DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU” Results

October 4, 2023

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE
436 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) & Makoto Oishi when Masada pinned Hirata with Shoda no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (8:43).
*Takeshi Masada becomes the 1,580th champion.
2. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Hideki Okatani, Yukio Naya & Rukiya when Okada pinned Rukiya with the Sudden Death (10:43).
3. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul when Higuchi pinned Paul with the Brain Claw Slam (12:23).
4. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi when Sakaguchi pinned Ihashi after the Double Rookie Award with Akai (14:00).
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Soma Takao & Shota defeated Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) when Shota pinned Fujita with the Gannosuke Clutch (12:41).
*DAMNATION T.A fails in V1. ROMANCE DAWN becomes the 80th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
6. Pheromones Final ~ 3 Vs 4 Handicap Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (w/ Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda) Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima ended in a No Contest (18:12).
6a. Emergency Decision Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino defeated Hisaya Imabayashi with the STP (Stepover Toe Hold With Pheromones) (0:58).

For the last time Pheromones were in the air surrounding DDT for one final ride in Tokyo Sexy Land. Danshoku Dieno did not want the fans to be sad because the unit was splitting up, but happy that something this ridiculous existed in the first place. All four members of Pheromones were together although Koju Takeda was too injured to wrestle so the other three had the numbers disadvantage against Akito & The 37KAMIINA in the main event. Yuki Iino had an idea to even the field by pulling out a small plastic standee of Shunma Katsumata, calling him “Chunma” much to the annoyance of Toy Kojima. They then got an actual equalizer when Tetsuya Endo did a run-in for them wearing only an O-Back. Pheromones started doing their usual lewd spots putting Yukinori Matsui in a dilemma. The referee’s thoughts were suddenly projected to the audience. He should stop the match but doing so would ruin their farewell match. If only someone could make him faint. At that moment MAO got rid of him and the match continued. The Shinuku FACE manager then started thinking the same thoughts, resulting in MAO taking him out too. Finally Hisaya Imabayashi stepped in and knocked out MAO so the match could end at last.

Suddenly Iino got on the microphone and began to actually speak. Instead of giving grunts and other inappropriate noises, he spoke to Imabayashi and requested a singles match with him to close out the show. Imabayashi refused until “Fantastic City” began to play and he got dragged down to the ring. The match began and Imabayashi gave Iino the Stunner followed by an STF. Iino countered the move into the Stepover Toe Hold With Pheromones which is just another way to stick the GM’s face into his backside for the quick submission victory. Inoue Mic narrated the history of Pheromones while all four members gathered in the ring for their final sendoff. Each member left their signature item in the ring. Iino’s item was the O-Back he was wearing so that left him completely naked in the ring covering his shame with his hands.

Later that night after the show DDT held a Pheromones trial where Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Imabayashi all judged what should happen to the remaining members who are planning to stick around. From what I could gather some of it was a parody of the Johnny Kitagawa scandal that’s been the big story in Japan’s entertainment industry this week. Dieno, Iino and Yumehito Imanari were all found guilty. As punishment Imanari must leave CyberFight (he already did), Iino has to take a leave of absence to rehabilitate himself of his remaining Pheromones and Dieno might be forced to change his “company name”, i.e. his wrestling name.

Shortly after crowning new KO-D Tag Team Champions the belts have only gone and switched over to another team already! ROMANCE DAWN scored the biggest victory in their existence by beating Minoru Fujita & KANON for the titles. Shota avoided Fujita’s Tombstone Piledriver and lured him into the Gannosuke Clutch to get the three count. Shota talked afterwards about being friends with Soma Takao since they were both 18 year old student pro wrestlers. They dreamed of becoming tag team champions together and in reality it feels even better than they ever imagined! Chris Brookes interrupted their celebrations and brought up the time CDK fought ROMANCE DAWN in Ganbare☆Pro. He would like to challenge them for the KO-D Tag Titles at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” but he is already defending the KO-D Openweight Title at that show. So instead he wants his friends to get the title shot. Out walked Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda down to the ring to the song “My Love Letter” by Honda’s band Daisetz. Honda tripped on the ropes climbing in but was able to gut through his promo. ROMANCE DAWN accepted the challenge for 12th November at Sumo Hall.

Gota Ihashi felt today was going to be his last chance to be with his longtime crush Saki Akai. He kept thinking he would get a chance to embrace his love only to discover Yukio Sakaguchi was standing in Akai’s place instead. He finally caught Akai in a big hug but she escaped and gave him a Sandwich PK with Sakaguchi. Ihashi then missed a Moonsault and his opponents did another double team attack, this time a Double Rookie Award for the win. Akai told Ihashi afterwards she was happy to wrestle him again and the next time they see each other will be when she goes to Ebisuko Tavern for a meal while he works as their head chef. Ihashi said she doesn’t have to wait until then because he loves her. He moved in for a hug but Sakaguchi knocked him down with the God’s Right Knee. Ihashi still professed his love for Akai while HARASHIMA helped him out of the ring.

