DDT “BUDOKAN PETER PAN 2012 ~ DDT 15TH ANNIVERSARY” Preview

August 16, 2012

DDT “BUDOKAN PETER PAN 2012 ~ DDT 15TH ANNIVERSARY”, 18/08/2012
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

0. Special Dark Match – Muscle Army Vs Style-E Army: Muscle Sakai, Pedro Takaishi, Kazuyoshi Sakai HG, Kazunori Huzioka, Mr. Magic, Seiya Morohashi & Choun “Daikichi” Shiryu Vs Kazuhiro Tamura, Masashi Takeda,Masato Shibata, Shota, Shotaro Nasu & Choun “Bones” Shiryu
1. Konosuke Takeshita Debut Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs El Generico
2. Tag Team Gauntlet: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa Vs Takao Soma & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Isami Kodaka & Hiro Tsumaki Vs Saint Seiya Rion & Poison JULIE Sawada
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Royal Rumble: DJ Nira (c) Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Akito Vs YOSHIHIKO Vs Cherry Vs NOZOMI Vs Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Daichi Kakimoto Vs Ken Ohka Vs Mio Shirai Vs Batten Tamagawa Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Yuzuki Aikawa Vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
4. Five-A-Side Soccer Match: Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango, Tetsuya Endo & Tsukasa Fujimoto Vs Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Yuji Hino, Tanomusaku Toba & Yoshiko
5. KO-D Tag Team Title: KUDO & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs MIKAMI & Tatsumi Fujinami
6. Special Weapons Rumble Handicap Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Minoru Suzuki
7. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Invisible Man
8. Special Hardcore Tag Team Match: HARASHIMA & Togi Makabe Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Ryuji Ito
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs Kenny Omega

The biggest show in DDT history is now just days away. From their first show in Kitizawa Town Hall all the way back in March 1997, DDT has grown to be one of pro wrestling’s more bizarre and unique organisations. It has also been the home to one of indie puroresu’s brightest stars (along with a dozen of indie puroresu’s most perverted stars), the host of many infamous stipulation matches that defied pro wrestling as we know it and pretty much became the place to be if you like things that can only be described with the phrase “Japan is weird.”

Now reaching its 15th year, DDT is marking their anniversary with a very special show held in Budokan Hall, the first time they run the building. While it is not the largest arena DDT has run (I think that honour goes to Fukuoka Dome in 2001 thanks to some deal with New Japan), the special occasion along with their growth makes this their most important show ever. But it could have been a lot different.

Here’s a little fact revealed on the official DDT website a few months ago. Back in 2010 Sanshiro Takagi originally considered booking a show in Saitama Super Arena for the following year. He had to abandon his plans when he found out the arena was already booked out for the entire year. Want another little fact? It was Magnum TOKYO who suggested to Takagi that DDT should run Budokan Hall instead of doing Sumo Hall again for DDT’s 15th Anniversary. I’m not kidding.

DDT has a habit of surprising people with their plans and a lot were caught off guard when they announced this Budokan Hall show, just like when they announced their first Sumo Hall show back in 2009. What they have planned is a mixture of a highly anticipated main event, some special cross-promotional and cross-dimensional matches, a legend’s first championship match in ten years, a multi-person scramble for the hottest potato in pro wrestling, a rookie debut and a battle between two sleazy organisations before the show even properly starts. Oh, and a game of football of course. So let’s have a look at what is in store.

0. Special Dark Match – Muscle Army Vs Style-E Army: Muscle Sakai, Pedro Takaishi, Kazuyoshi Sakai HG, Kazunori Huzioka, Mr. Magic, Seiya Morohashi & Choun “Daikichi” Shiryu Vs Kazuhiro Tamura, Masashi Takeda, Masato Shibata, Shota, Shotaro Nasu & Choun “Bones” Shiryu

Muscle Sakai marks his return to the ring since his retirement back in October 2010 but the special occasion has been disrupted by an outside force. His Muscle sub-brand, which was originally put on hiatus until 2030 when his children would debut has been dragged into a war with Style-E. Not much is known as to why the two groups have declared war on each other but there have been public conflicts since the grudge came to light. To put a quick end to the war, Budokan Hall has been chosen as the battleground and Sakai’s return now has a dangerous edge to it. But this being Sakai’s match, the feud could easily be decided with a table quiz or a cannonball run race instead of a wrestling match. We just have to wait and see what happens.

1. Konosuke Takeshita Debut Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs El Generico

One of the first wrestlers announced to wrestle for DDT at Budokan Hall was the Generic Luchador himself, El Generico. After wowing everyone in Union and DDT during his trips to Japan in 2011, he came back this year to face the very best both brands had to offer. Now Generico will face a young lion, just like in his first match for Union against the now absent Shinichiro Tominaga. The debuting rookie here is 17 year old Konosuke Takeshita from Osaka, already a former Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. DDT must see a lot of potential in the kid to pit him with El Generico in his first professional match.

2. Tag Team Gauntlet: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa Vs Takao Soma & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Isami Kodaka & Hiro Tsumaki Vs Saint Seiya Rion & Poison JULIE Sawada

A Gauntlet match that could very well determine the next challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Championship. We have two established tag teams in Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie and Do Hentai Dan. Takao Soma & Yukio Sakaguchi are paired together to represent New World Japan. Isami Kodaka & Hiro Tsumaki fly the flag for Union and have gelled well together since their recent team formation. The possible dark horse team is Poison JULIE Sawada and the newly named Saint Seiya Rion, formerly Rion Mizuki. JULIE saw an improvement to his win-loss record when he changed into his current gimmick. Maybe the same can happen to Rion.

