lift, Fire Thunder and also the Kamigoye. But he was a beaten man at that point and was finally put away with the Giant Slam. He will be facing Kazusada Higuchi in the next round and Higuchi met him in the ring after the match to give him a Headbutt! Backstage Ishikawa admitted he needs to improve his own conditioning. When he fights Higuchi he will either strike out or hit a home run. If the latter happens then nothing will stop Ishikawa from winning the tournament and then the KO-D Openweight Title!

Higuchi already got rid of one big boy to advance into Round 2. He beat Yukio Naya by wearing him down with the Brain Claw inbetween the moments of high impact moves between them. Naya finally went down to a series of Headbutts and struggled to get back to his feet to beat the 10 count. When he did stand back up, Higuchi was already in position to run him over with the Buchikamashi for the victory. As mentioned above, Higuchi is eager to face Ishikawa next.

Yuki Iino was almost unstoppable against Daisuke Sasaki but “Charisma” found a way to beat him eventually. Chair shots over the head and interference from MJ Paul didn’t work. Even trying to Spear Iino just had Sasaki bounce off of him. What did work was countering the Spear into a Pedigree in midair. It wasn’t enough to pin Iino but Sasaki was able to give him La Mistica Crossover Face Lock from there. Iino used his power to stand back up but Sasaki would not let go of the hold, keeping it on tight so Iino had no choice but to give up from the pain he was feeling in his shoulder. Sasaki bragged about showing off his power as the strongest wrestler in DDT.

There were a couple of upsets in Round 1. The biggest of perhaps the entire tournament is the KO-D Champion Yuki Ueno losing to Sanshiro Takagi! This year’s King Of DDT looks to be Takagi’s last stand before he takes a break from being a wrestler and he could not have sent out a louder message for everyone to hear. They fought in the crowd so Takagi could knock Ueno down the stairs. Ueno fought back with a Moonsault out of the ring and also a Frog Splash in the ring. But he missed the BME, landing on his feet right there for Takagi to give him the Stunner for the shock three count! Takagi later said if he wins the tournament then he will challenge Ueno for the KO-D Title. Ueno does not want to end this with a loss and thinks Takagi must come challenge him for the title eventually.

The other big upset in the opening round is To-y advancing past KANON. He kept on getting hit with K-Spikes but fought back using the Kojima Wonderland. KANON avoided the Kojima Impace but got caught with a Frankensteiner for the upset loss. He heard KANON’s comments about Hideki Okatani during the week and is sure Okatani was supporting him rather than KANON. All he needs is a 1% chance of winning to turn it into a 100% chance! Meanwhile KANON can’t believe he lost in the first round again. After three years of trying he has never gotten past Round 1 in the King Of DDT.

It was a battle of magic and danger when MAO took on the very first King Of DDT winner Poison Sawada JULIE. The dreaded Snake Magic is Sawada’s main weapon. Using it causes the victim to raise their rattling hand in the air to show that Sawada can then make them do whatever he wants. However it turns out MAO has been learning the same dark magic and used his own version to fight back. The spells ended up knocking out Yukinori Matsui after they were deflected into his direction. MAO then summoned invisible baseball bats rigged with explosives that had its own warning siren to go with it. He and Sawada both hit each other with the bats, causing an invisible explosion every time. Sawada then blinded MAO with Poison Mist but couldn’t get the three count with the Choke Slam or the Maoi Of Easter. MAO had to defend himself from the magic and did so by spitting his own Mist in Sawada’s face. Sawada was then powerless to block the Iai Kick, ending the match and eliminating him from the tournament.

The King Of DDT Round 2 matches on 11th May will be MAO Vs To-y, Sanshiro Takagi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa and Tetsuya Endo Vs Chris Brookes.

One of the dark matches ended before Jun Akiyama could even enter the ring so they had to restart it on his orders. His team did their entrance again and the same thing almost happened a second time. However Akiyama was there to stop Oishi from quickly pinning Kazuki Hirata again so everyone could get a chance to wrestle. Later in the match everyone began to fight over the Hirata GO! Glasses. When Akiyama was the last man standing he decided to put them on. Right when he was about to dance Oishi pinned Hirata to cut the music and end the match.