Akai then talked about the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles and what is next for them. Eruption wants to defend them often to make the belts shine brighter and Akai still has wrestlers she wants to fight before her retirement. She called down Sanshiro Takagi and Akito to the ring. DDT is only possible because of those two which is why she wants them to be part of her road to retirement. She is nominating them as the next challengers along with one other wrestler, Makoto Oishi! He has stood by Akai during her entire wrestling career, giving advice and teaching her so much. She would love to fight him in a title match too. Oishi accepted the challenge to team with Takagi & Akito against Eruption. He is the cutest person standing in that ring and will become the champion of cuteness! The title match will take place in Sapporo on 15th October.

Tetsuya Endo was confronted with his past when Daisuke Sasaki asked him to join DAMNATION T.A after their tag match. While Endo still seems to be on good terms with Sasaki, he refused because the group cannot compare to the original DAMNATION they were both a part of. Endo suggested maybe Sasaki should join BURNING instead? He would show a new side of himself if he took on a Kenta Kobashi kind of influence.

Somebody wasn’t in the mood to dance during the opening match. Takeshi Masada kept cutting off Kazuki Hirata’s dance routine until he was offered his own pair of Hirata GO! glasses. He pretended to dance with Hirata only to attack him and pin him for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title! That prize is not enough so Masada then challenged Hirata for the DDT Extreme Title. Hirata was taken aback by how passionate the challenge was but Masada wants to have competitive fight instead of fun and games. The title match will take place on 22nd October. Imabayashi then warned Masada not to lose the Iron Man Title to New Japan when he wrestles at their Sumo Hall show next week.


DDT Working With NJPW And AJPW In October

October 3, 2023

I’m not planning to make a regular series out of posts like these. It’s more just to remind myself DDT wrestlers have these shows coming up. It’s an interesting sight to see the main Japanese wrestling companies work with each other more and more. The thing nobody likes to point out is these working relationships happen when business is bad for everyone. These moves don’t come across as something in response to WWE returning to Japan under their new ABEMA broadcast deal. DDT wrestlers interacting with New Japan and All Japan has been going on for a while now. Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado are hard at work showing up everywhere they can while Eruption opened up the doors to this new competition of DDT Vs AJPW matches. DDT is also playing host to several All Asia Tag Team Title matches lately.

Today NJPW announced a new idea called Frontier Zone, booking a bunch of outsiders for a dark match at next week’s Sumo Hall show. Takeshi Masada and Kazuma Sumi are on the guest side in a 10-Man Tag Match against five regular members of the NJPW roster. If this is the start then I wonder what more DDT related appearances can happen in the next couple of months. New Japan has a Super Jr. Tag League coming up this month so DDT entering a team into it would be nice. It doesn’t even have to be an entire team, just send MAO over to be with Desperado so they can be DQV again. However the end of the tournament clashes with the first half of the D-Ou Grand Prix so that idea is not likely to happen. Next year’s Best Of The Super Jr might be too far off at this point to confidently predict somebody like MAO earning a spot. Maybe set up another Super J Cup in America and send MAO over to compete in it? The LEC guy could even sponsor it.

The All Japan stuff has more paths spreading through it. We have Eruption currently holding their trios titles. It’s been shown they can be defended separately from DDT’s trios championship but so far the signs are pointing towards Saki Akai holding onto the belts until her retirement. Eruption keeping them for that long and then vacating both sets of titles makes sense to me. It’s a farewell gift to Akai and both championships are low priority so the champions relinquishing them is not going to harm their value. Suwama and Yukio Naya are building up a conflict which will help with Naya’s development into the heavyweight main eventer DDT wants him to be. The young ones like Toy Kojima and Rukiya getting to wrestle opponents who come from outside of DDT is always good too. There’s also thoughts of Jun Akiyama making one more challenge for the Triple Crown dancing through my mind. There could even be an All Japan wrestler entering the D-Ou GP as the big guest entrant. If it’s Kento Miyahara, cool! But if it’s Yoshitatsu, no thank you.

AJPW “NEW AGE CHRONICLE‐Z ~JUMP OVER~”, 05/10/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO Vs MAO & Rukiya

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NJPW “DESTRUCTION IN RYOGOKU”, 09/10/2023
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Frontier Zone: Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, YOH, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI Vs Takahiro Katori, Jun Masaoka, Kengo, Kazuma Sumi & Takeshi Masada

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AJPW “HATAAGE COMMEMORATIVE SERIES 2023”, 12/10/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. AJPW Vs DDT Tag Match: Takao Omori & Yoshitatsu Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani


Final Pheromones Match Now 3 Vs 4, All Asia Tag Title Match On Baba’s Lap, SOG Title Challenges

October 3, 2023

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Kazuki Hirata & Makoto Oishi Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Hideki Okatani, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
3. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
4. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota
6. Pheromones Final ~ 3 Vs 4 Handicap Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (w/ Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda) Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

The final Pheromones match that will headline tomorrow’s show has a slight change to it. Koju Takeda has a calf injury and is not cleared to wrestle. He will still be there though so the main event is now a 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match with Takeda hanging around in the Pheromones corner.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SANJO”, 07/10/2023
Niigata Sanjo City Welfare And Welfare Center

1. Something by Kazuki Hirata, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sadadango Machine, etc.: X Vs X
2. Yusuke Okada Vs Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
4. Eruption Vs BURNING!: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuyu Koroku
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs MJ Paul
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
7. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki (c) Vs Takao Omori & Yoshitatsu

The reason why the All Asia Tag Team Titles are being defended in Sanjo City is because that’s where Giant Baba was from.

