DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN NERIMA” Results

January 10, 2018

DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN NERIMA”, 10/01/2018
Tokyo Nerima Coconeri Hall
356 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Under Match: Mike Bailey, Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi, Kouki Iwasaki & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Bailey pinned Shimatani with the Ultima Weapon (5:48).
1. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (4) defeated Akito (2) with the Doctor Bomb (9:30).
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Joey Ryan (2) defeated Keisuke Ishii (4) with the Super Kick (8:06).
3. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki (4) defeated Soma Takao (2) with the Vietnam Driver II (11:02).
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) defeated Jiro Kuroshio (4) with the Shooting Star Press (14:04).
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Shuji Ishikawa (6) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (4) with the Splash Mountain (15:25).
6. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita (5) defeated HARASHIMA (4) with the Takeshita Special No. 1 (15:50).

A Block

1. Tetsuya Endo (5)
-. Konosuke Takeshita (5)
3. Keisuke Ishii (4)
-. HARASHIMA (4)
-. Jiro Kuroshio (4)
6. Joey Ryan (2)
7. Masahiro Takanashi (0)

B Block

1. Shuji Ishikawa (6)
2. Yukio Sakaguchi (4)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (4)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (4)
5. Soma Takao (2)
-. Mike Bailey (2)
-. Akito (2)

Konosuke Takeshita and HARASHIMA headlined today’s show with their rematch from their Saitama Super Arena bout at “JUDGEMENT 2017”. HARASHIMA was ruthless in targeting Takeshita’s left knee. Takeshita was difficult to pin down though and he tried to avoid the Somato when he could. HARASHIMA did hit the move from behind a few times. But HARAHSIMA went for one more and Takeshita dodged it. Takeshita hit the German Suplex and added a Bridging Pin to the move afterwards to get the three count. And with that the Takeshita Special No. 1 is born! Takeshita commented that he feels like he is currently in a paradox. He is certain that his leg is injured, possibly a damaged ligament or a meniscus but the constant adrenaline rush he gets from the D-King Grand Prix makes him ignore the pain and keep going. HARASHIMA is unhappy with the result but if the referee counted to three, he has to accept it. He defended his tactics of targeting Takeshita’s knee. The referee never stopped him and the match continued so he feels it was right to keep attacking like that. The fact that Takeshita beat him with damaged knees means that Takeshita is growing stronger. But next time HARASHIMA believes he will grab the opportunity and definitely beat Takeshita!

The two leading wrestlers in Block B clashed for the top spot. Shuji Ishikawa survived Yukio Sakaguchi’s Right Knee Of God and the Cobra Clutch to win. Sakaguchi didn’t go down easily though. He kicked out of the Running Knee Lift at one so Ishikawa had to hit him with it again, this time Sakaguchi barely kicked out at two. Sakaguchi finally stayed down after the Splash Mountain. Ishikawa was happy to see Sakaguchi bring the fight to him. His opponents so far have all been wonderful so he feels honoured to have the six points he amassed so far. Next up is his good buddy Daisuke Sasaki. Ishikawa said he may have to become the new leader of DAMNATION if he beats Sasaki. Sakaguchi doesn’t know if he can redeem this loss but thinks he can win his remaining matches.

Tetsuya Endo continues his unbeaten run in Block A with a win over Jiro Kuroshio. He wasn’t happy to see Kuroshio prance around and seemed to have a chip on his shoulder for the entire match. Afterwards we found out why. According to Endo, Kuroshio’s annual income is 5 million yen. Since Endo beat him today that means his own annual salary should be raised. Endo is now demanding to be paid 100 million yen a year! Kuroshio said his eyes aren’t crazy and that Endo really is as great a wrestler as he looks.

Daisuke Sasaki came to his hometown as the “Hero Of Nerima” so he wanted to fight clean and fair against Soma Takao. Given their recent history, Takao didn’t believe him and went on the offensive pretty quickly. They fought outside where Sasaki grabbed Yuki Ueno nearby and threw him towards Takao. Takao stopped Ueno and knocked him out of the way with an Elbow Strike. Back in the ring Sasaki took off one of the turnbuckle pads and threw Takao into the exposed corner. Sasaki even used his own attempt at the Gin And Tonic but Takao kicked out at one. Sasaki then hit an Avalanche Pedigree but Takao kicked out of that too. Sasaki had to use the Vietnam Driver II to finally put Takao away. He offered Takao a handshake and a DAMNATION shirt after the match but Takao refused and threw the shirt away. Takao said backstage he is annoyed that Sasaki used the Gin And Tonic against him. He is also insulted by Sasaki offering him the handshake and DAMNATION shirt. Sasaki said that tens of thousands of Nerima’s residents came out to welcome the Hero Of Nerima. He only offered Takao the shirt to look good in front of the locals. When he was reminded that his next opponent is Shuji Ishikawa, he said three seconds is enough to beat his friend.

After spending his first few days asking for it, Joey Ryan finally got paper streamers thrown at him for his ring introduction today. Maybe that gave him a major boost in motivation because he went on to beat Keisuke Ishii to earn his first points. Ryan escaped the Tiger Suplex, stuck a lollipop into Ishii’s mouth and Super Kicked him for the win. Ryan celebrated by hugging the paper tape afterwards. Ishii said he didn’t expect his calculations to go so wrong but Ryan used “the most disgusting techniques” to beat him.

Kazusada Higuchi countered Akito’s Cross Armbreaker into a Sit Down Power Bomb to set up his victory. Higuchi isn’t satisfied by that though. He felt it should have taken him less than 5 minutes to beat Akito and he went 48 seconds over that limit. Akito meanwhile is coming to terms that he virtually cannot win the tournament now after his third loss. All he can offer now to close out his group run with some fun fights.


DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS” 2 Digest

January 10, 2018


DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS” 1 Digest

January 9, 2018

Ignore the date in the video title, this is for the matches that took place on the 7th January.


DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHINJUKU” Digest

January 9, 2018


DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS” Results 2

January 8, 2018

DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS”, 08/01/2018
Osaka Hirano Community Hall
335 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Danshoku Dino Sometimes Throws Away The Heavy Responsibilities Of A Producer To Hit The Desire Of Man New Year’s Special Battle Royal: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazuki Hirata with a Cradle (12:36). (Special Referee: Danshoku Dino)
Order Of Elimination: Tetsuya Endo, Yukio Sakaguchi & Naomi Yoshimura, Yuni, Toru Owashi, Veda Scott, Mizuki Watase, Kazuki Hirata.
2. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii (4) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (0) with the Carolina Reaper (6:17).
3. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Soma Takao (2) defeated Mike Bailey (2) with the Endless Waltz (10:50).
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA (4) defeated Jiro Kuroshio (4) with the Somato (13:56).
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki (2) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (2) with La Mistica Cross Facelock (11:58).
6. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita (3) defeated Joey Ryan (0) with the Balls Plex (13:10).
7. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Shuji Ishikawa (4) defeated Akito (2) with the Splash Mountain (18:32).

A Block

1. Keisuke Ishii (4)
-. HARASHIMA (4)
-. Jiro Kuroshio (4)
4. Tetsuya Endo (3)
-. Konosuke Takeshita (3)
6. Joey Ryan (0)
-. Masahiro Takanashi (0)

B Block

1. Shuji Ishikawa (4)
-. Yukio Sakaguchi (4)
3. Mike Bailey (2)
-. Akito (2)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (2)
-. Soma Takao (2)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (2)

Day 3 of the D-King Grand Prix and the two blocks are starting to even out. Shuji Ishikawa has clearly made himself the man to beat in Block B. His win over Akito in the main event means he currently leads the block with two wins and no losses. Akito’s attempts to beat him included the use of Scorpion Locks and Figure 4 Leglocks but Ishikawa was just too strong to be kept in those holds. His last gasp chance to nab a win came from a European Clutch but it was no use. When Ishikawa regained momentum he popped Akito into the air with the Running Kneelift and dropped him with the Splash Mountain. After the match Ishikawa at least gave Akito credit for giving him a bruise for the first time in their fights. He closed out the show by singing a song. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo peaked through the entrance curtains during the song but they decided not to stop him.

Konosuke Takeshita had to use Joey Ryan’s moves against him in order to beat him. Ryan’s offence, his dong specifically was effective on Takeshita. When Ryan gave him a low blow, Takeshita did one in return but only hurt his foot in the process. Then a wild clash between his head and Ryan’s crotch after an Implant move did more damage to Takeshita. He later pulled Ryan by the legs into the corner post but even that had no effect. Ryan chased Takeshita around the hall and attacked the other wrestlers and DDT staff with his crotch during the rampage until he finally caught Takeshita and threw him into a row of chairs. Takeshita finally turned things around when he deflected Ryan’s lollipop into Daisuke Kiso’s mouth, making the ref faint. When Ryan check on Kiso, Takeshita took out his own lollipop, stuck it into Ryan’s mouth and booted him in the face. Rather than go for the usual German Suplex, Takeshita instead gave Ryan the Balls Plex to get the win. Takeshita said he now knows the best countermeasures to use against American wrestlers thanks to his matches with Ryan and Colt Cabana. Apparently Ryan wasn’t clued up on the Grand Prix rules because he thought losing to Takeshita meant he now had to go home. He also still wants the fans to throw paper tape at him.

After a rough start, Daisuke Sasaki finally has some points on the table with a win over Kazusada Higuchi. Sasaki escaped the Doctor Bomb by struggling out of the move and knocking over the referee in the process. With the ref down, Sasaki kicked Higuchi low and hit the Hurricanrana. However Higuchi kicked out of the move and held on to try and Power Bomb Sasaki again. Sasaki escaped that and trapped Higuchi in La Mistica Cross Facelock to get the win. The win is just what Sasaki needed because his next match is against Soma Takao in his hometown of Nerima on the 10th. The “Hero Of Nerima” cannot lose there otherwise he could never return.

Meanwhile the opposite happened to Jiro Kuroshio. He started off grand but hit his first road bump today against HARASHIMA. The DDT star was motivated and did not back down to Kuroshio’s kicks, eventually winning with the Somato. The two bowed to each other after the match. HARASHIMA knew Kuroshio is a colorful wrestler but today he found out how strong he is too. But HARASHIMA was stronger. The key was HARASHIMA did not go into the match thinking of Kuroshio as an outsider. He had just beaten Takeshita and Masahiro Takanashi so HARASHIMA took in those matches to prepare for him. Speaking of Takeshita, that is HARASHIMA’s next opponent on the 10th.

Soma Takao rolled Mike Bailey round and round and round in the Endless Waltz to beat him. Takao realised afterwards that he is the only wrestler in his block with a signature cradle move to pin his opponents. Soma declared that today he is officially recognising the Endless Waltz as one of his most important moves and he will use it more in his remaining matches. Bailey blamed his loss on a miscalculation that made him angry and lose focus. The positive is his next opponent is Yukio Sakaguchi who is always angry. Bailey can now use his own anger to fight against Sakaguchi’s anger.

At yesterday’s show Keisuke Ishii used the Carolina Reaper submission move to win his match for the first time. Today the move won him the match again, this time as part of the Grand Prix. Ishii feels he has been dragged into his opponent’s pace for every tournament match so far. With his current momentum, Ishii gives himself a 10% chance of winning the Grand Prix. Masahiro Takanashi is now the only wrestler with zero points. He may be a long way from his first win because Takeshita is his next opponent.

