Dramatic DDT

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2”, 31/08/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi defeated To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai when Koroku submitted Sato with a Jumping Armbar (6:36).
*Yuya Koroku wins Daichi Sato’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
2. ¥3,000 Match: Jun Akiyama, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito defeated KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO) when Akiyama pinned Honda with a Blockbuster (9:17).
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul and Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Masada pinned Ishida with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (18:59).
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki when Naya pinned HARASHIMA with The World’s Best Back Drop (11:37).
*V3 for The Apex.
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated MAO with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (17:50).
*V4 for Minoru Suzuki.
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Danshoku Dieno with a Crab Hold (16:29).
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi (c) with the WR (20:42).
*Kazusada Higuchi fails in V3. Yuki Ueno becomes the 86th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (2:51).
*Yuki Ueno fails in V1. Kazuki Hirata cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover. Kazuki Hirata becomes the 87th KO-D Openweight Champion!

The second day of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” took place today in Korakuen Hall and by the end of it there was pandemonium over the KO-D Openweight Title going to the most unlikeliest wrestler in years! But first Kazusada Higuchi put the belt on the line against Yuki Ueno when just less than a day earlier he defended it against Jun Akiyama in a hard fought battle. Ueno pulled out the Sit Down Himawari Bomb for a nearfall and avoided the Claw Slam to hit Higuchi with a Dropkick to the back. Higuchi fought back using Lariats until Ueno blocked the fourth one and suddenly captured Higuchi in the WR to score the three count and become the new KO-D Champion! The two showed respect to each other after the match but then things took a wide swerve in a different direction.

Suddenly Kazuki Hirata made it down to the ring and he hesitated over whether or not he should cash in his Right To Challenge Arm Cover to get an immediate title shot against Ueno. He decided that since he held it on for so long, the audience’s expectations have grown too large. Hirata had also grown attached to the Arm Cover and didn’t want to lose it. He considered burning it in a shrine but that didn’t feel right so he’s going to use it for the title shot right away! The match began and although Ueno was tired from just wrestling Higuchi, he easily went on the offensive against Hirata. However Hirata kicked out of Ueno’s Frog Splash and suddenly rolled him up with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the upset of all upsets. Kazuki Hirata is now the KO-D Champion!

Hirata was just as shocked as everyone else that he won and admitted he didn’t mean to do that. Being the KO-D Champion is a heavy burden and he cannot think about what waits for him in the future but right now he is really happy. In his 15 years as a pro wrestler he’s had fun times, difficult times, injuries and a lot of other things going wrong. He persevered though and through hard work in all kind of forms he has made it to the top of DDT! He doesn’t feel any stronger though so he isn’t going to let his guard down. With that said, he promised the fans he will show them everything that is fun about the KO-D Title.

Hirata went back to the locker room where everyone was there in the hallway to give him applause. However Toru Owashi approached Hirata and gave him a slap across the face. He then led Hirata back out to the ring with everyone else was there waiting for him. Owashi then grabbed the title belt but it was only so he could wrap it around Hirata’s waist. The entire locker room took a group photo together and Hirata was given a pair of Hirata GO! glasses so he could do his complete dance routine uninterrupted in front of everyone. Backstage Hirata told reporters he would rather defend the KO-D Title against Hisaya Imabayashi or Daisuke Kiso instead of Higuchi or Ueno. The thought of being the defending champion at Sumo Hall on 3rd November sounds hellish to him. However it will never intentionally lose a match when a championship is on the line so he will give it his all to win every time, even if his first defence will probably be a tough one. Ueno said he has no excuses for losing to Hirata. He warned the new champ to be careful on his way home because everyone now has their eyes set on him! Higuchi said he is satisfied with how his weekend went because he gave it his all on both days. He’ll keep working hard to show his spirit with the rest of Harimao.