The other dark match had Keigo Nakamura winning the bout for his team. Yuni & Ilusion both did dives onto Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku outside the ring. But Kazuma Sumi couldn’t follow up for his side and got pinned by Nakamura’s Diving Headbutt.

There were a few announcements for some of DDT’s upcoming shows. Minoru Suzuki will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. There will be a Street Pro Wrestling match held inside a sauna on 21st June with Sayaka Unagi as one of the participants. Unagi will also be at the 20th July Beer Garden show.


King Of DDT 2024 Press Conference

May 3, 2024

DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND”, 05/05/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuni, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku Vs Ilusion, Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya
0. Dark Match: Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
1. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1A: MAO Vs Poison Sawada JULIE
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1B: KANON Vs To-y
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1C: Yuki Ueno Vs Sanshiro Takagi
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1D: Yuki Iino Vs Daisuke Sasaki
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1E: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1F: HARASHIMA Vs Shuji Ishikawa
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1G: Tetsuya Endo Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1H: Chris Brookes Vs Takeshi Masada

A press conference was held at yesterday’s DDT fanfest featuring 14 of the 16 entrants in this year’s King Of DDT tournament. Takeshi Masada could not be there due to university commitments but sent in a message. The message said Masada does not want to get knocked out in the first round like he did last year. He will be in the main event against his stablemate Chris Brookes. Masada has learned a lot from being in SCHADENFREUDE International and sees this match as a challenge to surpass his friend. Brookes is last year’s winner and he brought the trophy with him. He is motivated to win the tournament again and go all the way to winning back the KO-D Openweight Title. However he admits he felt a little aimless after he lost the KO-D Title last year. He’s still motivated but felt something was missing.

Elsewhere Tetsuya Endo’s match against Danshoku Dieno has more meaning to it than you would think. Endo’s recent luck in King Of DDT hasn’t been good but he feels he has gotten into shape after winning the New Year’s Eve trios tournament and raching the final of the D-Oh Grand Prix. However Dieno means so much to DDT that Endo admits he is not as good of a pro wrestler as Dieno is. He thinks Dieno does not realize that though and for that reason Endo is confident he will win. Dieno said he is only concentrating on this match and has done a lot of studying for it. His entire game plan is going to be based around Endo using the Burning Star Press. He knows how to avoid it and also how to counter it. The percentage of him succeeding is low but if Dieno can nail the timing of the Burning Star Press being used against him, he can find a way to exploit it and beat Endo.

It’s been a while since a HARASHIMA Vs Shuji Ishikawa match has happened. HARASHIMA is well aware of his big and strong Ishikawa is. He is also a believer that tomorrow is when a person will reach their peak so he will be stronger too. Both of them are evolving so he does not expect the match to be identical to their previous fights against each other. Ishikawa understands it takes a lot of training at his age to keep fit and HARASHIMA is older than he is. He had seen Yuki Ueno wrestle at Korkauen Hall last month and it made him realise all of DDT’s champions right now are young. He intends to last forever though. He also feels emotional about the tournament because he missed so many of them due to his affiliation with Union Pro at the time. When he finally got to have a proper go it was as an independant wrestler in 2016 and he won it that year. His hope is he will face Poison Sawada JULIE in the final.

An illness prevented Kazusada Higuchi from being at the event but he had a message written out for everyone. His thought process is the same, he will take it one match at a time. His 1st Round opponent is Yukio Naya so he will be focused the most on beating him. Naya is trying to repeat his success from the D-Oh Grand Prix so he can get another shot at the KO-D Title. He believes his momentum began when he beat Higuchi at the 2022 D-Oh GP. He wants to beat him again to take his place as the center of DDT’s heavyweight division.

There is a lot going on is Daisuke Sasaki’s mind. He knows if Yuki Iino hits him with the Spear in Round 1 it will be all over for him. However Sasaki realized some of the best wrestlers in the world right now like Jon Moxley, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns are all 38 years old. He is 38 years old so that means he is going to win! Iino has never beaten Sasaki in a singles match but is confident he can do it because of the Spear. He doesn’t know what direction it will come from but he will hit it. Also if age is a factor then Iino at 29 is the same as Shohei Ohtani and Yuzuru Hanyu. That means he is going to win, not Sasaki!