As announced by New Japan earlier today, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi will be wrestling in a dark match at NJPW’s Sumo Hall show next Monday. The company is trying something new called Frontier Zone, bringing in wrestlers from other promotions or the indy scene to compete against the regular roster. Masada & Sumi will be teaming up with Kengo, Jun Masaoka and Takahiro Katori for a 10-Man Tag Match against a mixture of CHAOS and the NJPW Sekigun. Two days before that happens Masada & Sumi get a warmup match against DAMNATION T.A.

Notice that Danshoku Dieno is no longer nicknamed “Dandy” in the lineup. Is tomorrow actually going to be the end of Pheromones for real? We’re not getting Pheromones T.A or anything like that afterwards?

DDT “AKOS X DDT EKIMAE PRO WRESTLING”, 08/10/2023
Saitama Akos Event Square

1. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Kazuki Hirata, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuma Sumi
2. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Akito, Yukio Naya, Takeshi Masada & Rukiya
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda

DDT is holding a free outdoor wrestling show near Soka Station in Saitama.

GANBARE☆PRO “ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS ’23”, 23/11/2023
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura
2. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shota

Next up to challenge Isami Kodaka is Shota and there is a little bit more on the line than just the Spirit Of Ganbare Title. Whoever wins this match will be the champion going into GanPro’s return to Korakuen Hall in December. The last time Shota headlined a Korakuen show was to challenge for the DDT Universal Title back in 2021. He promised himself that whenever he is in a Korakuen main event again it will be as the defending champion. This upcoming title shot will be his best chance of achieving his goal. However Kodaka enjoys wrestling in GanPro and fears his bookings will vanish once he loses the title. The only way he will lose the belt will be if Ken Ohka ever reaches his level and surpasses him. And if you’ve seen Ohka lately he is in no position of catching up to Kodaka anytime soon.

The rookie Munetatsu Nakamura is already making big decisions for himself by challenging Ground Absolute for the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles. He is picking Keisuke Ishii as his tag partner for the match based on the recent back and forth results between the two. Nakamura pinned Ishii in a 6-Man Tag match in August only for Ishii to pin him back in a different tag match one month later. Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada welcome the challenge in order to reach their target of 100 title defences.


DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA” Results

October 1, 2023

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023
Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center
190 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi & Yuni ended in a No Contest (9:38).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when KANON submitted Koroku with the Cobra Twist (9:38).
3. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI defeated Kazuki Hirata and Kazuma Sumi when YASSHI pinned Sumi with the Kingston Piledriver (8:32).
4. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Hideki Okatani & Rukiya when Endo pinned Rukiya with the Spinning Torture Rack Bomb (10:46).
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya defeated Takeshi Masada with The World’s Largest Back Drop (14:03).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima defeated HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi when Ueno pinned Takanashi with the BME (19:39).

A heatwave from The 37KAMIINA was at risk when Kazusada Higuchi was around. Yuki Ueno threw him head first into the ring post and it didn’t effect him. Toy Kojima then gave the fans a defiant pose up on the entrance stage only for Higuchi to reach out from behind the curtain and grab him in the Brain Claw. Higuchi also did teamwork with Masahiro Takanashi, using a move similar to the Hair Of The Dog together on both Ueno & MAO. The match still turned out to be Ueno’s to win. He pushed a briefcase into HARASHIMA’s crotch at ringside and later applied the Octopus Stretch to send a message to Chris Brookes. He then pinned Takanashi with the BME. After the match Ueno told the fans it was here in Osaka where he first watched pro wrestling and fell in love with it. The next time he appears in Osaka it will be as the KO-D Openweight Champion!

Yukio Naya praised Takeshi Masada for the effort he’s shown only one year since his debut. But there is a difference between him and Naya. Masada wants to compete in the D-Ou Grand Prix. Naya wants to win it and move on to become the KO-D Champion! He thinks Masada is not ready for that yet. Masada said he isn’t giving up his goal of entering the tournament.

The 3 Way Match was won by “brother” YASSHI but he didn’t pin Kazuki Hirata so there was no Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title change. YASSHI tried to pin him after the match but Hirata kicked out and escaped.