3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Royal Rumble: DJ Nira (c) Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Akito Vs YOSHIHIKO Vs Cherry Vs NOZOMI Vs Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Daichi Kakimoto Vs Ken Ohka Vs Mio Shirai Vs Batten Tamagawa Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Yuzuki Aikawa Vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara

You all know the story by now. This is the championship that has been won by many useless objects such as a Ladder, a curry, a poster, a truck, a doll, a Chair, a piece of Yakitori chicken, a can of Beer and Naoshi Sano. After an unexpected tour of Bolivia where the title briefly rested on Dick Togo’s shoulder, the belt is now currently in possession of the self-proclaimed King Of Time and master of the Rocket Punch, DJ Nira.

It was a sad tale for poor little DJ Nira. After gaining possession of a Money In The Bank style contract that gave him a KO-D Openwight Title match whenever he wanted, he chose to wait until the biggest stage of them all to cash it in. Unfortunately WrestleMania took place later that same day and it was too late to book flights for Miami. So Nira decided to cash in at Budokan Hall. But shocking news struck when Nira eavesdropped on Tsurumi Amon and heard that the 15th Anniverary Show was going to be cancelled! Knowing that it was now and never, Nira cashed in his title shot during Beer Garden week. Unfortunately for himself and humanity, Nira lost the match and left empty handed. Even worse was when Nira found out that Amon never said the Budokan show was cancelled, Nira just misheard him. Nira was crushed now that he wasted his title shot for nothing. Feeling as desperate as a wrestling fan browsing through his favourite SHIMMER woman’s Amazon Wish List, Nira kept the crumpled remains of the contract and cashed it in for a shot at the Iron Man Title. You know, the belt that’s defended to anyone and anything 24/7. Logic aside, this time his plan was a success. DJ Nira finally became a champion! Then he lost the belt. But he won it back, so everything’s ok again.

Except now he has to defend the belt in a Royal Rumble match and as champion he is expected to be entry #1. With an odd mix of male, female and inanimate wrestlers going after the champion, this can still be considered one of the more normal matches happening on the card.

4. Five-A-Side Soccer Match: Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango, Tetsuya Endo & Tsukasa Fujimoto Vs Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Yuji Hino, Tanomusaku Toba & Yoshiko

Match Of The Day, this is not.

An odd storyline happening in DDT during the summer was the formation of the Monster Army. Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Yuji Hino, Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki and Hoshitango all joined together to form a new stable. However, the group has made such little impact in DDT that they could hardly be called an immediate threat to the rest of the roster. Consisting of three former KO-D Champions, you can see why it is odd to see the group fizzle almost immediately. The trouble has led to the Monster Arm splitting into two groups, the original Crying Wolf members on one side and La Familia on the other. DDT figured out a way for the two sides to compete against each other and it involves an unlikely collaboration they established with a popular manga artist.

Back in June Sanshiro Takagi announced that DDT was working with Yoichi Takahashi, the creator of the famous football manga Captain Tsubasa. The deal involves Takahashi creating a special animated video for DDT’s show at Budokan Hall. To celebrate the deal, Takagi has booked a 5-a-side football match to take place inside the Budokan during the show. Crying Wolf and La Familia were chosen to be the teams and given the task to recruit more players. La Familia chose rookie Tetsuya Endo and Ice Ribbon ace Tsukasa Fujimoto (presumably playing the role of Hope Solo) to be part of their squad. Crying Wolf responded by getting Tanomusaku Toba and Stardom’s resident bitch Yoshiko (presumably playing the role of either Joey Barton or Mario Balotelli) to join their team.

5. KO-D Tag Team Title: KUDO & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs MIKAMI & Tatsumi Fujinami

KUDO & Makoto Oishi have been on top of the world since winning the KO-D Tag Team Title from Yasu Urano and Yuji Hino in June. Since then they have fought off most of the established tag teams in DDT to keep the belts. For the 15th Anniversary show, they are going to take on an unexpected pairing. In July, MIKAMI stepped back into the ring after spending seven months recovering from a torn rotator cuff. His return match was against the legendary Tatsumi Fujinami, who by then already agreed to compete for DDT at the Budokan. After Fujinami won the match, MIKAMI asked if they could team together to face KUDO & Makoto Oishi at the 15th Anniversary Show. Fujinami accepted the offer, the champions accepted the challenge and the KO-D Tag Titles were later put on the line. This match marks the first championship bout Fujinami will have in over 10 years, giving the match a very special feel.

So will this be the return to glory for both The Dragon and The Suicide Boy or will Homoiro Clover Z continue to dance the night away as champions?

6. Special Weapons Rumble Handicap Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Minoru Suzuki

The match one year in the making, Sanshiro Takagi challenged Minoru Suzuki to this match all the way back at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2011”. Since then both mean have gone through different paths. Takagi brought his TKG48 project to an end and transformed into CM Punk because he was feeling bored, then briefly became the KO-D Champion a reign that lasted the same amount of time it takes to make a cup of coffee. He then got tired of doing a knock-off anti-establshment gimmick and went on to form the very original New World Japan group. Minoru Suzuki meanwhile main evented in New Japan’s biggest show of the year in the Tokyo Dome, formed the Suzuki Army to wreck havoc in that company and continued being the cocky badass he always is.