Sanshiro Takagi’s entry into the tournament has caught the attention of the wrestling press because of his age and also who he is facing in Round 1. The 54 year old is taking on the KO-D Champion Yuki Ueno! He told Ueno that when he was his age it was a year into DDT’s existence and he worked as hard as he could to keep the company from collapsing. He wants to fight Ueno like he is 28 again. In order to do that he is thinking about visiting beauty salons and saunas to build up his stamina for a possible 60 minute long match. He also wants to keep his promise to Konosuke Takeshita. The promise is Takagi wins the KO-D Title one more time, Takeshita wins a singles title in AEW and the two of them will have a champion versus champion match together. Takeshita recently showing intentions to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title has only made Takagi’s wish become stronger. Ueno’s entire reign as champion has been about him proving he is the ace of DDT. Fighting the company president continues that story and will provide a look into DDT’s future. He will be in the main event of next week’s “ALL TOGETHER” show and wants to convey the fun that DDT brings to wrestling at that event.

It is To-y’s dream to win the KO-D Title so he is all revved up to be in the King Of DDT. KANON was unusually serious when he talked about looking forward to the match. He offered a handshake but To-y didn’t trust him. That caused KANON to burst into tears and claim he was told by Hideki Okatani to win the tournament. He then flipped out and attacked To-y putting him in the Cobra Twist. To-y promised to get revenge afterward.

There is a lot of nostalgia surrounding this year’s tournament because it is the 20th anniversary of the first one. The very first winner Poison Sawada JULIE is not feeling that nostalgia. He knows just how clever and tricky MAO is to fight. He is going to be careful but is confident he will win because of his magic spells. MAO said this year’s tournament is the turning point of DDT and he is that turning point. He has a counter for Sawada’s spells and that is to point somewhere so Sawada loses attention and then punch him in the face. Sawada sees the funny side of MAO’s idea and suggested the entire match just be them casting spells at each other.


DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 2” Results

April 29, 2024

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 29/04/2024
Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza Kanaeda
341 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno defeated Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Dieno pinned Hirata with the Gaydo Clutch (0:04).
1a. Rematch: Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno defeated Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Takagi submitted Hirata with a School Boy (7:56).
2. Tomoya & To-y defeated Makoto Oishi & Yoshitatsu when To-y pinned Oishi with the Kojima Impact (10:02).
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Noriyuki Yoshida & Rukiya when KANON pinned Rukiya with the Michikonu Driver II (8:47).
4. Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Chris Brookes & Kazuma Sumi when Matsunaga submitted Sumi with a Crab Hold (9:40).
5. Yuki Ueno defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Senko Dokuga (13:46).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Higuchi pinned Koroku with the Claw Slam (12:09).
7. Shunma Katsumata 10th Anniversary Match ~ Are You Happy? Death Match: MAO defeated Shunma Katsumata when Katsumata was Not Happy after doing the Sauna Trance Splash from the Giga Ladder (19:44).

The rules of the Are You Happy? Death Match involved Yukinori Matsui asking MAO or Shunma Katsumata “Are you happy?” whenever they had taken a dangerous move. If a wrestler could no longer answer by saying “Happy!” then they would lose the match. The match had Lego, chairs, plastic boxes and a Giga Ladder used as a weapon. Katumsata stacked boxes filled with Lego on top of MAO, climbed the Giga Ladder and then hit the Sauna Trance Splash onto MAO. The crash left both of them in pain and MAO said he was “Happy!” to continue. Katsumata though couldn’t do anything but scream in pain. Matsui came to the conclusion that Katsumata wasn’t happy anymore and rewarded the victory to MAO. While Katsumata wanted a match against MAO to celebrate his 10th anniversary of his debut, he is ready to put the focus back on their ShunMao tag team. He thinks the strength of The 37KAMIINA is that they all stand together wanting to make DDT more exciting. They’ve become close friends over time for that reason.

Yuki Ueno used his version of the Shining Wizard he adopted from HUB to beat Keigo Nakamura. He thinks the most important thing a pro wrestler should have is confidence and he praises Nakamura for keeping his head held high through the difficult times. If Nakamura works hard then Ueno believes he will one day become the KO-D Openweight Champion. Nakamura said it was frustrating to lose today’s match but he will use that frustration as motivation to become the center of DDT!

The teams in Match #1 were switched around due to the requests of everyone involved.


DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 1” Results

April 28, 2024

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 28/04/2024
Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza Kanaeda
338 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Takeshi Masada defeated Kazuma Sumi with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (6:54).
2. Yuki Iino, Keigo Nakamura & To-y defeated Makoto Oishi, Tomoya & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Nakamura pinned Oishi with a Modified Crucifix Pin (7:57).
3. Sapporo Specialty Special Single Match: Noriyuki Yoshida defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Authorized Lightning Leg Lariat (8:06).
4. Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Rukiya when HARASHIMA pinned Rukiya with the Somato (8:52).
5. Special Single Match – Danshoku New York Style Match: Yoshitatsu defeated Danshoku Dieno with the CBJ (8:46).
6. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku when Sasaki submitted Koroku with the Crossface Lock (10:58).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Akito, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Brookes pinned Katsumata with the Praying Mantis Bomb (21:11).

Backstage after the show, Shunma Katsumata had a request for MAO. He wants their singles match tomorrow to be turned into a Are You Happy Death Match! All they need to do is laugh and whoever cannot laugh anymore will be the loser.

Daisuke Sasaki took a page out of an old flame’s book. He gave Yuya Koroku the Ball Plex that Candice LeRae used to do on the indies. That set up the Crossface Lock for the finish.

There was a rule change in one of today’s matches. Danshoku Dieno told Yoshitatsu that there match was being held under New York Rules. That means you can only win the match by kissing your opponent while pinning or submitting them. Dieno went for the Lip Lock but caught Yukinori Matsui instead of his opponent. Yoshitatsu plucked up the courage to give Dieno his own Lip Lock and keep it applied to pin him for the three count. He thinks he has room to improve but will take on the challenge of another New York Rules match if anyone ever challenges him to one again.

Keigo Nakamura was thrilled with today’s win because it is the first time he’s ever beaten a veteran! He used a Modified Crucifix Pin on Makoto Oishi as a counter for the Fujiyama Knee Lock to score the win for his team. That also means he just beat one of the previous KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. Tomorrow he will face Yuki Ueno in a non-title match but he is so amped up that he will fight as if the KO-D Openweight Title was on the line.


DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT” Results

April 26, 2024

DDT “DDT X ZEEKSTAR TOKYO SPECIAL PERFORMANCE ~ DDZT”, 26/04/2024
Tokyo Higashin Arena (Sumida City Gymnasium)
687 Fans

0. Dark Match – 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuni and Ilusion when Sumi pinned Yuni with a School Boy (7:39).
1. DDT Universal Title: MAO (c) defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Cannonball 450 (13:26).
*V8 for MAO.
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuya Koroku defeated Yukio Naya & Rukiya when Higuchi submitted Rukiya with the Canadian Backbreaker (11:41).
3. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Mecha Mummy (c) defeated Toru Owashi, Hiroshi Yamato, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Soma Takao & Shinichiro Kawamatsu when Masada pinned Matsunaga with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (7:44).
*V2 for SCHADENFREUDE International & Mecha Mummy.
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Unagi defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with the Stunner (7:46).
*Sanshiro Unagi becomes the 1,626th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sayaka Unagi defeated Sanshiro Unagi (c) with a School Boy (6:23 pm).
*Sayaka Unagi becomes the 1,627th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Unagi defeated Sayaka Unagi (c) with a School Boy (6:25 pm).
*Sanshiro Unagi becomes the 1,628th champion.
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino defeated Shunma Katsumata & To-y when Endo pinned To-y with the Burning Star Press (11:16).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Zeestar defeated Sanshiro Unagi (c) with a Body Press (7:03 pm).
*Zeestar becomes the 1,629th champion.
6. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Kazuki Hirata (w/ Adachi Tamasuke) with the Somato (12:17).
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi (c) when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (15:28).
*D.O.A fails in V5. DAMNATION T.A becomes the 54th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Akito with the WR (28:42).
*V4 for Yuki Ueno.

It was a long shot from the beginning over Akito’s chances of winning the KO-D Openweight Title. His plan over time was to wear down Yuki Ueno both physically and then mentally in the prelim matches building up to this bout. Ultimately the plan did not work out but Ueno had to work hard for half an hour to retain his championship. By targeting the knee Akito was able to avoid the WR several times. He also unexpectedly adopted some of Danshoku Dieno’s signature moves to try and win. But Ueno was finally able to land his finisher and get the victory. He was full of praise for Akito after the match and he wants to share his dream of bringing DDT all the way to the Tokyo Dome! Akito thanked Ueno by directly presenting him with the winner’s prize for the main event, since he is also the company vice president.