Before the opening match began the ring announcer Ken Kato ordered Makoto Oishi to protect Yuni from Pheromones because of his age. He also gave advice, explaining that until Pheromones strip out of their clothes they are just a group of chubby people. Unfortunately Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno were already stripped down to their undergarments before they entered the ring. The match went ahead but was soon called off before Yuni was traumatised. Afterwards Dieno said Akito is the one to blame for this happening because he is the reason Pheromones are disbanding in the first place. Pheromones would then reappear during the second match to assault Akito at ringside.


DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY AND FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!” Results

September 30, 2023

DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023
Kyoto KBS Hall
451 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya when Koroku submitted Rukiya with the Modified Triangle Lancer (8:27).
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Yuni & Kazuma Sumi when Iino submitted Sumi with the Kongobuji Temple (7:46).
3. Yukio Naya & Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Makoto Oishi & Toy Kojima when Kawamatsu pinned Oishi with the Shitamachi Rocket (10:54).
4. Special Single Match: KANON defeated Takeshi Masada with the Sleepy Hollow (10:46).
5. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul when Endo pinned Paul with the Burning Star Press (10:39).
6. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Falls Count Anywhere Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) & Akito when MAO pinned Hirata with the Michinoku Driver II (13:55).
*MAO becomes the 1,577th champion.
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) defeated HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga when Akai pinned Takanashi with the Quetzalcoatl (19:33).
*V4 for Eruption.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated MAO (c) with a Cradle (7:22 pm).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,578th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Saki Akai (c) with a Cradle (7:24 pm).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,579th champion.

The challengers were without Chris Brookes for the main event but made up for it by bringing in the ChocoPro cheering section. They were there to support Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga along with Brooke’s replacement HARASHIMA in the main event. Eruption were not moved by the touching gesture though. The spotlight was going to shine on Saki Akai today because it is her last match in Kyoto. Hideki Okatani took the brunt of the challenger’s teamwork. Yukio Sakaguchi got a direct hit on Takanashi with the God’s Right Knee which led to Akai pinning him with the Quetzalcoatl.

Earlier in the show MAO pinned Kazuki Hirata to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title during a Falls Count Anywhere Tag Match. During the match Hirata found a piano and took the time to play it. Everyone then fought outside the building over to the DDT bus where Yoshihiko was found sitting on the driver’s seat. Anyway at the end of the show everyone got together for a group photo. Hirata tried to roll up MAO to win his title back but failed. Akai then rolled up MAO and succeeded to become a triple crown champion! However the show ended with Hirata rolling up Akai to win the Iron Man Title back. He ran off while everyone booed.

Takeshi Masada’s quest to enter the D-Oh Grand Prix already hit a bump in the road when he lost to KANON. He isn’t letting that hurt his chances. He believes if he can beat Yukio Naya tomorrow then he will definitely be invited to enter the tournament. KANON does not agree with that. He thinks he is more deserving of a spot than Masada. His goal is to win the D-Oh GP while holding the KO-D Tag Team Title.


Imanari Leaving CyberFight But Staying With GanPro

September 29, 2023

DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yukio Naya & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Toy Kojima
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
6. Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga

This is the match order for tomorrow’s DDT show in Kyoto. Saki Akai will get to wrestle in her home region as a double champion after all because she went to Best Body Japan Pro Wrestling a few days ago and won their Women’s Championship in the main event! Best Body’s wrestling promotion is not something I pay attention to much even though they regularly feature DDT wrestlers. Their events happen too far apart from each other for me to remember they exist. Their website has a results page so if DDT is all over those cards then maybe I’ll add a section for them someday.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Riara Vs SAKI
2. GanPro’s Famous Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & HARUKAZE Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Kaho Kobayashi
3. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI Vs Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Loser Haircut Tag Match ~ No Tag Rules: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

It was revealed in a Shukan Puroresu interview this week that Yumehito Imanari is leaving his video team job with CyberFight at the end of September. However he is going to continue his pro wrestling career with Ganbare☆Pro as a freelancer. He intends to start his next chapter as a wrestler by winning the Spirit Of Ganbare Title and becoming the main character of GanPro.

Shota demanded the Hair Vs Hair Match have a No Tag Rule in effect. He noticed that somebody in the match could theoretically not tag in and then abandon their partner to lose because only the wrestler who drops the fall will suffer the punishment. Shota swears he would never do that to Ken Ohka but does not trust Kuma Arashi will do the same for Koji Doi. It wouldn’t be right for Arashi to come up with the Hair Match stipulation only to run away when his team is about to lose. By adding this rule Ohka will then be able to get his hands on Arashi much more easily. DoiKuma agreed to the demand.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023
Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center

1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi & Yuni
2. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
3. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
4. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Hideki Okatani & Rukiya
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

Takeshi Masada’s campaign to enter this year’s D-Ou Grand Prix begins on Sunday.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Hideki Okatani, Yukio Naya & Rukiya
2. Kazuki Hirata & Makoto Oishi Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
4. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota
6. Pheromones Final ~ Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

Goodbye Pheromones. This is goodbye… right? The timing of Imanari going freelance is something that points towards the group supposedly splitting up.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SANJO”, 07/10/2023
Niigata Sanjo City Welfare And Welfare Center

1. Yusuke Okada Vs Rukiya
2. Eruption Vs BURNING!: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuyu Koroku
3. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs MJ Paul
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
5. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki (c) Vs Takao Omori & Yoshitatsu

It’s not that long ago when DDT would promote a Yukio Naya Vs MJ Paul match as a Megatonweight bout. You know how pro wrestlers these days have gotten smaller and lighter that when an actual heavyweight shows up they get called a super heavyweight? Yeah it was that sort of idea.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 1”, 14/10/2023
Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Tomoya & Yusuke Okada
2. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Rukiya
3. Sapporo Specialty Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

DDT’s weekend trip to Sapporo sees Noriyuki Yoshida, Kouki Iwasaki and Tomoya joining in the fun.