The Battle Royal was an excuse for Danshoku Dino to get his hands on some of the male wrestlers. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Dino still had to do his job as a referee and that included reluctantly counting out Yuni when Kazuki Hirata pinned him with a School Boy. Dino got revenge for Yuni by giving Hirata the Danshoku Driver and dragging Yuki Ueno on top to make Ueno the winner.

NωA performed one of their songs for the audience during the break.


DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS” Results

January 7, 2018

DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN OSAKA 2 DAYS”, 07/01/2018
Osaka Hirano Community Hall
438 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Veda Scott defeated Danshoku Dino, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno when Scott pinned Hirata with the Back Drop (8:18).
2. 4 Way Match: Keisuke Ishii defeated Toru Owashi, Kouki Iwasaki and Naomi Yoshimura when Ishii pinned Iwasaki with the Carolina Reaper (7:36).
3. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) defeated Soma Takao (0) with the Doctor Bomb (10:11).
4. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: HARASHIMA (2) defeated Joey Ryan (0) with the Somato (10:49).
5. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Mike Bailey (2) defeated Akito (2) with a Scorpion Lock Roll Up (11:35).
6. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Jiro Kuroshio (4) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (0) with a Takatonic Turnback (12:56).
7. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi (4) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (0) with the Modified Cobra Clutch (6:56).
8. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita (1) Vs Tetsuya Endo (3) ended in a Time Limit Draw (30:00).

A Block

1. Jiro Kuroshio (4)
2. Tetsuya Endo (3)
3. Keisuke Ishii (2)
-. HARASHIMA (2)
5. Konosuke Takeshita (1)
6. Joey Ryan (0)
-. Masahiro Takanashi (0)

B Block

1. Yukio Sakaguchi (4)
2. Shuji Ishikawa (2)
-. Mike Bailey (2)
-. Akito (2)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (2)
6. Soma Takao (0)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (0)

DDT’s biggest rivalry was back in force for the main event of the D-King Grand Prix Day 2. Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo faced off in the rematch to last year’s “RYOGOKU PETER PAN” main event. Takeshita already got off to a bad start after losing his first block match while Endo won his first bout. Neither man got the spoils as the match went to a 30 minute time limit. It is a result both are familiar with when it comes to their singles matches. Endo left the ring after a brief standoff. Takeshita apologised to the fans for failing to beat Endo for them. He then said their battle is not over.

Daisuke Sasaki slumps even further into the depths with his second Grand Prix loss in a row. Yukio Sakaguchi hit him with the Right Knee Of God then put him down with the Cobra Clutch. The win places Sakaguchi on top of Block B for the early going. Sakaguchi’s next goal is to survive against Shuji Ishikawa. Get past him and it will be clear sailing from there. Sasaki is now getting desperate. His current plan for his next opponent Kazusada Higuchi is to hit him with a beer bottle.

The Grand Prix is off to a beautiful start thanks to Jiro Kuroshio. His win over Masahiro Takanashi means he currently sits on top of Block A. Once again his tricky style caught his opponent off guard for an unexpected pinfall. He promises to show HARASHIMA a Handsome World when their match happens next. Takanashi is 0 for 2. He promises to win his 4 remaining matches.

Mike Bailey scraped by with a win against Akito. Speedball’s legs were targeted throughout the match and he was in real danger of losing to the Scorpion Lock. But somehow Bailey fought so hard to block the move he rolled himself on top of Akito to pin him. Bailey said he has to keep winning so he can catch up with Ishikawa. He also thinks the middle portion of the tournament will determine where he finishes. It won’t be easy but he needs to imagine he can win it all. Akito meanwhile is worried that his usual losing pattern is surfacing again. But he can’t focus on that because tomorrow’s opponent is Ishikawa!

What is the best way to take on the Somato? Joey Ryan unsprisingly thought it was with his dong. He tried his own version of the move on HARASHIMA, hitting him crotch first in the face. It didn’t work. HARASHIMA then took control and hit the proper Somato, putting Ryan down for the count. This was HARASHIMA’s first match with Ryan and he was left puzzled by the experience. When Ryan regained his whereabouts during the backstage interview he described HARASHIMA as a “very tough bastard” who survived Ryan’s many traps. Ryan promises to set up more traps for his next opponent Takeshita. He also hopes the fans shower him with paper tape before the match. He likes it when they do that.

Kazusada Higuchi scored his first points with a win over Soma Takao. He countered the Gin And Tonic into a Power Bomb. From there he hit a Lariat and the Doctor Bomb for the three count. This was Soma’s first match in the Grand Prix and a defeat is not a good start. His next opponent is Mike Bailey and Soma is worried about facing him with the momentum he has.

Keisuke Ishii has a new finishing move called the Carolina Reaper. The move is a Modified Facelock where he traps one arm in a Chicken Wing and the other gets hooked behind his leg. He used it to submit Kouki Iwasaki in the 4 Way Match. Elsewhere in the match Toru Owashichallenged Naomi Yoshimura to try and beat him in their exchanges.

To celebrate the new year in Osaka, Danshoku Dino told the audience a dancing star from Tokyo has come over to cheer everyone up with his performance. He was talking about Kazuki Hirata. Normally whenever Hirata tries to dance during his entrance he gets interrupted so Dino ordered Yuki Ueno to help him stop anyone from laying a finger on Hirata while he dances. They succeeded although Dino did take a Plancha from MAO during the performance. However Hirata got angry and yelled at everyone to give the audience an exciting match. As it went on Ueno asked Hirata to tag him in so he could show off cool moves to his hometown crowd. Dino later got too excited and gave Ueno the Lip Lock even though they were on the same team. That allowed NωA and Veda Scott to isolate Hirata and beat him. When the match was over Hirata asked the audience if they enjoyed it. They gave him a positive applause.

Yukinori Matsui announced he will produce a wrestling show inside Osaka Edison Arena #2 on 27th May. He called upon the DDT wrestlers to help him make it a lively show.


DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHINJUKU” Results

January 5, 2018

DDT “D-KING GRAND PRIX 2018 IN SHINJUKU”, 05/01/2018
Shinjuku FACE
464 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Veda Scott defeated Antonio Honda & Soma Takao, KUDO & Toru Owashi and Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata when Ryan pinned Honda with the Super Kick (8:44).
2. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Yukio Sakaguchi (2) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (0) with the Right Knee Of God (7:48).
3. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (2) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (0) with the Tetsuya In The Sky (6:01).
4. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Akito (2) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (0) with the Scorpion Lock (12:03).
5. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Keisuke Ishii (2) defeated HARASHIMA (0) with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (12:45).
6. D-King Grand Prix – B Block: Shuji Ishikawa (2) defeated Mike Bailey (0) with the Splash Mountain (15:15).
7. D-King Grand Prix – A Block: Jiro Kuroshio (2) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (0) with the Casadora (23:23).

A Block

1. Jiro Kuroshio (2)
-. Keisuke Ishii (2)
-. Tetsuya Endo (2)
4. Joey Ryan (0)
-. Konosuke Takeshita (0)
-. HARASHIMA (0)
-. Masahiro Takanashi (0)

B Block

1. Shuji Ishikawa (2)
-. Akito (2)
-. Yukio Sakaguchi (2)
4. Soma Takao (0)
-. Mike Bailey (0)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (0)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (0)

Day one of the D-King Grand Prix kicked off with some big upsets in the opening round of matches. Jiro Kuroshio defeated Konosuke Takeshita in the main event. He took all that Takeshita could throw at him then countered the German Suplex into the Casadora for the surprise three count. A cheerful Kuroshio told Takeshita after the match he would see him again. Takeshita’s response was to raise his KO-D Openweight Title and give Kuroshio the middle finger.

Mike Bailey has only been in Japan for 5 days during his current stay and there’s already two times when he thought he was going to die in the ring. The first was from HARASHIMA’s Somato on the 3rd and the second was from Shuji Ishikawa kicking his head in today. Ishikawa used the Knee Lift to great effect in their match. He thinks that next to Yoshihiro Takayama, he is the best at using the move.

The second big upset on the show was Keisuke Ishii beating HARASHIMA! Ishii’s use of statistics in his preparations paid off when he knew HARASHIMA was setting him up for the Somato after a Buzzsaw Kick. Ishii got up and cut HARASHIMA off with the Kneel Kick. The struggle over to pin him took long enough for HARASHIMA to kick out but Ishii then gave him the Double Arm DDT for the finish. Ishii said that it took him 10 years to finally beat HARASHIMA because Ishii joined DDT in 2007. He will now use today’s result times of his match, Takeshita’s match and Tetsuya Endo’s match to prpare for his upcoming bouts against them.

The history between Akito and Daisuke Sasaki wasn’t forgotten when they squared off. Akito quickly grabbed Sasaki by the hair when the bell rang while Sasaki tried to apply the Cross Facelock as fast as he could. Poor Daisuke Kiso was stuck in the crossfire and was knocked down by a chairshot. Akito’s chance to win seemed to have disappeared when there was no ref to see Sasaki submitting to an Anklelock. Yukinori Matsui finally came down to replace Kiso and he saw Akito countering the Cross Facelock into an Arm Clutch Scorpion Lock. Sasaki had no choice but to tap out with his free hand. Akito said he will use the Grand Prix to get rid of all of the depression he accumulated over the last year. Backstage Sasaki had a mood swing and wanted to abstain from the rest of the tournament. He also threatened to cut off his own hair but he was talked out of it.

Masahiro Takanashi played dirty to try and beat Tetsuya Endo. He used the referee as a shield then kicked Endo below the belt during the confusion. Endo was still in the match though and he avoided the Takatonic to get the ref involved again. When that was sorted out, Endo hit the Tetsuya In The Sky to put Takanashi away. Takanashi was so flustered by the result he asked KUDO backstage to calculate his current standing. 1 loss, zero points. Takanashi thinks he’ll need to win his 6 remaining matches to succeed.

Yukio Sakaguchi wore down Kazusada Higuchi with the Cobra Clutch, only letting go when Higuchi tried to press him into the turnbuckles. Before Higuchi could get his breath back, Sakaguchi hit the Right Knee Of God to knock him down for the pin. It doesn’t matter how busy his match schedule is, Sakaguchi said he can win his block with his eyes closed.


DDT “NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL! 2018” Results

January 3, 2018

DDT “NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL! 2018”, 03/01/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,187 Fans