Takagi knows how difficult a task he has ahead of him. So to make sure he has the advantage, Takagi has made the match a Weapons Rumble Handicap Match, where a new “weapon” gets introduced after a set period of time. Takagi has spent a lot of time thinking of weapons to use against Suzuki. One of them is to put Yuzuki Aikawa in a bikini and have her distract Suzuki with her bounciness, allowing Takagi to whack Suzuki over the head with a broom. I’m half expecting one of Suzuki’s weapons to be Chopper from One Piece. Also have you ever noticed how wherever Minoru Suzuki goes, Yoshihiro Takayama is never that far behind?

7. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Invisible Man

Danshoku Dino continues to play an important part in DDT’s annual big bash. In the Sumo Hall years Dino won an 8 championship unification match to create the GAY Crown, then defeated HUSTLE star HG in his retirement match (RG was there too but nobody cares about him) and topped it all off by vanquishing Bob Sapp in a feud that drew more money than a Davey Richards heist main event.

But now Dino faces his toughest challenge yet. His opponent has one advantage that no one else Dino ever faced has. Dino’s next opponent is The Invisible Man. Is this Invisible Man the former Iron Man Champion Arnold Skeskejanaker who appeared in DDT back in 2008? I don’t know. The Invisible Man said is he’s sick and tired of being ignored and challenged Dino to grab everyone’s attention.

So Budokan Hall, the location of famous matches such as Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Antonio Honda Vs Muhammad Ali, Nobuhiko Takada Vs Super Vader and many more will now play host to Danshoku Dino fighting an invisible man.

It could be worse. They could have put Yoshiaki Yago in that match. Do you guys want to see Dino Vs Yago in a headline match Budokan Hall? No, I didn’t think so.

8. Special Hardcore Tag Team Match: HARASHIMA & Togi Makabe Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Ryuji Ito

HARASHIMA and Shuji Ishikawa have fought some hard matches against each other in the past. This trend continued in July when the two met in a Hardcore Match that Ishikawa won. Afterwards Tsurumi Amon booked the two to face each other once more but this time they each get to bring a tag team partner of their choice. Ishikawa chose Ryuji Ito, their alliance created as a result of some co-promoted shows between Union and Big Japan held this year. HARASHIMA went and invited an old friend he knew from from his college days. That friend just happens to be the The Charisma Gorilla from New Japan, Togi Makabe. The two originally met and became friends at their college wrestling club. They eventually faced each other in a professional bout in 2010. Who else but Makabe could be the partner HARASHIMA needs to counter both Ishikawa’s size and Ito’s brutal wrestling style? With the teams set, the match has been turned into a Hardcore match and could provide violent scenes rarely seen in DDT.

This match is what I like to call the Fire Pro Special. Have you ever played a game of Fire Pro Wrestling where you just randomly select wrestlers and come up with unusual tag team matches? This feels like one of those matches. All that’s missing is an Independent World ring canvas and somebody like Kyohei Wada as the referee.

9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs Kenny Omega

And so here we are at the hotly anticipated main event. The Golden Lovers collide over who is the best wrestler in DDT. With both wrestlers going through a very eventful 2012, this match here could wind up as the biggest highlight out of them all. After finally going through surgery to heal a niggling shoulder injury that cut short his biggest career achievement, Kota Ibushi came back with a polite vengeance. The Independent Genius won the KO-D Openweight Title from Yuji Hino, then followed that by winning back the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title that he was originally forced to vacate thanks to his injury. Things were looking great for Ibushi.

Now that return to glory stuff is great and all, but while Ibushi was out of action Kenny Omega forged his own path and made sure everyone in Japan knew his name. Omega went to All Japan to win the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Championship and proceeded to rub it in to both the fans and the roster that he was the coolest champion All Japan had ever seen. While making stops in DDT to receive a hero’s welcome from his fans, the All Japan crowd were just waiting for the day when one of their favourites would take back the belt and shut him up. The AJPW Jr. Title came and went, but Omega was quick to focus on a new goal. He entered the King Of DDT tournament and defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Masa Takanashi, HARASHIMA and finally Danshoku Dino to be crowned the winner. He earned the grand prize of challenging the KO-D Champion at Budokan Hall. Of course, that champion is Omega’s BFF Ibushi. And the two have quite the history together.

The whole reason Omega originally came to DDT four years ago was to challenge Ibushi over who was better at Falls Count Anywhere matches. The two fought each other in a fierce 2/3 Falls Count Anywhere match in Shin-Kiba 1st RING during the chaotic week of Beer Garden shows. Ibushi emerged the victor two falls to one and from that match a friendship was born. The two became a tag team at the beginning of 2009 and quickly won the KO-D Tag Team Title with their combined finisher, the Golden Shower. Weekly Pro-Wrestling originally named them the Golden Twins but Omega corrected them and said they weren’t twins. Omega called himself and Ibushi the Golden Lovers instead. From there they went on to even more success, branching over to New Japan where they won the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title along with a Match of the Year Award from Tokyo Sports for one of their matches with Apollo 55. Add in a Best Tag Team Award from Weekly Pro-Wrestling and you can see Ibushi and Omega were both becoming hot properties in Japan.

In recent times the two have mostly been seperated in the ring with Ibushi being out of action and Omega being busy annoying everyone in All Japan. But now fate has brought them together again. Fate or maybe destiny. Either fate, destiny or Sanshiro Takagi thinking “You know what would be an awesome main event at Budokan Hall? Kota Ibushi Vs Kenny Omega!”