Barring any setbacks, Chris Brookes will be returning to action here to start his preview matches with Yuki Ueno.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SAPPORO – DAY 2”, 15/10/2023
Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium

1. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
2. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Rukiya Vs Kouki Iwasaki & MAO
3. Sapporo Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs Tomoya, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima

Iwasaki gets to reform a DNA team with MAO.

Akai will be on the show to wrestle her last match in Sapporo.


Brookes Update, Takagi Has Dry Eye, Akai Teaming With Chihiro, Sumi Challenges MIKAMI

September 28, 2023

An update on Chris Brookes and his injured shoulder was put out by DDT today. Doctors found some damage to his shoulder but not enough to get in the way of his wrestling activities. As a precaution DDT are keeping him off their shows for two weeks. Brookes is expected to wrestle again at the 14th October show in Hokkaido.

DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Yukio Naya & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Toy Kojima
3. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
6. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga

Sanshiro Takagi will miss this weekend’s shows after being diagnosed with a contagious form of dry eye.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023
Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center

1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi & Yuni
2. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Hideki Okatani & Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
4. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

Takagi being missing from the shows leads to Yuni coming in to fill the gap.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Kazuki Hirata & Makoto Oishi Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
3. Pheromones Final ~ Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
4. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota

Tetsuya Endo & Kazusada Higuchi are teaming up for the first time since the dreaded match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” where Endo got knocked out. They join forces to fight Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023”, 22/10/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Single Match: MIKAMI Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Saki Akai Debut 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 4 ~ Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani Vs Saki Akai & Chihiro Hashimoto

The next stop on Saki Akai’s retirement road accomplishes two things at once. First is a chance to team up with Chihiro Hashimoto for the first time. The rare times they’ve been in the ring together were as opponents. Second is Akai facing the rest of Eruption. This time she will be fighting not with Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani but against them!

Recent communication between Kazuma Sumi and MIKAMI had resulted in MIKAMI planning to show up in DDT again. Sumi wants to learn from DDT’s original high flyer and inherit his skills. If we are getting the full MIKAMI experience then that means a ladder will be brought into play.


Brookes Off This Weekend, SOG Title Signings, Full Wrestle Princess IV Card, Ultimate Party Updates

September 26, 2023

DDT “SAKI AKAI 10TH ANNIVERSARY & FINAL COUNT DOWN IN KYOTO!!”, 30/09/2023
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Rukiya Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
3. Pheromones Final Countdown In Kyoto: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toy Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
4. Special Single Match: KANON Vs Takeshi Masada
5. Kazuki Hirata & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
6. BURNING Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Mei Suruga

There is a change to this weekend with Chris Brookes. He is getting his right shoulder examined for injury this week and is unable to wrestle on either shows. DDT will update everyone on when Brookes can return as soon as they get his results. HARASHIMA will take his place in the main event for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The earlier match HARASHIMA was booked for will now have Akito in it instead.

GANBARE☆PRO “GIRI GIRI CHOP! 2023”, 01/10/2023
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Riara Vs SAKI
2. GanPro’s Famous Mixed 6-Man Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii, Munetatsu Nakamura & HARUKAZE Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Tominaga & Kaho Kobayashi
3. GanJo x TJPW Special Tag Match: Yuki Kamifuku & YuuRI Vs Suzume & Yoshiko Hasegawa
4. Loser Haircut Tag Match: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

The contracts for the two title matches were signed earlier today. Yumehito Imanari spoke of the pride he felt seeing Shinichiro Tominaga try to beat Isami Kodaka for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title. Tominaga failed but his efforts inspired Imanari to be the next challenger to step in front in Kodaka. Even though Kodaka originally planned for this title reign to be like an invasion he has felt the warmth, fun and brightness of Ganbare☆Pro over time. So when he beat Tominaga it brought him back to reality when he noticed the fans were disappointed with the result. He wants to remain champion in order to keep getting guaranteed bookings from GanPro. His previous memories of Imanari are only from back when Imanari was on the DDT video team. He is confident he will beat him because he cannot envision what kind of pro wrestler Imanari can be.