On paper a matchup between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Danshoku Dieno sounds like the most two opposite forces of pro wrestling colliding with each other. But look deep into the layers and you will find both men have a similar past background. Both are from the Kansai region, are nearly the same age and made their starts in wrestling by joining student pro wrestling clubs in college. It turns out this match was fate all along. Dieno couldn’t help but burst into tears when the match began. He needed all of his seconds at ringside to slap him across the face to psyche him up. As he went toe to toe against Tanahashi, he used moves from other DDT wrestlers like the nose grab from Masahiro Takanashi, the Stunner from Sanshiro Takagi, the God’s Right Knee from Yukio Sakaguchi and the Buzzsaw Kick from KUDO. He even added in the Kamigoye from Kota Ibushi for good measure. The Danshoku Driver couldn’t keep Tanahashi down so Dieno went for a Moonsault and missed it. Tanahashi went to town on Dieno with his signature moves ending with the High Fly Flow. But rather than pin Dieno, Tanahashi encouraged him to get back up so he could give him the Lip Lock! It took Dieno off his feet and when Dieno grabbed onto Tanahashi to try and pull himself back up, he instead pulled down Tanahashi’s wrestling tights to reveal he was wearing a Danshoku thong underneath this whole time! Tanahashi then tripped Dieno to the canvas and put him in the Crab Hold, forcing Dieno to tap out.

After the match Tanahashi talked to Dieno about their university routes. Their upbringings ended up being completely different but pro wrestling is what brought them together. Tanahashi really got a sense of what Dieno has achieved as a pro wrestler. So even though Tanahashi is retiring on 4th January, he encouraged Dieno to keep going because he still has a lot going for him. He then told Dieno if there’s any young wrestlers in New Japan that he likes, just let him know (his second at ringside Katsuya Murashima had a flustered look on his face when he heard that). Dieno was a little annoyed to have earned Tanahashi’s acceptance so quickly because he’ll have nothing to reach for if the top of the industry now recognizes him. This match wasn’t about winning or losing to Dieno, it was his chance to have a fun fight with Tanahashi and he wasn’t going to apologise for that if it went wrong. He will never forget what he felt today and he told Tanahashi he loves him. Backstage Tanahashi explained that passion is just the matter of where you direct it. He put his passion into training his boy while Dieno put his passion into DDT. It is all about heart and Tanahashi thinks it is good for NJPW to cooperate with companies like DDT and NOAH. With today done he believes he has settled of of his ties with DDT before his retirement. Now he has to wait and see what everyone will say to him about the Danshoku thong tomorrow.

Not even MAO’s craziness can surpass Minoru Suzuki when it comes to the DDT Universal Title. Suzuki lured MAO out of the ring so he could attack his leg using the steel post and also strike the limb with a chairshot. Suzuki then got his hands on KIMIHIRO and knocked him over with an Elbow Strike. KIMIHIRO got a little bit of revenge later in the match when MAO knocked Suzuki out of the ring and KIMIHIRO used his tie to strangle Suzuki on a chair so MAO could run over and hit a Cannonball into the champion. Back in the ring Suzuki tried to counter the Michinoku Driver II into a Front Neck Lock but MAO completed the move and also hit the Iai Kick. However Suzuki only fell down to one knee from the blow and immediately popped back up to put MAO in a Sleeper Hold. MAO got a rope break and tried fighting back with Palm Strikes until Suzuki caught him with a Dropkick, wore him down with another Sleeper Hold and pinned him with the Gotch-Style Piledriver.

Suzuki told MAO after the match that he had fun. He also found something he wants to do in DDT and that is keep the DDT Universal Title all to himself. It’s not like there’s anyone here that can take it away from him, right? Takeshi Masada felt otherwise and he got into the ring to challenge Suzuki. Unfortunately for Masada, Suzuki ignored him then threw him out of the ring when he wouldn’t get out of the way. He called Masada a brat who isn’t strong enough to deserve a title shot so he should just go home. Masada then accused Suzuki of running away. Suzuki grew furious over the comment and headbutted Masada before accepting the challenge. The title match was confirmed for the 28th September Korakuen Hall show. Masada promised that he isn’t afraid of Suzuki but Suzuki warns he is really going to kill Masada!

Unlike Higuchi there were a pair of heavyweights who survived the weekend with their championships still intact. The Apex were victorious against the pairing of HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki, meaning they achieved a successful KO-D Tag Team Titles defence for the second day in a row. Yuki Iino stuggled at first against Aoki’s grappling along with HARASHIMA targeting his back. The challengers also held the champions in stereo Cobra Twists. But when HARASHIMA went to go do the Somato on Yukio Naya, Iino cut him off with the Spear. Naya then used a Running Knee Lift on HARASHIMA before pinning him with The World’s Best Back Drop.