And what an awesome main event that is going to be.


Ibushi And Omega Train For Budokan

August 14, 2012

Both Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega have been keeping DDT fans up to date on their preparations for their KO-D Title match at the 15th Anniverary Show in Budokan Hall this Saturday. Both of the Golden Lovers held seperate public practice sessions over the last two days to demonstrate their progress.

First up was Kota Ibushi’s session held yesterday inside a dojo in Chiba. With a mountain of crash pads piled up inside the ring, Ibushi used Gota Ihashi as a crash test dummy and found numerous ways to spike Ihashi onto his head and neck. The most deadly moves used were the 24 Years Old (Orange Crush), a Razor’s Edge and a Top Rope Piledriver. Unsurprisingly, Ibushi eventually broke Ihashi and had to drag a discouraged Ken Ohka into the ring to finish off the session. And he finished it off with a Top Rope Phoenix Plex, breaking Ohka in the process.

Afterwards, Ibushi took some questions from the press in attendence. When asked about the moves he demonstrated, Ibushi said none were ever used on Omega and it will be quite a challenge to pull them off in the match. They are also moves he either rarely uses or haven’t used regularly at matches in years. However, since he is able to perform such powerful moves on a heavy wrestler like Ihashi, then he will be able to do them on the smaller wrestler like Omega. Ibushi feels the pressure being in the main event and does not expect a short and decisive battle. However, Ibushi has a lot of moves in his arsenal, some of which he is keeping secret from the public.

When Ihashi and Ohka finally regained conciousness the press asked them how painful the moves felt. Ohka said they will be much more dangerous without the mats in the ring. When asked where he feels the most damage, Ohka exclaimed “You know! The neck.” Ihashi complained about his body feeling numb and said it was not the first time he was rendered unconcious by Ibushi during his training. When asked who will win the match, both men said Ibushi.

Kenny Omega’s public session was held today in a Saitama gym. Omega was accompanied by professional fighters Isamu Sugiuchi and Jason Geiger. Omega said he took up Jiu-Jitsu specifically to target Ibushi’s weak shoulder along with developing a good ground defence and a counter for Ibushi’s leg sweeps. Omega and Sugiuchi sparred in the ring where Omega was able to outwrestle his partner and put him in a Cross Armbreaker.

When the sparring ended, Omega then talked about building up his body and his stamina with weight training. He lifted weights in a similar way to lifting opponents for the Croyt’s Wrath and followed that with the Barbell Curl and the Clean & Press. Omega said his abs were his weakness so he did these exercises to strengthen his abs and back.

Omega also took questions from the press when the session came to an end. He said he originally began training in Jiu-Jitsu back in 2004 but took a break in 2008. Today was the first time in a long time he got to train Jiu-Jitsu again. He wanted to train with Geiger because he is a champion from Canada. When asked if this style of training was only being done for the match against Ibushi, Omega said his days of training back in Canada during the summer has conditioned him to tough sessions like this and he could go on for 60 minutes. Omega also said that although he has strong moves like the Croyt’s Wrath and One-Winged Angel, he is thinking of adding all sorts of submissions to win rather than just throw out his usual techniques. Omega isn’t feeling any pressure and doesn’t find the position he is in scary at all. However, Ibushi is his friend and he does not want to injure him. He dedicates the match to all fans of DDT and promises to win the belt and have the best match.

Isamu Sugiuchi said that he met Kenny for the first time when he wrestled at a DDT just over one year ago. He called Omega an amazing talent and was surprised at how powerful he is in the ring. Jason Geiger said that Omega has been focused for a long time and is filled with more power and stamina than he has ever seen. He also said that Ibushi better have trained hard.


DDT “LAST MINUTE BUDOKAN SPECIAL!” Results And Press Conference

August 9, 2012

DDT “LAST MINUTE BUDOKAN SPECIAL!”, 09/08/2012
Tokyo Akasaka Sacas
??? Fans

1. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Kota Ibushi defeated HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi and Michael Nakazawa when Ibushi pinned Nakazawa with the Sit Down Last Ride (8:08).
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hiroshi Fukuda defeated DJ Nira (c) with a School Boy (6:21 pm).
*Hiroshi Fukuda becomes the 955th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chair defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) by Pinfall (6:23 pm).
*Chair becomes the 956th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hiroshi Fukuda defeated Chair (c) with the Perfect Plex (6:54 pm).
*Hiroshi Fukuda becomes the 957th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Cherry defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) with the Spring Night Love (6:54 pm).
*Cherry becomes the 958th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: DJ Nira defeated Cherry (c) with a Chair Attack (6:56 pm).
*DJ Nira becomes the 959th champion.

DDT held a special event inside Akasaka Sacas in Tokyo to promote their 15th Anniversary Show in Budokan Hall. The event was held in the Sacas Star Stage part of the city and began with the only planned match for the show, a Falls Count Anywhere match between Kota Ibushi, HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi and Michael Nakazawa. They fought on the stage with a mat used to act as the squared circle. A table came into play twice with Takagi giving Nakazawa a Piledriver through the table, then HARASHIMA gave Takagi a Falcon Arrow onto the remains. Ibushi won the match when he kip-flipped under Nakazawa’s Ultimate Venom Arm and delivered the Sit Down Last Ride.

There was then the announcement of DDT’s first album called “100% DDT MIX”. The CD will be released at Budokan Hall and contains the original theme songs for HARASHIMA, Takao Soma, Keisuke Ishii, Cherry and Saint Seiya Rion. It also has the official theme song for the anniversary show called “Under The Large Onion (DDT Version)”. Rion performed his song “Pegasus Fantasy” on stage.