Hentai Punch Drunkers said they want to win back the Spirit Of Ganbare Tag Team Titles because they never got to hold onto the physical belts while they were champions. Hikaru Sato said that means you cannot say he and Tyson Maeguchi ever “lost the belts”. It is a loose end that needs to be tied up. In fact, Maeguchi is acting like this is his first ever championship match and believes the title he is fighting for has a lot of history behind it (no and no). Takuya Wada complained that GanPro was too leniant over the decision to book this rematch because Maeguchi hasn’t done anything recently to deserve another chance. Shuichiro Katsumura wants to win in order to prevent the first champion team from ever establishing a connection with the physical title belts. Wada and Maeguchi then almost got into a fight during the group photo and had to be kept apart.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 01/10/2023
Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center

1. Pheromones Final Countdown In Osaka: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi
2. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Hideki Okatani & Rukiya
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Akito, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
4. Osaka Specialty 3 Way Match: “brother” YASSHI Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
5. Special Single Match: Yukio Naya Vs Takeshi Masada
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima

Akito also gets moved out of the “brother” YASSHI tag match to take part in a 6-Man Tag against DAMNATION T.A.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 04/10/2023
Shinjuku FACE

1. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs HARASHIMA & Gota Ihashi
2. Pheromones Final ~ Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toy Kojima
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Minoru Fujita & KANON (c) Vs Soma Takao & Shota

All four members of Pheromones will be together for what is supposed to be the group’s final match. Akito has The 37KAMIINA backing him up just in case there’s any funny business going on.

BASARA “BASARA 231 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 27~”, 07/10/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. ~Song Corner~: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Takumi Tsukamoto Vs X
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Trans-Am ★ Ryota Vs Trans-Am ★ Takato & Trans-Am ★ Ika
3. 3 Way Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Daiki Shimomura
4. Fuminori Abe Vs A.YAZAWA
5. Hardcore Tag Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Akane Fujita Vs SAGAT & Jun Masaoka

The first show in BASARA’s October tripleshot is being produced by the promotion’s bar in Shinjuku called Pro Wrestling Clutch. One of the guests on the show is Akane Fujita from Prominence.

BASARA “BASARA 232 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 28~”, 07/10/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine
2. 3 Way Match: SAGAT Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Daiki Shimomura
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Lil’ Kraken Vs Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Fuminori Abe
4. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1B: Isami Kodaka & Gouma Ryu Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
5. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1A: Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Daichi Kazato

The tripleshot also features the first round of this year’s IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT.

BASARA “BASARA 233 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 29~”, 07/10/2023
Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR

1. Isami Kodaka Vs Lil’ Kraken
2. Ryuichi Sekine, Fuminori Abe & Banana Senga Vs Ryota Nakatsu, Daichi Kazato Vs Yasu Urano
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Tsutomu Oosugi
4. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1D: Takumi Tsukamoto & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
5. IRON FIST TAG TOURNAMENT – Round 1C: Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs FUMA & KUBITO

The current Union MAX Champion and IRON FIST Tag Team Champions are facing off in the opening round. IRON PRIEST are former champions too.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”, 09/10/2023
Tokyo Tama Mirai Messe

1. Haru Kazashiro Vs Runa Okubo
2. Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami & HIMAWARI Vs HARUKAZE, Yoshiko Hasegawa & Riara
3. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
4. Aja Kong, Raku & Shino Suzuki Vs Hyper Misao, Wakane Uehara & Toga
5. Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai
6. Sakisama, Mei Saint-Michel, Martha & Yukio Saint Laurent Vs Shoko Nakajima, Suzume, Pom Harajuku & Antonio Honda
7. Special Single Match: Nyla Rose Vs Maki Itoh
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
9. International Princess Title & NWA World Women’s Television Title: Rika Tatsumi (I/c) Vs Max The Impaler (N/c)
10. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

This is the complete card for “WRESTLE PRINCESS IV”. We have the next appearance for NEO Biishiki-gun against a force assembled by Shoko Nakajima. The pairing of Ryo Mizunami & Yuki Aino are back again. Aja Kong gets to reunite with Raku after Raku missed their last scheduled match together due to illness. Moka Miyamoto and Juria Nagano get pitted together for a karate fight. Tokyo Joshi Pro gets to do another inter-promotional match with Ganbare☆Joshi and this time Riara gets to be part of the TJPW experience. Last but not least the two youngest rookies on the roster Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo face each other in the opener.

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023”, 12/11/2023
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Saki Akai Retirement Match: Saki Akai Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Hiromu Takahashi Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Dramatic Dream Match: Chris Jericho Vs KONOSUKE TAKESHITA
4. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) Vs MAO
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) Vs Yuki Ueno

I’m betting that Brookes’ shoulder injury is not bad enough to take him out of “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” where he is advertised to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Yuki Ueno. I’m daring fate here.

Despite losing his big match over the weekend, MAO was still encouraged to go his own direction and make a decision that will be best for himself. That quickly sent him down the road to challenging Matt Cardona for the DDT Universal Title. Of course Steph De Lander will be there too by the champion’s side. Maki Itoh had the right idea to try and incapacitate her in order to beat Cardona. Give MAO that battleplan and he will come up with an even crazier way to get that done.