0. Under Match: Hoshitango & Rekka defeated Mizuki Watase & Daiki Shimomura when Rekka pinned Shimomura with a Reverse Power Slam (6:23).
1. Akito defeated Yuki Ueno with the Scorpion Lock (8:19).
2. Infomercial Match – “LADY NINJA: A Blue Shadow” Movie: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai (w/ Mai Hakase) defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Veda Scott when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (11:41).
3. New Year Kakizome Rumble (Calligrapher: Nachu): Keisuke Ishii defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Super Sasadango Machine, Nobuhiro Shimatani, Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Gorgeous Matsuno, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi, Joey Ryan and Joey Axl (17:46).
3a. Joey Axl was eliminated by speaking Japanese (4:39).
3b. Nobuhiro Shimatani was eliminated by climbing the corner post (6:04).
3c. Tomomitsu Matsunaga was eliminated by saying his name (6:14).
3d. Joey Ryan was eliminated by speaking English (9:31).
3e. Sanshiro Takagi was eliminated by doing the Stunner (12:37).
3f. Gota Ihashi was eliminated by missing a Moonsault (14:03).
3g. Gorgeous Matsuno was eliminated by doing the Gorgeous Star☆Elbow (14:38).
3h. Mad Paulie was eliminated by laughing (15:55).
3i. Super Sasadango was eliminated by doing a Flying Body Attack (17:46).
4. Road To D-King GP Special Special Single Match: Soma Takao defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Endless Waltz (9:13).
5. NωA, If You Lose Immediately Withdraw Your Dissolution Special: Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Danshoku Dino, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when Oishi pinned Dino with the Triple Ecstasy (10:02).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Colt Cabana & Antonio Honda when Endo pinned Honda with the Shooting Star Press (16:21).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Colt Cabana (c) with a Flying Body Attack (8:40 pm).
*Super Sasadango Machine becomes the 1,286th champion.
7. Road To D-King GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Jiro Kuroshio defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Mike Bailey & Shuji Ishikawa when HARASHIMA pinned Bailey with the Somato (20:17).

With the D-King Grand Prix just days away from starting, six of the participants took part in the 6-Man Tag Team main event of 2018’s first DDT show. Jiro Kuroshio is already testing the patience of some wrestlers with his long entrance that this time involved the unwilling participation of a small child. Konosuke Takeshita in particular made Kuroshio his target in the match. Elsewhere Shuji Ishikawa and Kazusada Higuchi squared off in a power battle while HARASHIMA had his hands full with Mike Bailey. It all built up to unlikely team moves like Takeshita doing a Codebreaker on HARASHIMA then holding him down for a Body Press from Ishikawa followed by the Standing Double Knee Moonsault from Bailey. However, HARASHIMA avoided the Ultima Weapon from Bailey and pinned him with two Somatos.

HARASHIMA was about to give his victory speech when Kuroshio grabbed the microphone and gave his own speech. He said he was happy to be in the tournament and is looking forward to beating up Takeshita even more. Higuchi threatened to rampage his way through the block to the final. He is happy to see that Ishikawa is even stronger than ever and looks forward to fighting him. Ishikawa asked if Higuchu knows how many championships he has won? Ishikawa guarantees he will win the GP because he is at his best. Bailey said the Somato he took made him understand his wrestling career could end at any moment. But if it does end it will be when Bailey fights HARASHIMA in the final. Takeshita told Kuroshio he will make his handsome face look awkward when they fight again. HARASHIMA said he will win the league and headline Sumo Hall. As usual. He tried to close out the show but Kuroshio stole all the attention again by posing in front of him.

Daisuke Sasaki is sick of Antonio Honda telling his “Gon, The Little Fox” stories. He told Honda his goal for 2018 should be to give up telling them. Colt Cabana backed up Honda by going along with his story and joining in with his antics. They performed the Superman Dive together for a double nearfall. But it all went wrong when a double Bionic Elbow ended with them hitting each other. Tetsuya Endo took advantage with the Springboard Overhead Kick and then won the match with the Shooting Star Press on Honda.

After the match Cabana was attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani because he wanted to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Cabana fought him off but then Super Sasadango Machine came in and pinned Cabana with a Cross Body Block. Cabana tried to win the title back at the end of the show but failed.

The NωA had to fight for their lives against Danshoku Dino and the Brahman Brothers. They were told by the brothers before the match that they would fall into Hell! What followed was a brawl between both sides that moved into the audience. The Brahmans took out a mixer and blended together a liquid made out of beer, boiled egg, natto and raw squid. They considered throwing it into the audience but they poured it over Yuki Ueno instead. NωA turned the tables and used the Brahmans’ own tricks against them including throwing the bowling ball and suitcase at them and spitting the black India Ink at their faces. They then attacked Dino with a piece of wood up the backside and pinned him with the Triple Ecstasy. The NωA are now allowed to break up and their final match will take place on 28th January. They asked for T2Hide to be their final opponents. All of T2Hide came down to the ring crying with happiness over being chosen.

In the second D-King GP preview of the night, Soma Takao beat Masahiro Takanashi. He countered the Takatonic into the Endless Waltz series of rolling pin attempts, constantly rolling Takanashi into another pin until he finally got the three count. Takao thinks the move will help him immensely in the tournament. Just using today’s match as an example, the Endless Waltz got Takao a total of 10 pin counts, that’s enough for three wins. Takao hopes the Endless Waltz along with the Gin And Tonic will help him win both the Grand Prix in January and also All Japan’s Junior Heavyweight league in February.

Two years ago a calligrapher named Nachu was invited over to DDT to paint Kakizome new year messages on the backs of the wrestlers. She came back this year so it could be done again. The rule of the Battle Royal was every wrestler had a “Prohibited Skill” painted on their back. If the wrestler performed the skill during the match they would be disqualified. But since it was painted on their backs they did not know what their banned skill was. So the wrestlers all tried to bait each other into doing their prohibited moves. One of the entrants was Joey Axl, a pro wrestler from Australia. He appeared during the show opening ceremony unbeknown to the rest of the roster. It was only when Hisaya Imabayashi noticed him standing next to the other foreign wrestlers that he introduced himself and asked to wrestle in DDT. It was decided he would be added to the Battle Royal.