The rest of the event was dedicated to giving all of the wrestlers a platform to hype up their matches. First up was the Tag Team Gauntlet. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie said that winning the gauntlet will make them the next challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Title. Do Hentai Dan came out next. Hikaru Sato introduced himself and Nakazawa to the audience and then said he wanted the Budokan show to end after their match. He then said that Nakazawa was not going to speak because he is putting all of his concentration into the match. Takao Soma came out on his own but said that his partner for the match Yukio Sakaguchi is very powerful. Isami Kodaka also came out on his own. He said that he and Hiro Tsumaki will show everyone how crazy Union Pro Wrestling is. Finally Saint Seiya Rion & Poison JULIE Sawada entered the stage. Sawada said that as the veteran of the bunch he will insure the Tag Team Gauntlet will be a great way to open the show.

Next up was the competitors for the Iron Man Royal Rumble. Hiroshi Fukuda tried to win fan support by saying he wants to give donations to underpriviledged children. Gota Ihashi kept on shouting “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! COME ON! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! COME ON!” Tomomitsu Matsunaga said it was going to be a unique match. Akito thinks he will make the most impact in the match. Daichi Kakimoto talked about how much he appreciates being able to step into the ring again after a four year absence. Gorgeous Matsuno wants to win the title again for the 14th time. Cherry said she wants to be a champion again at the age of 38. Yuzuki Aikawa gave a cheerful and bouncy greeting to the fans. She declared the 18th August to be Hooters Day. Current champion DJ Nira declared himself the King Of Time. The group photo descended into mayhem when Fukuda attacked Nira and won the belt only to somehow lose it to a chair.

The Monster Army Football match preview was next. Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda from Team Crying Wolf were joined by Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sekimoto & Hoshitango of Team La Familia. Hoshitango spoke in Spanish, Sasaki translated for him and simply said Hoshitango promised to do his best. Takanashi said the most important thing about football is friendship. La Familia are the most bonded group in DDT. Takanashi then asked if Honda had any friends and why he was always alone. He then called Honda a dickward. Honda said that Takanashi was scared of him and at Budokan Hall, Honda will kick the ball away from Takanashi. Urano, like Hoshitango, just said he will do his best.

After that came the preview for the KO-D Tag Team Title match. MIKAMI arrived without Tatsumi Fujinami by his side. He said that this will be Fujinami’s first championship match in over 10 years so this is not just an important match for DDT, but an important match for professional wrestling. MIKAMI wants to be a part of that historical moment. Makoto Oishi called this summer the Summer Of Homoiro Clover Z. KUDO said that the match will be their fourth defence of the belts and they never take any victory for granted.

Sanshiro Takagi was disappointed that Minoru Suzuki couldn’t appear at the event for a face-off. Suzuki is busy competing in the G-1 Climax over at New Japan. Takagi revealed his plan for the Weapons Rumble Handicap match. He will get Yuzuki Aikawa to wear a bikini and distract Suzuki. Takagi will then grab a broom and whack it over Suzuki’s head. Sounds like a foolproof plan.

Tsurumi Amon spoke to HARASHIMA about the Hardcore Tag Team match with Togi Makabe against Shuji Ishikawa & Ryuji Ito. Amon reminded HARASHIMA that the rules allow the use of chairs, tables, chains and barbed wire. HARASHIMA said that with Makabe by his side, they won’t lose. He and Makabe have a strong relationship of trust going back to their college days. Amon joked that Makabe must have been an honour student.

Danshoku Dino wasn’t sure if the Invisible Man was in attendance. Maybe he was there standing on the stage beside him but was just staying quiet. Dino thanked DDT for booking the match at the Budokan Hall. He wondered if there are many invisible people and how he could fight them.

Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega signed the contract for the KO-D Openweight Title main event match. They both gave each other high praise and admitted the other person could easily win the match. With the event drawing to a close, everyone returned to the stage for a final group photo. That led to more Iron Man Heavymetalweight shenanigans when Fukuda grabbed the chair and gave it a Perfect Plex to win the title. Cherry then pinned Fukuda with the Spring Night Love to become champion. But as she celebrated, DJ Nira grabbed the chair, used it to knock Cherry out and won the belt back.


DDT “DDT IN KEIO PAVILION 12” Results

August 6, 2012

DDT “DDT IN KEIO PAVILION 12”, 06/08/2012
Tokyo Keio Special Ring
3,714 Fans

1. 3 Way Tag Team Match: Hoshitango & Masa Takanashi defeated Michael Nakazawa & Gota Ihashi and Antonio Honda & Yasu Urano when Hoshitango pinned both Nakazawa & Ihashi with the Midnight Buenos Aires.
2. 6-Man Tag Team Match: Kota Ibushi, KUDO & Danshoku Dino defeated HARASHIMA, Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Ibushi pinned Irie with the Sit Down Last Ride (7:12).


Updated Budokan Card – Only 12 Days Away!