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles now belong to DAMNATION T.A again and they don’t want to defend it against anybody! KANON in particular had to go through so much to win the belts. He has been the target of Dieno’s affections lately and that continued with Dieno chasing him all the way up to the balcony seats. KANON got some revenge back in the ring when he was thrown towards Dieno’s Hell Gate and he blocked it with a Volleyball Spike to the rear. Jun Akiyama then found himself getting a face full of the Hell Gate. That left Makoto Oishi alone to fight off both Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul but he couldn’t survive. Sasaki put him in the Crossface Lock and he tapped out. Originally D.O.A said they were going to disband as soon as they lost the titles but plans have now changed. Oishi is annoyed that neither Dieno or Akiyama came to save him but he’s not going to break up the unit just yet. He forced the three of them to shake each other’s hands backstage and continue to do their best as Dead Or Alive!

Kazuki Hirata brought out an unknown person to the ring for his match and introduced him as his disciple Adachi Tamasuke. He was allowed by HARASHIMA to stick around at ringside to learn about the business. Whenever HARASHIMA was about to beat Hirata with the Somato, Tamasuke would interrupt the match to ask HARASHIMA questions. That allowed Hirata to recover and try to fight back. HARASHIMA soon lost his temper and slammed him out of frustration. As Tamasuke drifted into unconsciousness he told Hirata all he ever wanted was to see his master do his famous Rainmaker move. Hirata had to tell Tamasuke he confused him for someone else. So instead Tamasuke wished for Hirata and HARASHIMA to dance together. They did but it was all a trap for Tamasuke to grab HARASHIMA and hold him in place. The trap failed and Hirata accidentally knocked out his disciple. He still rolled up HARASHIMA in the Miracle One Shot Cradle but he kicked out and beat Hirata with the Somato. Hirata admitted he hired Tamasuke to become his disciple and he might not have the money to continue training him.

In a non-title match BURNING defeated The 37KAMIINA in a regular tag bout. Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino were happy to win their match at the Higashin Arena but both admit they have no emotional connection to the place. They are now turning their attention to the King Of DDT tournament and think they may wind up fighting each other in the final. No matter who wins they want to show the tournament will be about BURNING! It was To-y who took the fall in the match and he is angry over it. He knows it is a single elimination tournament so he cannot afford to lose after working so hard to win the D GENERATIONS CUP and qualify for this. Shunma Katsumata won’t be in the tournament but hearing To-y’s words gave him motivation for the next DDT Extreme Title defence.

Whenever you fight Sanshiro Takagi you can never know what idea he will come up with. You may even find yourself fighting… yourself! Sayaka Unagi was in for a shock when Takagi entered the ring dressed and painted head to toe just like her. He had become Sanshiro Unagi! They fought each other Hardcore style with fire extinguishers, plastic cases and even a castle of chairs getting knocked over outside the ring. Sanshiro kicked out of the Sliding U and suffered a slight wardrobe malfunction when Sayaka accidentally pulled his wig off. The awkward moment left a big enough pause for Sanshiro to give her a Stunner and win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title! He explained after the match that Unagi has become a great wrestler who is also famous among people who are not wrestling fans. Takagi dressing up like her today is proof of that! Unagi said she always thought Dramatic Dream Team was a genius idea for a name and she will continue to work hard so she can one day surpass Takagi. She offered a handshake and then surprised Takagi with a roll up to win back the Iron Man Title! Takagi gave her credit and said since they are both from Toyonaka City they should team up as the Unagi Warriors. They left the ring together but then Takagi rolled up Unagi at the entrance to win the Iron Man Title again!

There was another Iron Man Title change later in the show. After Match #5 had finished, DDT and the Zeekstar Tokyo handball team held a few challenges in the venue. First the mascot Zeestar beat Pokotan in a sumo contest. Then Takagi, still in his Unagi costume was encouraged to play in goal for a game of handball where he was obliterated by shots from the Zeekstar team. He was left beaten and laying on the ground so Zeestar decided to pin him and win the title!

The wacky history of the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles can now finally say that a champion team had more than one title defence. SCHADENFREUDE International successfully retained the titles against Toro Owashi and his merry men (he claims there is a secret bond between sumo and parliament which explains his team choices). Mecha Mummy felt left out at some points because it was too heavy to get involved with the tag team moves but it made a big impact using the Mecha Drill on all five opponents. The challengers tried fighting back with Tomomitsu Matsunaga hitting Tommy Bombers and Shinichiro Kawamatsu using the Shitamachi Rocket finisher but Takeshi Masada won the match for his team. Chris Brookes said he loves the 10-Man Tag Titles and wants to defend them in other places like Baka Gaijin + Friends. He will also be fighting Masada in the King Of DDT 1st Round. Both Antonio Honda & Masahiro Takanashi are staying neutral for the match.

More King Of DDT preparation was shown on the undercard with Kazusada Higuchi and Yukio Naya facing off in a tag match. Yuya Koroku and Rukiya were there to be thrown around by the heavyweights. Higuchi got the last hit in on Naya by knocking him off the ring apron with a Lariat. He then made Rukiya submit to the Canadian Backbreaker. Higuchi thinks Naya has gotten stronger since their last singles match against each other but he will not lose to him again. Naya said he wants to prove he is better than Higuchi.

The return of Keigo Nakamura from injury had bigger stakes attached to it when MAO agreed to defend the DDT Universal Title against him. Nakamura wrestled in a new costume and showed some HARASHIMA influence by hitting a Reverse Frankensteiner followed by the Somato. A missed Diving Headbutt stopped his momentum and MAO took over, eventually winning with the Cannonball 450. MAO congratulated Nakamura on his return and told it takes more than just winning to become a strong pro wrestler. You get strong by wrestling a hundred matches a year without getting injured. He encouraged Nakamura to continue wrestling so he can grow stronger.

In the pre-show Kazuma Sumi won in a 3 Way Match. Yuni had things in control when he gave Ilusion a Swinging DDT. He then missed the Phoenix Splash aimed for Sumi and Sumi pinned him with a MIKAMI style School Boy.


New All Together Matches, One Night Only Smile Squash Return, CDK & Kiso Anniversary Plans

April 24, 2024

UJPW “ALL TOGETHER”, 06/05/2024
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

1. El Desperado, HAYATA, Ninja Mack, MAO & Kota Minoura Vs Hiromu Takahashi, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Tetsuya Endo & YAMATO
2. Starlight Kid & Natsupoi Vs AZM & Miyu Amasaki
3. Kenoh Vs Kosei Fujita
4. SANADA & KAI Vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Sanshiro Takagi & Naomichi Marufuji Vs EVIL, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi
6. Tomohiro Ishii & Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Jeff Cobb & Masa Kitamiya
7. Shota Umino, Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuki Ueno Vs Yuya Uemura, KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Shun Skywalker

The pairing of Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes worked out so well they get to team up again for “ALL TOGETHER”. Their opponents will be a reunion of SANADA and KAI. Those two have a long history together in All Japan and WRESTLE-1.

The Jr. Heavyweight Divisions of several companies are mixing it up with a big 10-Man Tag Match. Tetsuya Endo and MAO are both involved representing DDT on opposite teams.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN MIYAGI”, 12/05/2024
Miyagi Yume Messe West Building Hall

1. Akito & Yuya Koroku Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
2. Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON

A DDT show in Miyagi means it is a homecoming for MAO! To celebrate, ShunMao are teaming up to face DAMNATION T.A.

What in the hell did we do to deserve Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul? Why?

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 16/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Yuki Ishida Return Match ~ The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida
2. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul

Special things happen at Beer Garden shows. This one will have a one night only reunion of Smile Squash! The trio of HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito will be back teaming together.

Yuki Ishida’s return match brings Harimao back over to DDT.

DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 17/05/2024
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Chris Brookes Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Danshoku Dieno Birthday Eve Commemorative Match ~ Special 3 Way Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya (Special Referee: Danshoku Dieno)
3. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Antonio Honda

It will be the day before Danshoku Dieno’s birthday so he got to decide a match that he wants to do. He came up with a 3 Way Match but he will not be wrestling in it. Oh no! He is instead the referee for Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya. He promises to be very strict towards all three of them.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 11 ~ YUKINORI MATSUI REFEREE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE ~ MAKING THE SQUARE WORLD INTERESTING”, 19/05/2024
Osaka City Sumiyoshi Civic Center

1. A Truly Outrageous Tag Match Between The Four Heavenly Kings Of The Variety Team: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match – “20 Years Ago THE OSAKA”: Magnitude Kishiwada, HUB & Kengo Takai Vs Tsubasa, Billy Ken Kid & Shoichi Uchida
3. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Single Match: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba
4. Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Korku
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya
6. Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
7. Triple Main Event – Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
8. Triple Main Event – Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO & Tetsuya Endo
9. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Minoru Suzuki

Two more matches added to Yukinori Matsui’s big show. One of them brings in six well known wrestlers from the Osaka scene while the other gathers together four of the silliest acts that orbit around DDT.

Black Menso~re will also be on the show.

DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/06/2024
Shinjuku FACE

1. Daisuke Kiso Referee 14th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs To-y & Yuni
2. CDK 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi

Two important milestones to celebrate in June. CDK will have been together for five years while Daisuke Kiso will have been a referee for fourteen. CDK will get a match against Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi for the occasion. All for of them are friends with Kiso outside of shows. Kiso also gets to referee a match pitting Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie against the young boys To-y & Yuni. Kiso has known Ishii since before he became a ref and he was also the ref for Irie’s debut match. He wanted to have them in particular to face against two of DDT’s future stars.


DDT “SPOILER FREE BOX OFFICE VOL. 1” Results

April 21, 2024

DDT “SPOILER FREE BOX OFFICE VOL. 1”, 21/04/2024
Kanagawa Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market
312 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. No DQ Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Bad Buddy Yuni & Pitochiko Sumi ended in a No Contest when it changed into Yuni Vs Kazuma Sumi.
1a. Bad Buddy Yuni defeated Pitochiko Sumi with a Sleeper Hold (7:50).
2. No Rope Survival 4 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya, MJ Paul and Gota Ihashi (7:06).
2a. Yukio Naya eliminated MJ Paul by Ring Out (3:46).
2b. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Yukio Naya by Ring Out (6:43).
2c. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Gota Ihashi by Ring Out (7:06).
3. Special Tag Match ~ No Tag Rules: Yuki Iino & Yuki “Sexy” Iino (Rukiya) Vs Danshoku Dieno & Danshoku Dieno (Takeshi Masada) ended in a No Contest (12:55).
4. Different Martial Arts Special Tag Match ~ Rhythmic Gymnastics & Amateur Wrestling & Student Pro Wrestling Mixed Rules: Akito Nishigaki & Hayabucha defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku when Hayabucha pinned Koroku with the Firebird Splash (R3 2:59).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tyrannosaurus Inoue, Super Hardcore Katsumata & To-y Vs Takagi Sanshirobo (w/ Mad Dr. Hige), Pakuri Muso & Super Hardcore Chris ended in a Double Countout (14:35).
6. No Tag Rules: Yuki Ueno, Yuki Ueno (MAO), Yuki Ueno (Shunma Katsumata) & Yuki Ueno (To-y) defeated Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata (Kazuma Sumi) & Antonio Honda (Kazusada Higuchi) when Ueno pinned Hirata & Honda with Double Crucifix Pin (27:24).

Today’s show had a stipulation for the audience to follow. Everything that happened had to be kept secret and not be posted on any social media sites until after midnight. DDT also kept the results to themselves until the same time too. To live up to expectations, every match had something unexpected happen unlong with the unusual lineup that was already advertised. Akito would explain after the show the concept was something new that DDT wanted to do in place of the BOYZ and YaroZ events they used to run.

The main event was advertised as a Handicap Match where Yuki Ueno had to fight Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda two on one. Ueno was able to fight them off but just when he was about to win, Kazuma Sumi entered the match as another Kazuki Hirata. Then Kazusada Higuchi climbed into the ring as another Antonio Honda. The numbers soon evened out when Shunma Katsumata & To-y joined the match both acting like Ueno. Tyrannosaurus Inoue showed up continuing its fight against Takagi Sanshirobo. When Inoue was done he stripped out of the dinosaur costume to evolve into MAO as Yuki Ueno! The four Yuki Uenos then danced with the two Hiratas and two Hondas. The match then ended when the real Ueno pinned both the real Hirata & Honda with a Double Crucifix. All four Uenos made comments after the match and Ueno said he felt like his soul was split into four.