Sadly for Axl he was the first one eliminated. His prohibited skill was speaking Japanese and he was tricked into saying “Ichiban!” after he overpowered his opponents. Nobuhiro Shimatani was out when he climbed the turnbuckle to do a high flying attack. Tomomitsu Matsunaga was not allowed to say his name in the manner of the RVD/Toru Yano taunt that he likes to do. He teased doing it first but later did it for real to get eliminated. Joey Ryan was tricked into speaking English when Gorgeous Matsuno told him he had a small dick. Sanshiro Takagi was out after he gave Gota Ihashi a Stunner. Matsuno wasn’t allowed to do his Gorgeous Star☆Elbow. It took him several attempts to do the move because he kept getting tangled into the ropes mid-move. He finally did it with Keisuke Ishii’s help but that meant he was now out of the match. Ihashi did his Moonsault but he wasn’t supposed to. He also missed. Super Sasadango Machine eliminated Mad Paulie by making him laugh. Sasadango unmasked himself to show he was wearing similar facepaint as Paulie. It made Paulie so happy that he laughed. Finally Sasadango eliminated himself by doing a Cross Body to Ishii. Ishii was declared the winner because he avoided doing his prohibited skill, performing a combination attack with another wrestler.

The Infomercial Match was supposed to begin with a trailer for the upcoming movie LADY NINJA: A Blue Shadow which features Yukio Sakaguchi and Saki Akai in supporting roles. However Kazuki Hirata stopped the trailer because he wanted to dance with the movie’s lead star Mai Hakase instead. Hakase appeared with Shuten-dōji wearing her movie character’s costume. Sakaguchi got so mad at Hirata for his behaviour that Toru Owashi & Veda Scott bailed from the apron and left Hirata alone in the ring with him to get beaten up. Later in the match Hirata challenged Hakase to a duel. Hakase pulled out her prop sword and looked to have bested Hirata until he knocked her out with a sudden karate chop. Sakaguchi stole the Hirata Go! glasses and danced his way into beating up Hirata again to win the match. With Hirata defeated, the movie trailer was allowed to be shown. Afterwards Hakase, Sakaguchi and Akai spoke about their experiences during the making of the movie. Hakane said that she was afraid of Sakaguchi when they first met and she wanted to run away when it was time for them to film their fight scene. But he was able to work with her shyness and it turned out fine. She also said Akai was really strong when they filmed their scenes together. Next time she’d like to see her get a role as a sexy ninja.

Akito’s tune up match for the GP was against the rookie Yuki Ueno. While it wasn’t a big challenge for Akito, he felt it was a good way to prepare for the tournament. He was also nicely surprised by how well Ueno wrestled in the match. He’s pleased to see the younger wrestlers in DDT growing up in the ring and thinks he can teach them stuff that other wrestlers in the company cannot.

The wrestlers in the pre-show match all yelled “Happy New Year!” mid-move to each other at some point. Rekka & Hoshitango worked well together and did a lot of damage to Daiki Shimomura. Their big move involved Rekka climbing onto Hoshitango’s back then Hoshitango doing a Splash onto Shimomura with Rekka still on top of him. Mizuki Watase stopped the pin but once they got rid of him it was easy pickings for Rekka to finish off Shimomura.

It was announced that The Great Muta will appear at “JUDGEMENT 2018” in Sumo Hall on 25th March!


Fuminori Abe Signs With BASARA

January 2, 2018

DDT “NEW YEAR’S SPECIAL! 2018”, 03/01/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Hoshitango & Rekka Vs Mizuki Watase & Daiki Shimomura
1. Akito Vs Yuki Ueno
2. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Colt Cabana & Antonio Honda
3. New Year Kakizome Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mad Paulie Vs Hoshitango Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Joey Ryan (Calligrapher: Nachu)
4. Infomercial Match – “LADY NINJA: A Blue Shadow” Movie: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Veda Scott (Special Guest: Mai Hakase)
5. NωA, If You Lose Immediately Withdraw Your Dissolution Special: Danshoku Dino, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
6. Road To D-King GP Special Special Single Match: Soma Takao Vs Masahiro Takanashi
7. Road To D-King GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Mike Bailey & Shuji Ishikawa Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Jiro Kuroshio

Let’s start off the new year with this crazy show.

BASARA “VAJRA 56 ~OSAKA WINTER TEAM AND PEOPLE~”, 08/01/2018
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Daichi Kazato & Takato Nakano Vs Akiyori Takizara & Yuki Aoki
2. Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Kuishinbo Kamen
3. Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano Vs Naoki Tanizaki & Shoichi Uchida
4. SAGAT Vs Manabu Hara
5. Metal Family Vs Cavalry!: Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi, Yusuke Kubo & HUB Vs Ryuichi Sekine, Ryota Nakatsu & Fuminori Abe
6. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs FUMA

FUMA wants to start off 2018 the same way he began 2017. That is beat Isami Kodaka for the Union MAX Title!

As of 1st January, 2018 Fuminori Abe is now a full time member of the BASARA roster. It looks like he is joining the Cavalry unit too which would be a big boost for that side.

News is coming in that Atsushi Maruyama is joining All Japan as a full time wrestler. Does this mean the end of the Reversal Pro Wrestling trials? You can’t have these kind of trials without a prosecutor, can you?

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “TRY ME 2018”, 20/01/2018
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Shuhei Washida Debut Match: Shuhei Washida Vs X
2. Dramatic Ganbare: Yukihiro Abe Vs Gota Ihashi
3. America Vs India! Ganpuro Special International In Ōji: Shota Vs Baliyan Akki
4. New Spring Special Mixed Tag Match ~ Ganpuro Vs Last Jedi: Shinichiro Tominaga & HARUKAZE Vs Chikara & Kaori Kobayashi
5. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Katsumura-gun: Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Takeshi Okada

Play time is over for Shuichiro Katsumura. He now wants to be in real fights and isn’t happy with the people Ganbare☆Wrestling has thrown his way lately. Ken Ohka put this main event together to test just how serious Katsumura’s demand is.

Shuhei Washida is one of the auditions that passed the Ganbare Tryouts held back in February last year. The only information I have for now is he was 25 years old at the time of the tryout.