August 6, 2012

DDT “BUDOKAN PETER PAN 2012 ~ DDT 15TH ANNIVERSARY”, 18/08/2012
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

0. Muscle Dark Match: Muscle Army Vs Style-E Army
1. Konosuke Takeshita Debut Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs El Generico
2. Tag Team Gauntlet: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa Vs Takao Soma & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Isami Kodaka & Hiro Tsumaki Vs Saint Seiya Rion & Poison JULIE Sawada
3. Iron Man Royal Rumble: DJ Nira (c) Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Akito Vs YOSHIHIKO Vs Cherry Vs NOZOMI Vs Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Daichi Kakimoto Vs Ken Ohka Vs Mio Shirai Vs Batten Tamagawa Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Yuzuki Aikawa Vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
4. 5 Vs 5 Soccer Match: Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango, Tetsuya Endo & Tsukasa Fujimoto Vs Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Yuji Hino, Tanomusaku Toba & Yoshiko
5. KO-D Tag Team Title: KUDO & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs MIKAMI & Tatsumi Fujinami
6. Special Weapons Rumble Handicap Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Minoru Suzuki
7. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Invisible Man
8. Special Hardcore Tag Team Match: HARASHIMA & Togi Makabe Vs Shuji Ishikawa & Ryuji Ito
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs Kenny Omega

My preview for the show will be up sometime next week.

Sanshiro Takagi Vs Minoru Suzuki will be fought under Weapons Rumble rules. That means a foreign object will be introduced into the match after a certain amount of time. Word is going around that Takagi is doing his best to come up with ideas that Suzuki cannot be prepared for, hence the Handicap added to the match title.

The Style-E promotion has suddenly declared war on Muscle! A grudge between the two groups have slowly been bubbling ever since Muscle Sasaki was announced to return at the DDT 15th Anniversary Show. A situation at Chofu earlier in the week led to open fire. The aftermath had both sides agree that they will do battle in the dark match at Budokan Hall.

Rion Mizuki has now become Saint Seiya Rion, or possibly Saint Lion for short.


DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ DDT SATURDAY” Results

August 4, 2012

DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ DDT SATURDAY”, 04/08/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
571 Fans – Super No Vacancy

– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) with a Boston Crab (5:37 pm).
*Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 952nd champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hiroshi Fukuda defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with a Low Blow (5:39 pm).
*Hiroshi Fukuda becomes the 953rd champion.
1. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated MIKAMI & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Ishii pinned Matsunaga with the Kneel Kick (10:16).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Tanomusaku Toba with a Rope-Assisted School Boy (9:16). (Special Guest Referee: DJ Nira)
*V1 for Hiroshi Fukuda.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: DJ Nira defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) with a Small Package (18:19).
*DJ Nira becomes the 954th champion.
3. Triple Threat Blindfold Match: Kenny Omega defeated Masa Takanashi & Antonio Honda when Omega pinned Honda with the Croyt’s Wrath (7:11).
4. New Setagaya Ghost Story Death Match: Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Akito Vs Hoshitango, Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo ended in a Time Limit Draw and a Ghost Story (5:00).
5. Lumberjack Death Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Michael Nakazawa when he removed Nakazawa’s pantyhose (11:31).
6. DDT Beer Garden Specialty – Lottery 6-Man Tag Team Match: Yuji Hino, HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato defeated Kota Ibushi, Yasu Urano & KUDO when HARASHIMA pinned Urano with the Somato (20:35).

The candidates for the DDT48 General Election 2012 have been aanounced. They are Hikaru Sato, Kota Ibushi, Danshoku Dino, Yasu Urano, Masa Takanashi, Makoto Oishi, Cherry, HARASHIMA, MIKAMI, Isami Kodaka, Ken Ohka, KUDO, Sanshiro Takagi, DJ Nira, Antonio Honda, Keisuke Ishii, Shuji Ishikawa, Takao Soma, Michael Nakazawa, Mr. #6, Kenny Omega, Shigehiro Irie, Akito, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Rion Mizuki, Gota Ihashi, Tetsuya Endo, Yuji Hino, Konosuke Takeshita, Seiya Morohashi, Hiro Tsumaki, Hiroshi Fukuda, Taichi Kazato, El Hijo del Goro, Goro Jr., Choun-Shiryu, Kengo Ohka, Kiai Ryuuken Ecchan, Shoichi Uchida, YOSHIHIKO, Mio Shirai, El Generico, Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Shiota and NOZOMI.

The ghost story during Match #4 was read by actor Hisaya Imabayashi, who looks absolutely nothing like Tsurumi Amon. The story was so scary it made all of the wrestlers involved in the match faint one after the other. It somehow ended with Imabayashi impersonating Atsushi Onita and throwing water at everyone while “Wild Thing” played over the speakers.

Sanshiro Takagi, Michael Nazazawa and referee Daisuke Kiso all had to wear pantyhose over their head during the Lumberjack Death Match. The winner was the first person to pull off their opponent’s pantyhose.

In preparation for his debut match at Budokan Hall, Konosuke Takeshita took part in a sparring exhibition with Hiroshi Fukuda. Takeshita suprised everyone and submitted Fukuda, winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title in the process. Tsurumi Amon congratulated Takeshita on winning a championship before his official debut. However, Fukuda then Low Blowed Takeshita and pinned him to win the belt back almost immediately.

Fukuda returned later in the show to face Tanomusaku Toba in their scheduled match. DJ Nira came out to be the sub-referee along with Yukinori Matsui during the match and they constantly got in each other’s way. It got so bad that Matsui pounced at Nira and attacked him. The distraction allowed Fukuda to Low Blow Toba and pin him with School Boy while his feet were on the top rope for leverage. Both Matsui and Nira counted the pin. After the match, Nira took out his “Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere” contract and “cashed it in” to get an Iron Man title shot right there and then. He immediately pinned Fukuda with a Small Package to become the new champion. Nira grabbed the mic and said he will go to the Budokan as champion and this belt best symbolised DDT. Tsurumi Amon decided that the Iron Man Title will be frozen from now until the Budokan show. That means no 24/7 challenges and that Nira will be the defending champion in the Battle Royal.