So yeah, Chris Jericho is going to be on the show fighting Konosuke Takeshita. I didn’t expect that. The AEW feud surrounding Don Callis is going to have a chapter over in DDT where Takeshita is establishing himself back into a face for the home fans. I’m among the critics of Jericho who accuse him of constantly positioning himself into AEW angles that take the spotlight away from people who are getting over. But I’ll give it to him here, it’s paying off with a big match for DDT in Sumo Hall.


DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2023” Results

September 24, 2023

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2023”, 24/09/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
967 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya when Koroku submitted Rukiya with the Triangle Lancer (8:42).
1. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Takeshi Masada when Sasaki pinned Yuni with the Vietnam Driver IV (7:43).
2. Pheromones Final Countdown In Korakuen ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Kazuki “Magnum” Hirata & Naruki Doi and Akito & Antonio “FOXY” Honda when Iino submitted Akito with the Eiffel Tower (7:24).
3. Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya defeated Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi, HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi when Naya pinned Oishi with The World’s Largest Back Drop (13:39).
4. Special Tag Match ~ DDT Vs AJPW: Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima defeated Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura when Ueno pinned Tamura with the BME (10:12).
5. DDT Universal Title: Matt Cardona (c) (w/ Steph De Lander) defeated Maki Itoh by Pinfall (15:03).
*V1 for Matt Cardona.
6. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated MAO with the Wagamama (11:28).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Chris Brookes (c) defeated Saki Akai by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Octopus Stretch (21:00).
*V2 for Chris Brookes.

In the last ten years as a pro wrestler, Saki Akai had never competed for the KO-D Openweight Title before today. With retirement from the business around the corner, Akai was chosen by Chris Brookes to be his next challenger so they could have a rematch of their 2021 bout at Korakuen Hall, this time in front of an audience. Akai went into the match determined to show this opportunity was earned and wasn’t given to her out of charity. She fired with a Big Boot from the beginning but Brookes quickly turned things around by doing a Death Valley Bomb on the ring apron. The challenger had to pull out some deep moves to fight back, including her old Riemann Galaxy submission as well as the Takatonic. The two wrestlers found themselves fighting on the top rope where Akai dropped Brookes with the Avalanche Quetzalcoatl. However Akai wasn’t able to pin him afterwards, giving Brookes valuable recovery time. Brookes powered out of a Triangle Choke but was given the regular version of the Quetzalcoatl. To Akai’s surprise it only got a two count, marking it one of the rare times when her finisher did not end her opponent. Brookes fought back with a Piledriver, Double Knee Drop, Buzzsaw Kicks and the Praying Mantis Bomb but Akai kicked out of all of them. Brookes had to twist and pull Akai apart with the Octopus Stretch until Yukinori Matsui called for the match to end.

After the match Brookes reminded the fans he will face Akai again on 30th September, this time with the roles reversed because Eruption are defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles against CDK & Mei Suruga. He thanked Akai for doing her best and asked her to continue doing so until her retirement because we only live once. Brookes next wanted to talk about his next KO-D Title defence at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” on 12th November. Yuki Ueno walked out to the ring and appealed for the title shot. Brookes accepted and the two talked about being close friends for the last four years even though they hang out in seperate units. He wants the best challenger at the biggest stage so he’s fighting Ueno at Sumo Hall! Backstage Akai spoke about the pressure and responsibility she felt going into today’s main event. She is going to fight for herself as well as for everyone who supports her starting with the KO-D 6-Man Tag Title match taking place in Kyoto. She wants to pin Brookes in her hometown to clear up her regrets from today!

It turned out Konosuke Takeshita did not come back to DDT alone this time around. Midway during Takeshita’s match with MAO, his manager Don Callis walked down to ringside. MAO was taken aback by his appearance but kept his focus on the match. He tried to go big with the Avalanche Michinoku Driver but Takeshita blocked the move and turned it into an Avalanche Driver of his own. MAO tried to turn things around with a Palm Strike but Takeshita worn him down with Jumping Knee Strikes and the Zahi to get the win. Despite the recent differences between the two, Takeshita encouraged MAO after the match to take his own path because he is proving his style of pro wrestling can be successful around the world. They both joined DDT as teenagers and they are already in their late twenties so Takeshita thinks it is time for MAO to make decisions for himself.

Takeshita then introduced the DDT audience to Don Callis and spoke about how much they get booed in America. He said the Don Callis Family is only getting started so the entire pro wrestling world should pay attention to them from this point forward. Takeshita revealed his next appearance in DDT will be at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2023” where he would like to make everyone dream again. Suddenly the lights in the room went out and a video played on the screen. The video is sent by Chris Jericho and he is challenging Takeshita to a singles match at Sumo Hall! Jericho listed all of the Japanese wrestling legends he has fought over the years and swore to get revenge on Takeshita for his recent attacks over in AEW. Takeshita agreed to the match, calling it a “dramatic dream” to defeat him in a DDT ring. He promised to destroy everything about Jericho from “Lionheart” to “Y2J” to “The Painmaker”!