“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2017” Results

January 1, 2018

“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2017”, 31/12/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,411 Fans

1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Ryota Hama & Soma Takao when Sekimoto pinned Takao after a missed Okido Press from Hama (6:06).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito defeated Kota Sekifuda & Ryota Nakatsu when Akito submitted Nakatsu with the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock (4:32).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Brahman Kei & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Shu) defeated Antonio Honda & Takuya Nomura (w/ Jaki Numazawa) when Sasaki pinned Honda after the Syachihoko Clutch (7:21).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto defeated Keisuke Ishii & Takayuki Ueki when Dino pinned Ueki with the Danshoku Screwdriver (9:53).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Aoki when Miyamoto pinned Aoki with the Fire Thunder (3:28).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Isami Kodaka & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Tatsuhiko Yoshino when Uto pinned Yoshino with the Axis Fall (6:34).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Abdullah Kobayashi & Colt Cabana defeated Minoru Fujita & Shunma Katsumata when Kobayashi submitted Katsumata with a Crab Hold (4:21).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Great Kojika & Tetsuya Koda Vs Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
8a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Great Kojika & Tetsuya Koda when Takeshita pinned Kojika with a Rope Assisted School Boy (1:38).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito when Higuchi pinned Akito with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (1:52).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Brahman Shu & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Kei) defeated Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto when Shu pinned Dino with a School Boy (8:09).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto defeated Isami Kodaka & Yoshihisa Uto when HARASHIMA pinned Uto with the Somato (9:57).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita Vs Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher ended in a No Contest after a Referee Assault (2:17).
12a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Hideki The Brodie & Jimmy Takeshita defeated Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher by Countout (2:50).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto when Sekimoto pinned Miyamoto with the Roll Through German Suplex (9:47).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita defeated Brahman Kei & Daisuke Sasaki (w/ Brahman Shu) when Takeshita pinned Kei with the Superfly Splash (7:02).
15. TAKA Michinoku 25th Anniversary Match: Kotaro Yoshino, Dinosaur Takuma, Kazumi Kikuta & MAO defeated TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, Ryuji Ito & Sanshiro Takagi when MAO pinned Michinoku with a School Boy (13:16).
16. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi when Suzuki pinned Higuchi with the Double Arm Suplex (12:44).

DDT and Big Japan ended 2017 and begun 2018 with what they usually do at this time every year, a big pro wrestling get together at Korakuen Hall! This year’s tag team tournament was themed around one wrestler from each company joining forces. Every pairing also had their own custom team name too.

Round 1

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Hamamatsu. The show kicked off with Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi entering the ring both wearing sunglasses and carrying samurai swords. They won over Ryota Hama & Soma Takao in a match where Hama made the most impact. First he squashed Higuchi with a Hip Attack in the corner. But then he squashed Takao by accident when he missed the Okido Press. Sekimoto pinned a lifeless Takao to win. Hama tried to apologise to Takao afterwards but Takao was too afraid to approach him.

Team Hitomishiri Vs Team 14. Pretty simple first round win for Kazuki Hashimoto & Akito. Although Kota Sekifuda dove onto Hashimoto, he was nowhere to be found when Akito locked Ryota Nakatsu into the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock. Sekifuda & Nakatsu didn’t get much time in the ring together but they would like to team up again someday, maybe in next year’s tournament.

Charming Dolls Vs Charisma Brahman. Throughout the night the Brahman Brothers switched back and forth to team with Daisuke Sasaki in their matches. For the first match, Brahman Kei was the legal participant. Sasaki gleefully joined in with their act of throwing water at the audience during their entrance. Meanwhile Takuya Nomura wore identical wrestling gear to Antonio Honda and they were accompanied by Jaki Numzawa in their corner. The match broke down into a 6 Way at one point when Brahman Shu and Numazawa got involved in the fighting. Kei accidentally blinded Sasaki with the black ink. Nomura grabbed the Brahmans’ bucket of water and threw it at them in the corner. But Sasaki & Kei rallied to pin Honda with the Crucifix And Jackknife pinning combination. As the Brahmans walked off they had an idea. For the next match they should become Charisma like Sasaki!

Hakai Kyodai Vs With Love And Enthrallment And Reassurance. Keisuke Ishii & Takayuki Ueki came out dressed as Ryu and Zangief from Street Fighter. At first they acted like the characters but Ueki then got so frustrated by Danshoku Dino & Daichi Hashimoto that he pulled out his gun. Ueki held Dino hostage and demanded that they switch tights so he could possess Dino’s Danshoku skills. Unfortunately Ueki slipped off the top rope and crotched himself. Dino, now wearing the Zangief tights, gave Ueki a Zangief style Spinning Piledriver to advance his team to the next round.

Smile Yankee Vs Team Yokohama. The match begun quickly when Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Aoki attacked HARASHIMA & Yuko Miyamoto. But once Smile Yankee isolated Aoki it didn’t take long for them to put him down. Sakaguchi apologised to Aoki for coming up with the reckless plan but Aoki apologised too for being weak.

Yoshino-ka Vs Jikujion. Masahiro Takanashi joined in with Tatsuhiko Yoshino’s local boy gimmick. Yoshihisa Uto carried Isami Kodaka on his shoulders for their entrance but accidentally whacked Kodaka’s head off of the stage. This would happen for all of their matches tonight. Kodaka trusted Uto to carry both him and his victim of a Superplex but Uto struggled to pull it off. He finally succeeded but Kodaka was hurt in the process as if he was given a German Suplex. The move worked well enough to pin Yoshino though.

Shunma To Minoru Vs KobaCabana. Minoru Fujita wanted to sing along with Shunma Katsumata during their entrance but his microphone was switched off for a lot of it. He also wore a strand of barbwire disguised as a headband around his forehead. Sadly their idol behaviour didn’t work and they both submitted to Abdullah Kobayashi & Colt Cabana.

