DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025
Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena
??? Fans – Unannounced
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025
Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena
??? Fans – Unannounced
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
DDT “NO SPOILERS EVENT VOL. 4 IN UENO”, 01/04/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Antonio Honda, Junta Miyawaki & Viento Maligno defeated Yuki Iino, Masami Inahata & Rukiya when Honda pinned Inahata with the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (8:39).
2. Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato defeated Bad Buddy Yuni & Pito Chico Sumi by Disqualification when Sumi attacked the referee (6:47).
3. Fake Daisuke Sasaki Army Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Hideki Okatani, Posuke Sasaki & Daision Sasaki defeated Daisuke Sasaki (Yukio Naya), Daisuke Sasaki (Takeshi Masada) & Nerima Sting (Yuki Ishida) when Daision submitted Sting with La Mistica Crossface Lock (12:07).
4. Playfulness Series Act 5: Danshoku Dieno Vs Hinata Kasai ended in a No Contest (9:54).
4a. No DQ & No Tag Rules: Danshoku Dieno & Hinata Kasai defeated Kazuki Hirata & To-y when Dieno submitted To-y with his Hell Gate (8:37).
5. Special 3-Way Tag Match ~ Best Friends (Mav) Superior: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA ended in a No Contest (10:42).
5a. 4 Way Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata, MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO), Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA and Bad Buddy Yuni & Pito Chico Sumi when Katsumata pinned Yuni with the I Love You Splash (9:23).
No spoilers or talk about what happened on this April Fool’s Day show was allowed until the clock struck midnight. So for those who weren’t at the show, they had to wait until the next day to hear about Kazuma Sumi & Yuni all of a sudden showing their rebel sides. The show was meant to begin with a performance by NωA Jr. but it was cut off when Sumi & Yuni attacked Shunma Katsumata out of nowhere! The two of them told everyone they didn’t want to be idols anymore and they stormed out of the ring. They reappeared for their match dressed in rebellious clothing with new ring names to boot. They were now Bad Buddy Yuni & Pito Chico Sumi! Their tag match ended in Disqualification after they attacked their opponents with chairs and squeaky toy hammers.
They then reappeared in the 3 Way Tag main event because the theme of the match was every tag team were dressed as some type of delinquent. Their interference caused the match to get thrown out because they attacked the referee and caused more chaos afterward. The match restarted with Yuni & Sumi added as a fourth team. Katsumata (who was dressed as a delinquent schoolgirl by the way) got his revenge on them by pinning Yuni for the victory. Yuki Ueno confessed his love for Katsumata after the match only to start a chain reaction of all the others doing the same. Katsumata turned all of them down for Yuni and the two embraced. However Sumi suddenly got jealous and he tried to stab Yuni with an umbrella. He missed though and stabbed Katsumata instead by accident! Katsumata wished the two of them to be happy together and then died. Everyone sang a song to revive him and the show ended with everyone safe and sound. That was until Ueno approached Katsumata backstage and stabbed him with the umbrella. Sumi & Yuni revived him again and the three all agreed they should go back to being idols.
Both Kazuki Hirata & To-y had something planned for the show with their only clue being it would resemble a party gathering together underneath the blooming cherry blossoms. They ended up interfering in Match #3 to cost Hinata Kasai a victory against Danshoku Dieno. In that match whenever Dieno gave someone the Lip Lock, the victim would reveal they are wearing Danshoku tights beneath their clothes. It happened to KANON and Yukinori Matsui, turning the two of them into Danshoku zombies. That story was thrown out thanks to Hirata & To-y so it turned into a No DQ tag match where the two of them attacked Dieno, Kasai and the wrestlers standing near ringside with umbrellas and coathangers. However Kasai rallied the other wrestlers to grab To-y and carry him face first into Dieno’s Hell Gate until he gave up. The Lip Lock storyline continued with the victims turning back to normal after bumping heads with each other. It ended when Dieno finally got to give Kasai the Lip Lock.