Some of the wrestlers in Match #5 took on some unexpected personas. MAO as Tyrannosaurus Inoue and Sanshiro Takagi as Takagi Sanshirobo was already advertised. However Shunma Katsumata and Chris Brookes both showed up in Super Hardcore forms while Fuminori Abe turned into Pakuri Muso, his bootleg version of Jinsei Shinzaki. This left To-y embarrassed because he was the only one not to take up an alter ego for the match. The two teams ended up fighting outside the ring over to where the company truck was parkers. Yoshihiko appeared and jumped off the truck onto everyone below. Katsumata also dived off the truck to put To-y through a table. The match ended in a draw after both teams were counted out.

Match #4 was a mixed martial arts bout in that every wrestler taking part represented a different martial art and the rules of their sport would all be mixed together. This included Tetsuya Endo and his Rhythmic Gymnastics background for some reason. Akito and Yuya Koroku were bout amateur wrestlers while HARASHIMA came in using his student pro wrestling gimmick Hayabucha. The rules included 3 minute long rounds and an amateur wrestling 1 Count for pinfalls. However pins would not be counted until the wrestler scored 18 points for their Gymnastics performance. Also anyone who was knocked out of the ring had to return to the centre and place themselves in the Par Terre position. Hayabucha got the win for his team after giving Koroku the Falcon Arrow followed by the Firebird Splash.

At the beginning of the show an argument broke out among all of the wrestlers involved in Match #3 over Danshoku Dieno dying his hair pink. HARASHIMA calmed everyone down and told them to apologise. The four all bowed but also all banged their heads together. It caused a body swapping situation to happen, turning Takeshi Masada into another Danshoku Dieno while Rukiya became Yuki “Sexy” Iino. The real Yuki Iino finally got to experience what it was like to be a victim of Pheromones because his face was now getting shoved into the butts of other wrestlers. Just like in the old Pheromones matches, things got out of control. Hisaya Imabayashi tried to stop them from going too far but he wound up getting attacked too so the match had to be called off.

The ring ropes were removed for the 4 Way Match and the goal was to knock your opponents out of the ring to the floor. MJ Paul was the first eliminated when Yukio Naya knocked him to the floor. Naya then challenged Higuchi to a Sumo contest but blindsided him with a Knee Strike. Higuchi was knocked out of the ring at the corner but he grabbed onto the top of the post and pulled himself back into the ring without touching the floor. Higuchi then put Naya in the same situation. Naya almost saved himself the same way until Higuchi grabbed him in the Brain Claw and dropped him feet first onto the ground. That left Gota Ihashi as the other wrestler left but Higuchi easily dispatched of him to win.

Yuni & Kazuma Sumi showed up acting like heels and wanted to show DAMNATION T.A what it’s really like to be bad guys. Their match was turned into a No DQ bout. The new “heels” attacked Daisuke Sasaki & KANON with chairs. When they threatened Sasaki with a glass bottle, he pleaded for his life and offered to join their side. The three of them all attacked KANON together. KANON fought back which caused Sasaki to plead for his life again and swear he only joined the other heels as a spy. Yuni missed a chair shot and hit Sumi by accident. That caused the team to break down immediately and the two started fighting each other! KANON decided the match was now Yuni Vs Sumi with Sasaki as the referee. Sumi missed a chair shot, causing it to bounce off the ropes and hit him in the face. Yuni put him in a Sleeper Hold and Sasaki decided to end the match, declaring Yuni as the winner.

At the start of the show Keigo Nakamura approached MAO with a request. He wants his return match against MAO on 26th April to have the DDT Universal Title on the line. It is something he developed a desire to win while he was out recovering from his injury. MAO found the idea interesting. A guy like Nakamura winning the Universal Title in his comeback match? Nothing like this had ever happened before in DDT so MAO agreed to it.

Another title match was set up by Shunma Katsumata. He nominated Antonio Honda to be his next challenger for the DDT Extreme Title. According to Katsumata, Honda’s name is engraved in the title’s history and he must surpass him. Honda thinks not that many fans remember he was once an Extreme Champion. But he did treat the title with care when he held it and he would like to have it again. The title match will go ahead on 17th May. That is a Beer Garden show and Katsumata hopes to come up with a stipulation that will be appropriate for the venue.