Great To Mago Vs Most Strongest Combi. In a rare occurrence for this tournament, only one match in the entire show went to a time limit draw. The combined skills of Hideki Suzuki & Konosuke Takeshita were not enough to figure out The Great Kojika in under 10 minutes. Tetsuya Endo tried his best to beat Takeshita for the second time in two days but the time ran out during their skirmish. 1 Count Pinfalls were activated for overtime and Kojika surprisingly came close to pinning Takeshita with the Iron Claw. Shockingly, Suzuki pulled the referee away to stop him from counting. Takeshita then used the distraction to School Boy Kojika and Suzuki held down his feet onto the ropes for leverage. Yes, it took that much cheating to pin The Great Kojika for one second!

Round 2

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Team Hitomishiri. The first bout of Round 2 ended in quick fashion when Higuchi of all people pinned Akito with a Rolling Leg Clutch. Akito & Hashimoto tried to tap out their opponents with Scorpion Locks and Ankle Locks but it wasn’t enough. Akito promised to keep in touch with Hashumoto through LINE.

Charisma Brahman Vs Hakai Kyodai. This time Brahman Shu was teaming with Sasaki. Also this time the Brahmans dressed like Sasaki and were also armed with plates filled with…well…some sort of foul substance I don’t want to think about. Sasaki accidentally got a face full of it. At one point Dino suddenly started grabbing around his partner and pulled out Ueki’s gun from his pants! Sasaki and the Brahmans stopped him with a traffic sign attack then made him sit onto a chair with the plate of dirt placed on it. Sasaki took out toilet roll to wipe the substance off of Dino’s backside and then rub it into his face. Shu then pinned Dino with a School Boy to end the madness. The Brahmans praised Sasaki for his technique in using the plate.

Smile Yankee Vs Jikujion. Uto again carried Kodaka head first into the entrance stage. Their double team Suplex attempt off the top rope failed when Miyamoto held onto HARASHIMA to keep him on the corner. Uto ended up just giving Kodaka a German Suplex instead. Miyamoto dropped Uto with a Fire Thunder then narrowly rolled out of the way of HARASHIMA’s Somato. That was it for Uto & Kodaka’s run in the tournament.

KobaCabana? Vs Most Strongest Combi?. Due to earlier injuries dealt to everyone involved in this match, both teams had to be replaced. Luckily a bunch of “legends” happened to be in the building and stepped in to fill the gap. Suzuki & Takeshita were replaced by Hideki The Brody & Jimmy Takeshita while Kobayashi & Cabana were replaced by Stan Kobayashi & Colt “Boom Boom” Butcher. The two teams brawled with each other around the ring and then all threatened to attack Yukinori Matsui with their weapons. The match ended in a Double DQ because of the threats and had to be restarted. The four then brawled up towards the crowd and Brodie wrapped his chain around both Kobayashi & Cabana. He held them back while Takeshita crawled back to the ring to win the match by countout. When the match was over they all re-entered the ring and attacked a ringside assistant with their finishing moves.

Japan Indie Grand Prize Awards

Samurai TV and Occupation Of The Indies held their annual Japan Indie Grand Prize awards after Round 2. The MVP Award went to Hideki Suzuki. The Best Bout Award went to the Big Japan match between Masashi Takeda Vs Masaya Takahashi from 17th December. Best Unit went to DAMNATION. Best Show went to Big Japan for their 17th November outdoor event in Ueno Park. Best Newcomer went to Andre The Giant Panda. The Special Achievement Award was given to the late Mr. Pogo.

Semi Finals

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Smile Yankee. A random drawing put together the semi final matchups. Lariats from Sekimoto & Higuchi were the difference maker. Miyamoto also wasn’t prepared for Sekimoto to roll him into the German Suplex from the ropes.

Charisma Brahman Vs Most Strongest Combi. Remember when I said the madness was over? It came back. Suzuki & Takeshita were still in their legend gimmicks and this time they had Kobayashi & Cabana on their side to combat Sasaki & The Brahmans’ tricks. Kei was isolated from his teammates and was put through the Western Lariat, the King Kong Knee Drop, the Poisoned Elbow Drop and finally the Superfly Splash to lose the match. Sasaki and The Brahmans still threw water at the audience afterwards.

TAKA Michinoku 25th Anniversary Match

The final pro wrestling match of 2017 in Japan was TAKA Michinoku’s 25th Anniversary match. He led a veteran team of K-DOJO, Big Japan and DDT wrestlers to face some of the new generation coming from those companies. MAO became a butt of a joke by being the victim of a never ending Corner Train Attack featuring everyone else in the match, loads of wrestlers who weren’t in the match and even one of the Samurai TV cameramen! Cabana was involved too but he just wanted to take a selfie with MAO. This went on for so long that the countdown to the new year began. In the final seconds Michinoku charged in but MAO rolled him over with a School Boy to pin him right as the clock struck zero! Happy new year!

Final

Sekiguchi-gumi Vs Most Strongest Combi. The tournament final is the first wrestling match in Japan of 2018. Suzuki & Takeshita were now back to normal. Both teams threw all that they had left at each other. It all came down to Higuchi and Suzuki fighting each other. Higuchi hit the Doctor Bomb but it wasn’t enough. Takeshita gave Higuchi a Dragon Suplex and Suzuki followed it up with a Dragon Suplex of his own. Higuchi kicked out! Suzuki then used the Double Arm Suplex and that wasn enough to beat Higuchi. The Most Strongest Combi are the Shuffle Tag Tournament winners! When they were given the rewards Takeshita joked that they only wrestled twice in the tournament this year and still won. Suzuki said he was honoured to fight Sekimoto & Higuchi. He also bragged that he wasn’t feeling tired at all. Sekimoto grabbed the microphone and swore into it.