A dejected Daisuke Sasaki has left Japan to go on tour across North America. He claims he will not return unless he falls in love and gets rejected but it was recently announced that New Japan has booked him for this year’s Best Of The Super Jr. tournament. Either way that leaves DAMNATION T.A currently without their leader. This has somehow led to an army of Fake Daisuke Sasakis appearing on today’s show along with a Nerima Sting. Also MJ Paul turned into Posuke Sasaki. During the match Ilusion would disappear only to return as Daision Sasaki to get the hot tag and win the match for his team. He said that from today onwards he is the new leader of DAMNATION T.A! Later at the end of the show, Sanshiro Takagi appeared also dressed like Daisuke Sasaki. He tried to attack Daision but was given a Low Blow instead. Takagi and Ilusion have a dark match coming up on 15th April and Ilusion keeps ambushing him with Low Blows to build up the match.
DDT “DDT X MOP WRESTLE TOUR 2026 IN MITSUI OUTLET TAMA MINAMIOSAWA”, 28/03/2026
Tokyo Mitsui Outlet Park Tama Minamiosawa
??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated Takeshi Masada, Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai when Ilusion pinned Kasai with the Swanton Bomb (?:??).
2. Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuma Sumi & Kazuki Hirata when Akiyama pinned Hirata with the Exploder Suplex (8:42).
3. Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida defeated MAO & Masami Inahata when Ishida pinned Inahata with the Flame Palm (12:27).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda defeated Shunma Katsumata, To-y & Yuni when Honda pinned Yuni with the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (14:21).
5. MOP Tag Team Titles: KANON & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Junta Miyawaki & Rukiya when KANON pinned Rukiya with the Lariat (13:39).
*KANON & Viento Maligno becomes the 1st MOP Tag Team Champions!
A new collaborative tour of DDT shows held inside Mitsui Outlet Parks began the crowning of a brand new championship. The MOP Tag Team Titles were up for grabs in the main event where KANON & Viento Maligno came out on top against Junta Miyawaki & Rukiya. KANON congratulated Maligno on winning his first championship since coming from Japan and got KIMIHIRO to translate his comments for everyone to hear. Maligno said Strange Love Connection are on a roll and they will defend these championships in Kobe and Toyama next month to the death! He wants to make these championships so valuable that he and KANON will be invited onto MOP’s TV commercials.
Although Yuki Ueno was unable to wrestle on the show due to injury, he still attended the event and greeted the audience in the ring before the main event.
DDT “DDT X MOP WRESTLE TOUR 2026 IN MITSUI OUTLET TAMA MINAMIOSAWA”, 28/03/2026
Tokyo Mitsui Outlet Park Tama Minamiosawa
1. MAO & Masami Inahata Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
2. Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi
3. Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul Vs Takeshi Masada, Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda Vs Shunma Katsumata, To-y & Yuni
5. MOP Tag Team Titles: KANON & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Junta Miyawaki & Rukiya
Some changes to Saturday’s card have been made because Yuki Ueno needs to go get laser surgery in his eye. His doctor found signs of a possible retinal tear in one of his eyes and its needs to be dealt with. He will only be out of action for a week but that means Ueno will miss the next DDT show.
DDT “NO SPOILERS EVENT VOL. 4 IN UENO”, 01/04/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Something With To-y & Kazuki Hirata: To-y Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Playfulness Series Act 5: Danshoku Dieno Vs Hinata Kasai
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs Fake Daisuke Sasaki Army!: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Nise Daisuke Sasaki A, Nise Daisuke Sasaki B & Deka Daisuke Sasaki
4. Special 3-Way Tag Match ~ Best Friends (Mav) Superior: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA
There will be more matches happening on the show but they will not be revealed until they happen.
DDT “CHANGE AGE 2026 ~TOBIKIRI ZENKAI POWER~”, 05/04/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yuni Vs Rukiya
1. Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Kazuma Sumi, Masami Inahata & Hinata Kasai
2. Variety King Decision Match: Toru Owashi Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda Vs Akito
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & To-y Vs Yuki Iino, Jun Akiyama & Junta Miyawaki
5. Special Single Match: Kaisei Takechi Vs Makoto Oishi
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & KANON (c) (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ Harimao Last Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Shunma Katsumata, Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
The first week of April will now have the retirement of Kazusada Higuchi taking place. Sadly he will not have one more match to mark the end of his career. Instead the other members of Harimao will team together one last time before the group disbands. Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida will face three opponents from Higuchi’s past going all the way back to their DNA days. Shunma Katsumata recently returned to action and was an early rival of Higuchi. Both Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki rarely show up in DDT these days but such an important occasion have brought the both of them back.