Rion Mizuki announced he will transform into Leon from Saint Seiya at Budokan Hall.

It was confirmed that KUDO & Makoto Oishi Vs MIKAMI & Tatsumi Fujinami at Budokan Hall will be for the KO-D Tag Team Title.

DDT will be launching a new stretch gym business in September. Seiya Morohashi will be in charge.


DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ HARASHIMA PRODUCE DAY” Results

August 3, 2012

DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ HARASHIMA PRODUCE DAY”, 03/08/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
389 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Haya Bucha & Popogorira defeated Eririn Takagi & Cobra Otakki when Bucha pinned Otakki with the Firebird Splash (8:21).
1. Hard Hit Offer Match: Isami Kodaka & Hoshitango (4D/0E/0P) defeated KUDO & Ryuichi Sekine (2D/2E/0P) when Kodaka submitted Sekine with a Headscissor Choke (12:11).
2. Endo Test Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Danshoku Dino (apparently HARASHIMA) ended in a No Contest (3:45).
3. BOYZ Offer Match: Makoto Oishi, Daisuke Sasaki & Tsutomu Oosugi defeated Masa Takanashi, Yuki Sato & Hercules Senga when Oishi pinned Takanashi with a European Leg Roll Clutch (5:35).
4. HARASHIMA defeated Hikaru Sato with a Cross Armbreaker (29:58).
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yakitori defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) (9:21 pm).
*Yakitori becomes the 947th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Ryuichi Sekine defeated Yakitori (c) by eating it (9:21 pm).
*Ryuichi Sekine becomes the 948th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Beer defeated Ryuichi Sekine (c) (9:22 pm).
*Beer becomes the 949th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Gota Ihashi defeated Beer (c) by drinking it (9:23 pm).
*Gota Ihashi becomes the 950th champion.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hiroshi Fukuda defeated Gota Ihashi (c) with a Tambourine Attack (9:25 pm).
*Hiroshi Fukuda becomes the 951st champion.

HARASHIMA and Danshoku Dino bumped heads and switched bodies at the beginning of the show. Danshoku HARASHIMA was the one who faced Tetsuya Endo in Match #2 but a clash of heads there had Endo jump into HARASHIMA’s body and Dino jump into Endo’s body. Danshoku Endo then began using Dino’s homo-centric offence that became so gratuitous the match had to be stopped. HARASHIMA Dino returned to the ring and all three bumped heads to return back to normal. At least until Endo began dry humping Dino.

The BOYZ offer match was beach themed with everyone using super soakers, towels and beach balls as weapons.

At the end of the show, Ryuichi Sekine attacked the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Hiroshi Fukuda while he was serving a try of yakitori chicken. When Fukuda was knocked out after a chop to the neck, a piece of the chicken fell on top of him, pinned him and became the new champion. Sekine ate the piece of chicken to win the belt by KO. He then celebrated with a can of beer but drank so much he collapsed. The can of beer landed on his chest and pinned Sekine to win the belt. Gota Ihashi then drank the can to win the title. Fukuda was back on his feet and attacked Ihashi. The champion kicked out of two pin attempts (which counts as successful title defences) but a tambourine to the back of the head finally put Ihashi out for the count. Fukuda made his escape as the champion once again.


DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ HOMOIRO CLOVER Z PRODUCE DAY” Results

August 3, 2012

DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ HOMOIRO CLOVER Z PRODUCE DAY”, 02/08/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
650 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Muscle Offer Dark Match: Michael Nakazawa Vs Seiya Morohashi ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00) (Special Guest Referee: Mame Endo).
*Mame Endo declared the winner via audience vote.
0. Dark Match: Yasu Urano defeated Rikiya Shindo with a Diving Foot Stomp (7:01).
1. Strange Bifurcation Allowed: Makoto Oishi & KUDO Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi ended in a Draw when KUDO and Asahi both pinned Oishi after the Diving Double Knee Drop (8:41).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Perfect Plex Challenge: Rikiya Shindo defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) (28:11).
2a. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga the Perfect Plex (6:18).
2b. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Taichi Kazato Perfect Plex (8:00).
2c. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated a Venue Gangster the Perfect Plex (9:41).
2d. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Daisuke Kiso the Perfect Plex (13:17).
2e. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Tetsuya Endo the Perfect Plex (14:20).
2f. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Tanomusaku Toba the Perfect Plex (17:49).
2g. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Michael Nakazawa the Perfect Plex (19:29).
2h. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Mame Endo the Perfect Plex (22:01).
2i. Hiroshi Fukuda (c) defeated Yasu Urano the Perfect Plex (25:57).
2j. Rikiya Shindo defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) with a Small Package (28:11).
*Rikiya Shindo becomes the 945th champion.
3. 3-On-1 Falls Count Anywhere Handicap Match: Kota Ibushi defeated Gota Ihashi, Seiya Morohashi & Masa Takanashi when Ibushi pinned Ihashi with a Power Bomb through a table (11:12).
4. Yuji Hino defeated Akito with the F***’N Bomb (21:00).
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hiroshi Fukuda defeated Rikiya Shindo (c) after a Chop from Yuji Hino (9:40 pm).
*Hiroshi Fukuda becomes the 946th champion.

Hiroshi Fukuda set up the Perfect Plex Challenge to defend his Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. It was a Gauntlet match where Fukuda only needed to give his opponent the Perfect Plex in order to eliminate him from the match. The opponents had to beat him in the usual manner in order to win. Fukuda defeated 9 wrestlers with the Perfect Plex until DDT announcer Rikiya Shindo stepped into the ring. Shindo earlier competed in the dark match in what was possibly his first ever match in DDT. He countered the Perfect Plex into a Small Package to score the upset and become the new Iron Man Champion! Unfortunately for him, Yuji Hino got in his way at the end of the show and knocked him down with a big chop. Fukuda capitalised and pinned Shindo to win back the title.

Makoto Oishi found himself in quite a perdicament. The two tag teams he regularly wrestles in were booked to face each other. So Oishi had to team with KUDO to face himself and Shiori Asahi. After tying to perform double team moves with both sides, it ended up with KUDO and Asahi unintentionally teaming together to beat up Oishi. Asahi used the kick-up portion of the Cactus Flower finisher to position Oishi for KUDO’s Diving Double Knee Drop. Then both men pinned Oishi to end the match in a draw.


DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ ANTONIO HONDA PRODUCE DAY” Results

August 3, 2012

DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ ANTONIO HONDA PRODUCE DAY”, 01/08/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
406 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Watermelon Crash Death Match: Seiya Morohashi defeated GENTARO when Morohashi smashed the watermelon over GENTARO’s head (9:29).
2. The Old Man & The Sea & The Wine & The Tears: Masa Takanashi defeated Hoshitango, Yasu Urano, HIROKI, Great Kojika and Ricky Fuji when Takanashi pinned Urano with a School Boy (10:17).
3. Texas Tiger Rope Match: Kento Miyahara defeated Hiroshi Fukuda with a German Suplex (10:46).
4. Daisuke Sasaki defeated Antonio Honda with the Cross Facelock (27:01).
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hiroshi Fukuda defeated Gota Ihashi (c) with a Tambourine Attack (9:29 pm).
*Hiroshi Fukuda becomes the 944th champion.

Both Antonio Honda and Daisuke Sasaki wanted the main event to be so good that Dick Togo would hear about it all the way over in Bolivia. Yasu Urano said the match would have been better if Honda was drunk. Honda said he wasn’t drinking, he was fit as a fiddle the entire time.

Kento Miyahara hogtied Hiroshi Fukuda with the tiger rope in the lead up to the finish of their Texas Tiger Rope Match.

The Watermelon Crash Death Match featured a watermelon and a barbed wire baseball bat left in the middle of the ring. The first person to smash the watermelon would be declared the winner. Seiya Morohashi won when he grabbed the watermelon and smashed it over GENTARO’s head. That wasn’t Morohashi’s only appearance for the night. At the end of Match #2, he appeared in the ring to perform a “Strange Uncle” dance while only wearing a thong. Hoshitango danced along with him but thankfully he did not strip.


DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ KENNY OMEGA PRODUCE DAY” Results

August 3, 2012

DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2012 ~ KENNY OMEGA PRODUCE DAY”, 31/07/2012
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
450 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Ice Ribbon Offer Match: Hikaru Shida & Neko Nitta defeated Maki Marumiya & Tsukushi when Shida pinned Marumiya with the Three Count Of The Soul (18:11).
2. Rock-Paper-Scissors Death Match: Isami Kodaka defeated Masa Takanashi with the Diving Double Knee Drop (13:58).
3. Boxing Rules: Kota Ibushi defeated Gota Ihashi by KO with a Straight Right (4R 2:43).
4. Hikaru Sato & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa when Yamato pinned Nakazawa with the Cross Arm Suplex (16:38).
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Gota Ihashi defeated Hiroshi Fukuda (c) with a Corkscrew Uppercut (9:23 pm).
*Gota Ihashi becomes the 943rd champion.

Hiroshi Yamato got to experience first hand just how perverted Michael Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato and even Kenny Omega can be. The main event saw the usual Do Hentai Dan tactics come into play. Sato got Yamato to join in and spit the lotion into Nakazawa’s face. Yamato avoided Nakazawa’s Venom Maker and won the match with a Cross Arm Suplex. Afterwards Nakazawa apologised to Omega for losing the match. Kenny joked that he still blames Michael and that he has no luck going into Budokan Hall. Michael wished Kenny luck and was joined by the Ice Ribbon girls to tell Kenny to do his best.

Tanomusaku Toba was the referee for the Boxing Rules match. Kota Ibushi and Gota Ihashi fought so hard it wound up outside the arena. Ibushi got so into the match that when he knocked Ihashi into the corner and would not relent, Toba put on his own gloves and threw punches at Ibushi. Toba then sided with Ihashi and they both tried to KO Ibushi. The KO-D Champion was able to knock down Toba and give Ihashi a German Suplex. He then knocked him out for a 10 count with a Straight Right punch. After the match all three men reconciled and raised each other’s hands.

Weapons used during the Rock-Paper-Scissors Death Match included a plastic mallet, a metal can, a “steel” bear trap, a steaming hot bowl of dumplings, the Ice Ribbon girls and a bottle of sake. Every time a weapon was introduced, Isami Kodaka and Masa Takanashi played Rock-Paper-Scissors with the winner getting one free use of the weapon on the loser. The loser was provided with a Gundam helmet to protect himself, if he could put it on in time.