After the match Naya called The Apex the strongest tag team in DDT. Yuya Koroku then entered the ring wearing the Right To Challenge Arm Cover he won earlier in the show. To-y then entered from the opposite side to ambush Iino with a dive from the top rope. However he ruined the surprise by encouraging the fans to chant “T-O-Y” and Iino easily caught him. Luckily for To-y, Iino’s back was still hurt from the match so he couldn’t drive him into the turnbuckle like he did to Daisuke Sasaki yesterday. To-y said he and Koroku want to challenge for the titles. Iino refused because he is tired but he did show interest in taking the RTC Arm Cover from Koroku. Imabayashi decided a tag title match will go ahead between the two teams in Osaka on 23rd September. Iino agreed to it but said he will cancel the match if Koroku loses his Arm Cover before then.

The injury Daisuke Sasaki suffered in yesterday’s KO-D Tag Titles match was revealed to be a fractured rib. MJ Paul replaced him as Hideki Okatani’s partner in the 3 Way Tag Match. When Okatani was held in the Schadenfreude Tower by Chris Brookes & Masada, Yuki Ishida jumped on top to pull off a Dosukoi pose. Masada encouraged all of SCHADENFREUDE International to do a train attack on Naomi Yoshimura but Yoshimura knocked everyone down with Shoulder Blocks one by one. He then grabbed Bunbun and gave him the Coconut Crush, literally knocking the puppet out of its pants! Okatani attacked other wrestlers with his bamboo stick but ended up accidentally hitting Paul with it. Paul then tried to break up Yoshimura pinning Okatani but ended up squashing his partner by mistake. The match then came down to Ishida missing the Dosukoi Splash, giving Brookes & Masada the opportunity to double team him until he was pinned with Masada’s finisher.

If only we knew during the second match what was to come. Hirata was part of a 6-Man Tag Match teaming with KANON & Antonio Honda. This was also the match where Akiyama was placed for losing in yesterday’s main event, teaming with Super Sasadango Machine & Akito. Everyone in the match was still feeling tired from yesterday’s show so Imabayashi promised the winning team would get 3,000 yen as their prize. That fired everyone up to levels above even their normal standard. When Akiyama won the match for his team, they were overjoyed to receive the 3,000 yen.

The wrestlers from D GENERATIONS were put into the opening 8-Man Tag Match. Rukiya and Kazuma Sumi started off while Ilusion would get in To-y’s way when the opportunity presented itself. Ilusion didn’t stop there because he pushed his own tag partner Munetatsu Nakamura off the top rope just so he could do the Missile Dropkick instead. In the end, Koroku used the ropes to give Daichi Sato a Tornado DDT and he then made him submit to a Jumping Armbar, winning his RTC Arm Cover in the process.

Just like yesterday, NωA Jr. members Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi kicked off the show by singing “Going my ωay!!!!! ~You Are Not Alone~” for everyone.

Sanshiro Takagi made an appearance during the show to give everyone an update on his return to the ring. He has been cleared by his doctor to have his official return match at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November and his opponent will be against someone he has never fought before. It will be Hinata Kasai! Takagi congratulated the rookie on debuting yesterday and explained to him that the first match on a show is the second most important bout after the main event. It will be up to them to set the stage for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”. Kasai asked how can a promising young talent like him lose to an old man who lost his breath from simply getting to the ring? He is going to beat Takagi at Sumo Hall! Backstage Takagi said that while Kasai has the obvious connection with his father Jun Kasai, there is something else about Hinata that draws him in and makes him excited for this match to happen. Kasai meanwhile is looking forward to winning in his Ryogoku debut. Later in a brief interview with Tokyo Sports, Takagi revealed that the actual reason for his absence was because he got diagnosed with angina. However it was detected early and he eventually made a full recovery.

Akito told the reporters some behind the scenes details about this weekend’s shows. “WRESTLE PETER PAN” this year was originally planned to take place as one show in Sumo Hall but the venue was unavailable around this time period due to renovations. He also thanked New Japan for giving them miracles like Zack Sabre Jr. while he is the reigning IWGP World Heavyweight Champion as well as what is likely to be Tanahashi’s final match in DDT before he retires. Akito couldn’t have imagined things like that happening if it wasn’t for NJPW and President Tanahashi agreeing to it.

DDT announced Kaisei Takechi’s remaining appearances for this year as well as his first booking for 2026. He is already announced for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November. He will also be at the Korakuen Hall shows held on 28th September, 19th October, 21st December and 3rd January.