FANTÔMES DRAMATIC are on the hunt for some gold and could get plenty of it if things go their way soon. Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA have become the No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. The timing could not be better because KANON is coming off of a failed KO-D Openweight Title challenge and may need to rely on MAO to do all the hard work if he hasn’t bounced back by then.
DDT “DREAM LIGHTS ~HOW DO YOU LIKE DDT WEDNESDAY~”, 15/04/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dramatic Dark Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Ilusion
1. Special Single Match: YOH Vs Antonio Honda
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Hinata Kasai
3. DDT Extreme Title: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Yukio Naya
4. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yuki Iino
Ueno will definitely be ready to defend the KO-D Title against Yuki Iino no matter what. He was someone Iino learned a lot from when Iino trained to become a pro wrestler. Ueno was also a part of Iino’s debut match back in 2017.
Meanwhile Yukio Naya has gone and challenged Hideki Okatani for the DDT Extreme Title. His logic is “Extreme” means big so the title should belong to him.
Brookes & HARASHIMA could be double tag champs if Fandora wins the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from paleyouth. The wild card is Hinata Kasai. He hasn’t directly won a match yet but Antonio Honda thinks having Kasai on the challenger team will add some drama to the title match. The idea has painted a target on Kasai when Brookes threw Bunbun into the crowd after the challenge was made. Takeshi Masada blames Kasai for that and wants to get revenge!
DDT “MOTSUNABE BUSTER”, 18/04/2026
ACROS Fukuoka
1. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
The new DDT Universal Champion is looking to surpass a wrestler he looks up to. Kazuma Sumi nominated Katsumata to be his first challenger to repay him for his support over the years. However the repayment will be completed when Sumi beats Katsumata! Same goes the other way around. Katsumata will show his appreciation for Sumi by crushing him for the championship!
Kumadori will be on the show.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Dramatic Dream Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kaisei Takechi
The next time DDT goes to Sumo Hall they will give everyone a Konosuke Takeshita versus Kaisei Takechi match! Hopefully neither of them will get a case of pink eye right before the match again.
A press conference was held by DDT in Tokyo today to announce that Kazusada Higuchi will be retiring from pro wrestling on 5th April. Higuchi had been taking time off since from wrestling since the start of the year to deal with a neck injury. This comes after he previously had to take eight months off during 2024 into 2025 to recover from other injuries including a cervical hernia. This decision came about when at some point between December and January, Higuchi went through a health checkup that is regularly given out to everyone in the DDT roster. The doctor found Higuchi had subluxation of the first and second cervical vertebrae and told him that continuing to wrestle (or take part in any kind of contact sport) would be dangerous for his health. Higuchi and his doctor had discussions with DDT over him having any possibility of continuing his wrestling career but they reached the decision that it would be best for him to retire.
Unfortunately due to the current state of Higuchi’s neck, he has already wrestled his last match and his retirement at DDT’s Korakuen Hall show on 5th April will just be a ceremony without a final match preceding it. Higuchi said he is currently not feeling any symptoms over his condition but understands that his neck has reached it physical limit. He regrets not being able to wrestle again but is glad to have detected this problem early so he could exit the business on his own two feet. Although he will no longer live in the ring, he believes his life will continue for a long time.
The press conference also had comments from Sanshiro Takagi and Akito both speaking as representatives of CyberFight. Akito explained the above routine health checkups that the DDT roster goes through over the new year period. He also noted that the cervical condition Higuchi has usually gives the person symptoms of numbness or even paralysis in the limbs. Higuchi does not have those symptoms but the doctor determined that no amount of treatment would solve the problem. Surgery could be an option but it comes with the setback of restricting Higuchi’s neck movement and he wouldn’t be able to wrestle in that condition either.
Takagi told the story of the first time he was introduced to Higuchi by a friend, leading to the former sumo from Hokkaido to join DDT. He claims there were times when Higuchi’s powerful style helped DDT and he became a symbol of the company’s strength from 2022 onwards. He is surprised by the sudden news and thinks the best thing DDT can do is to give him the warmest send-off possible. By Higuchi’s request, his unit Harimao will have its final match on 5th April taking on a team of wrestlers who are also all close to him. It will be Naomi Yoshimura, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida against Shunma Katsumata, Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki. Once that match is finished, Harimao will disband. He has a message to tell the other members of the group but will say what he wants to say after the match.
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This is bumming me out. It’s the news I was worried would eventually come to light when Higuchi took another injury break in January. Writing this blog for 16 years means I see a lot of wrestling careers of various sizes come and go. This is one of the most significant ones. A fascinating moment in wrestling happened in October 2014 when DDT introduced the DNA generation, a new class of seven (later eight) rookies about to turn pro at a time when many wrestling companies in Japan were struggling to find new blood. Higuchi very quickly stood out as top of the pack with his powerful stature coming from his sumo background and he was given the rookie superpush that spread into DDT itself. While he was a serious no nonsense wrestler at first, spots would come here and there that allowed Higuchi to show his silly side, allowing him to fit in more with DDT’s comedy while still being positioned as someone who is difficult for anyone to beat. An early highlight of his to seek out is the week long DNA Grand Prix tournament that was held in October 2016 where he went on an undefeated run all the was to the final in order to face Mike Bailey.
The presentation of Higuchi being so unique in DDT included something that I’ve seen follow his entire career among the foreign fanbase. I have long lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard people online say they wish Higuchi was with NOAH instead of DDT because he looked like a better fit there. It’s easy to see why on the surface. Hard strikes, mean looks and an iron head to go with it is catnip for those who like their wrestling to not pull back its punches. Yet I just could never imagine him shining brighter anywhere else than with DDT. The formation of Eruption with Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai in 2020 was a major step forward for him. Then with DDT emerging from the pandemic the seeds were planted for his ascension to the top when he feuded with Jun Akiyama over the KO-D Openweight Title in an act of rebellion towards the legend joining the company. He lost that match but had the ultimate redemption in 2022 when he was the one chosen to rebuild DDT’s reputation over the Tetsuya Endo/Katsuhiko Nakajima incident.
The visual that should follow Higuchi’s career came when he won the 2022 King Of DDT tournament. By winning it he finally claimed the KO-D Title after eight years of trying. He had now become DDT’s literal symbol of strength, waving a giant flag of the company logo in victory and having Akiyama wrap the belt around his waist as a show of his respect. Higuchi would then spend the year being a central figure of DDT’s title scene as they tried to push a bigger focus towards heavyweights. Eruption would go away along with the careers of Sakaguchi & Akai. Higuchi would then move on to forming Harimao, building the unit more around sumo like themes. He got to hold the KO-D Title again last year but this time it was a short lived run. It’s hard to believe that only a few months later his career would end like this.
I can’t quite put my finger on why his runs on top went the ways they did. As much as Higuchi’s style appealed to the likes of us, it wasn’t really the same with DDT’s fans in Japan and business hardly picked up with him as champion. You can point to the social distancing rules at the time which resulted in low attendances for everybody but there’s just some factor missing that meant his title reign didn’t connect like I thought it would. I just look at the hot streak DDT is having with Korakuen now and wish Higuchi would have a role to play in it. Perhaps Takagi has a bigger point to make when he talks about how much Higuchi helped DDT. Maybe history will treat him as the person who patched up DDT at a time when the company needed it rather than the rising star who carried the company to greater heights.
There’s so much of Higuchi’s career I’m leaving out. He was a perfect opponent for HARASHIMA. Their matches together going back to the earliest years of Higuchi’s career were like they were made for each other. His singles matches with Konosuke Takeshita, Shuji Ishikawa and Yuji Hino are all barnburners. Those were the kind of matches that fueled the constant wishes he would move over to NOAH where he could get more attention. There are all the times he would be driven head first into the ring post just to no sell it (probably not a good idea in hindsight). When DDT had their “MAJI MANJI” weekly series, Higuchi insisted on putting somebody through a table on almost every episode he was in. When a Falls Count Anywhere match would happen outdoors, Higuchi would usually show up wearing just a mawashi. I’m pretty sure he sumo pushed a van away one time too. I’m going to miss seeing this guy wrestle.