The GCW feud between Deathmatch Royalty and Maki Death Kill made its way over to Japan when Matt Cardona put the DDT Universal Title on the line against Maki Itoh. The champion was accompanied by Steph De Lander while Itoh went into the match alone. She had a plan to battle the number disadvantage though. Cardona made a big mistake by giving Itoh a Low Blow and being confused when it didn’t effect her. He then accidentally knocked out the referee Matsui with a missed Clothesline. Itoh’s plan came into play when she ducked De Lander’s attack with the title belt causing Cardona to get hit instead. Itoh took out a trolley at ringside, taped De Lander to it and pushed her away from ringside. She then took out a pizza cutter back in the ring and sliced Cardona’s forehead open with it! However De Lander freed herself from the trolley, returned to the ring with a chair and dropped Itoh onto it with a Modified Facebuster. Cardona pinned Itoh while De Lander revived Matsui so he could count to three.

Backstage Cardona complained about his match not being in the main event while De Lander said she wants DDT to put her in a match against Itoh the next time she shows up here. Itoh regretted not using more tape on De Lander. She knows this feud isn’t finished and there will be more matches against them when she goes back to America. She will chase after Cardona & De Lander to the depths of Hell in order to beat them one more time! Meanwhile MAO made the decision to challenge Cardona for the Universal Title at Sumo Hall. His thought process is if he can beat the indie wrestling god then he can become a puroresu god! Cardona accepted his challenge with a handshake but then attacked MAO with a belt strike from behind. When MAO recovered he warned Cardona that he just pulled out the Joker card.

The new DDT Vs All Japan rivalry continued with AJPW sending over Atsuki Aoyagi & Dan Tamura to take on The 37KAMIINA. The visitors entered the ring wearing sauna caps and then paired off against their opponents. Toy Kojima spent a lot of time fighting Aoyagi while Ueno went back and forth against Tamura. Ueno scored the win for the home team by pinned Tamura with the BME. He called the match fun and praised All Japan for being bright, intense and fun in a way that feels similar to The 37KAMIINA. Kojima then stole the All Japan team’s sauna cap and dared them to try and take it back. Aoyagi mentioned he will be wrestling MAO in AJPW on 5th October so his fight against The 37KAMIINA isn’t done yet.

Yuji Hino finished up his run with DDT by getting HARASHIMA & Yukio Sakaguchi to wrestle in Ω shirts. Makoto Oishi had his cane taken by Jun Akiyama while HARASHIMA went toe to toe with Tetsuya Endo. It wouldn’t have been Hino’s last match with DDT if he didn’t get into a chop battle with Kazusada Higuchi so one went down here. In the end though it was Yukio Naya who won the match for his team by pinning Oishi with The World’s Largest Back Drop. Hino thanked all the wrestlers after the match. He told the fans not to be said because today does not mean Hino will never wrestle in DDT again. He spoke about his children and how it is up to parents to protect their children. Backstage Hino said his wrestling future will be with Yasu Urano because apparently Urano is his mentor, not TAKA Michinoku. Oishi called him out for lying. Naya said the next time Hino will wrestle him will be when he is the KO-D Champion. Naya will even pick Hino as his first challenger.

A threat loomed over the 3 Way Tag Match when Danshoku Dieno announced that somebody among the other two teams was a traitor! Much to Akito and Naruki Doi’s horror it was gradually revealed that Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda were wearing O-backs, which means they are both with Pheromones! From there Yuki Iino, Dieno, Kazuki “Magnum” Hirata & Antonio “FOXY” Honda all joined forces to defeat Akito, giving Pheromones the victory. The effect on Hirata and Honda is only temporary but Dieno explained afterwards that even when Pheromones dies, it will never die!

Daisuke Sasaki unleashed a fourth version of the Vietnam Driver to win the opening match for DAMNATION T.A. While their match was against Hideki Okatani, Yuni & Takeshi Masada there were more people for them to fight when ROMANCE DAWN appeared. Shota & Soma Takao started a brawl at ringside when they stopped Minoru Fujita from interfering. KANON went over to help Fujita fight them while MJ Paul was there to stop anybody from breaking up Sasaki’s pin.

There was a Dark Match where Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya. The rookies team showed teamwork when Sumi Dropkicked Koroku into a Backslide Pin from Rukiya for a nearfall. Koroku took control by grabbing Rukiya’s arm and eventually grinded him into submission.

Before the main show began there was a contract signing for the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on 4th October. ROMANCE DAWN talked about how long they have known each other and their excitement of fighting for the championship together. Fujita didn’t find their story interesting while KANON started acting erraticly. He started crying at one point and then switched to shouting at people before excitedly posing for the group photo.


Video – DAMNHEARTS Vs Eruption For The KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles

September 22, 2023


DDT “DDT TV SHOW! #7”, 20/06/2020
Shinjuku FACE
127 Fans – Super No Vacancy

KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, T-Hawk & El Lindaman (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai