DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” Preview

November 3, 2025

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)

I waited way too long to get this done in time. So long that I’m too tired to write up a proper introduction. It’s DDT back at Sumo Hall. There you go, I’m off to bed.


1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai

Welcome back, boss. Things just haven’t been the same without you. This year has felt like Sanshiro Takagi’s influence around DDT as a whole wasn’t entirely there, and for good reason. He had taken a leave of absence as a wrestler July 2024 to focus on his behind the scenes role with CyberFight while also taking better care of his health. He kept it quiet until announcing his return but the health problem he had was angina. He still found ways to stay busy in the public eye because 2025 is his 30th year in wrestling. He celebrated it by launching more DDT spin off brands, the first being MatchMake & Agent which was then turned into Super Japan, an alternate look of the company if it went by that name instead of DDT. These shows captured the island of misfit toys vibe from DDT’s past that just doesn’t exist today while also giving Takagi some sneaky ways to get physical again on his journey back to the ring.

For his return match, Takagi has put himself in the opening bout of the show. His logic is the first match on the card is the second most important match after the main event because it sets the stage for the rest of the show. He needed the right opponent, someone he has never fought before yet still have some sort of connection with so fans will care. Luckily he has just the rookie to fit that bill. Earlier this year one of DDT’s new rookies drew some attention by revealing his name is Hinata Kasai, the son of Jun Kasai! He made the decision to follow in his father’s footsteps and was guided towards joining DDT to become a pro wrestler. So far his skills in the ring aren’t anything to write home about but he got the crowd on his side from the get go and is able to draw sympathy from getting beaten down. He’s looking forward to his Sumo Hall debut and thinks he will make easy work of Takagi. He shouldn’t be underestimating him like that. After all, Takagi was the man who once flushed Hinata’s father fully down the toilet during a Falls Count Anywhere match inside this very building!


2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya

Not much to write about for this match. The highlight of HARASHIMA’s 2025 was getting to share the ring with Hiroshi Tanahashi again and fully patch over an unpleasant memory from ten years ago. Toru Owashi was around to see his little friend win DDT’s biggest championship and Naomi Yoshimura is rightfully taking his time with getting comfortable in the ring again coming back from injury. Soma Takao still exists to shill the Dropkick Bar while I guess Shinichiro Kawamatsu will continue getting booked so he can do the Axe Bomber in tribute to the late Hulk Hogan. Back in August, Rukiya was able to wrestle matches again after spending over a year on the shelf with a cervical sprain. Given how short his career has been so far, having to start all over again from scratch isn’t as much of a setback as it sounds in his case. He is catching up to the other wrestlers in the D GENERATIONS class and knock on wood should get a moment in the spotlight next year much like the others have gotten in 2025.


3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori

The leader of DAMNATION T.A has a big match later down the card so the rest of the unit are stuck in an 8-Man Tag. Hideki Okatani came back from injury during the first quarter of the year with a chip on his shoulder and immediately joined DAMNATION T.A so he can get violent about it. MJ Paul continues to be around as the low card heavy muscle while the unit now has the grimy luchador Demus reuniting with them for a while (I heard a rumour he was minding an egg back in Mexico). Ilusion has gotten a lot of screen time this year by getting to speak on the microphone while everybody else in the unit just stands around brooding and being quiet. They were also fine with him carrying all of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title belts whenever they held those titles. Sometimes it pays off to be the little shit of the group.

Facing them are a bunch of wrestlers from DDT’s current young generation. Although they do not have an official unit affiliation, DDT has collectively branded them the D GENERATIONS and they’ve gotten to run their own shows under the name throughout the year. Daichi Sato is the teenage heavyweight that joined DDT from HEAT-UP during the Springtime. The ways things are going for him so far are looking promising and he is already winning matches against other undercard wrestlers. Yuki Ishida can’t help but feel he is the weakest member of Harimao and is trying to fight through that mental block. Kazuma Sumi has been figuring out his place on the roster as the speedy high flyer. MIKAMI’s guidance has inspired him to use the 619 as a set up for the School Boy as an effective way to win matches. The odd one out is Kumadori who only wrestles a handful of matches due to his commitment with the O-MENZ dance group. He has the athleticism to become a good wrestler but I don’t know long he wants to do this for.


4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda

It’s fitting that Halloween just passed because lately To-y has had the enthusiasm of a kid running around playing with fireworks. His run as the DDT Extreme Champion for the second half of the year has been spent finding ways to build up his online presence with match gimmicks built around social media impressions and streamer behavior. To prove he is the modern champion that the title deserves, he wanted his match at Sumo Hall to be against someone from the older generation who most represents DDT’s brand of Extreme wrestling. He didn’t expect there would be a lot of options.

The first person to answer the call was Akito but pretty soon after that Super Sasadango Machine and Kazuki Hirata put out messages on social media demanding to be added as well. Antonio Honda then joined in and at least had the good manners to tell everyone in person at a DDT show. Now all that was left to do is to pick a match stipulation. To-y has gotten into gambling recently so rather than pick the match as he would be expected to as champion, he held played a dice game called Chinchiro with everyone. Sasadango ended up winning and announced the 5 Way will be a Blindfold Death Match! Being blindfolded means everyone’s training will be for nothing if they cannot see while Sasadango never trains anyway so all of his opponents are now on his level. To-y is willing to bet that he can see through his heart and prove he deserves the Extreme Title more than anyone else!


5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku

The original point of “ULTIMATE PARTY” was to get all of the different promotions connected to DDT involved on the card. It’s not really about that anymore but at least we get to enjoy a DDT Vs NOAH 6-Man Tag match. Shinya Aoki isn’t causing a stir this time around by challenging Kenoh for matches that don’t exist like he did last time. Yuya Koroku is working hard but seems kind of aimless when he isn’t part of a title program. Jun Akiyama is there as a link between both companies. Same with Tetsuya Endo and we’ll likely find out in two months if his excursion will become permanent or not. He played his part in the TEAM 2000X story this year so I don’t know what is left in store for him over there as things currently stand. HAYATA has had the latest season of “MONDAY MAGIC” built around him as the GHC Hardcore Openweight Champion. While I had been following that series, I don’t watch enough of normal NOAH to know what Junta Miyawaki has been up to. As far as I know the only NOAH storylines going on is somebody joins TEAM 2000X, NOSAWA Rongai books something random or somebody gets mad at Naomichi Marufuji and burns a bridge.


6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA

Breath a sigh of relief because the original plan for this match was going to be very different. DDT had wanted to do Danshoku Dieno against Daisuke Sasaki in a rematch of the infamous “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” main event where Dieno wrestled part of the bout completely butt fucking naked. Dieno had just gotten out of surgery from acute appendicitis and claimed to have had every last drop of toxicity taken out of his body so this match was going to be the most clean match ever. Sadly for Dieno he developed an intra-abdominal abscess after his surgery and is unable to wrestle for the time being. So that’s him off the Sumo Hall card and Sasaki is now in need of a new opponent.

DDT then decided to go in a completely different direction for the replacement match. Sasaki is now going to face AMAKUSA, the junior heavyweight missionary from NOAH. On the surface this looks like a random pairing but if you delve into the history of both wrestlers you will see they are closely linked. For you see, AMAKUSA is the former Yuki Sato and he debuted in the same SUPER CREW class as Sasaki that was mentored by Dick Togo. Not only that but the two of them faced each other in their debut match! Sasaki was the winner and they would continue to cross each other’s paths for many years until Sato disappeared from the wrestling scene in 2019. That was around the time when Sato joined NOAH under the name Hao and then a few years later transformed into AMAKUSA. His current persona has no memory of ever knowing Sasaki and believes this match will be their first time meeting each other.


7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu

A match of truly heavyweight proportions coming from all sides. Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya have become a united force known as The Apex and are currently the tag team to beat in DDT. They won the KO-D Tag Team Titles from Astronauts back in June and have had five successful defences so far against teams of all sizes. However it seems like if there is a team out there that are capable of beating them, it must be a pair of heavyweights. The Strange Love Connection believe they are that team of heavyweights. KANON has blown up in size over the last year and now weighs around 103kg while MAO is claiming he has also bulked up to about 100kg thanks to his square-shaped lifestyle. Meanwhile the only heavy hitting that KIMIHIRO can do is entrance introductions and victory speeches because SLC’s microphone work without him always fall apart.

Just when the match was ready to be booked for Sumo Hall, a third team entered into the picture. Team 200kg from Sendai Girls sent in a video demanding that they be the ones to get a title shot because Chihiro Hashimoto has unfinished business with Iino. The two had clashed several times back when ALL OUT and Sendai Girls feuded in 2019 and Hashimoto had her hand raised in victory in most of those battles. Simply the thought of Hashimoto being nearby has now driven Iino to lose his temper and go searching for her around venues so they can fight again. While all of that is going on, the soon to retire Yuu wants to test her might against Naya thinking she will be too much for him to handle. The solution to this three way dilemma is to make the match Survival rules so the last team standing gets to keep the belts for themselves. MAO promises a match chaotic enough to destroy Sumo Hall itself, although he wants it to only reach the level where SLC destroy their opponents instead.


8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes

Oh the bittersweet memories of BritWres at its peak. It is what helped get these two to where they are today yet getting out of it at the time they did was probably the smartest decisions they ever made. It sent Zack Sabre Jr. on a journey all the way to the top of New Japan. It also showed the world that Chris Brookes was the perfect fit for DDT as he became that company’s top wrestler too. They were able to reunite here and there in Japan over the last couple of years. There were a few DDT appearances for Sabre and also some sneaky cameos on a couple of Baka Gaijin + Friends related events. But a singles match between the two hasn’t happened since 2017 over on the other side of the world.

Since this is happening on a DDT show you can expect the early part of the match to be a bit relaxed and light hearted. Maybe Brookes will do the rubber band spot. I bet Sabre remembers the days of Brian Conley punching his sidekick and telling the audience “It’s just a puppet!” so he can use Bunbun to recreate that gag and have it fly over the entire audience. Once they get all of that stuff out of the way then they can show us what can happen when things get heated in the ring between close friends. Anyone wanting this to be a proper technical masterclass should probably wait for Sabre’s match with KEITA in THE House to take place and hope that makes tape.


9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada

Want to see what happens when the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion works more shows for DDT than New Japan in the month of November? Hey, I’m not going to complain about it. Konosuke Takeshita made his dramatic dream come true this year by winning the G1 Climax and then the IWGP Title. He is coming fresh off of a successful title defence against Hirooki Goto as well. DDT are capitalizing on this by having him team up with their newest draw, Kaisei Takechi. The handsome entertainer has now joined DDT to wrestle for them on a more regular basis and recently won his first championship, the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles. Given how important this match is meant to be, Takeshita wanted Kazusada Higuchi to be one of their opponents. He still considers his match with Higuchi from September 2022 as one of his favorites. Takechi then decided he should pick Higuchi’s partner and chose Takeshi Masada because Masada was part of his debut match. It gives Takechi the chance to find out just how much he has grown against someone who can likely become a career long rival.

I’m excited to see Takeshita and Higuchi face off again after so long. DDT’s main event storytelling kind of pulled the rug from under Higuchi this summer as his King Of DDT victory and two month reign on top was brushed aside for a different direction. It probably isn’t something to worry about because as long as he stay healthy he will always be someone they can rely on, maybe not on the level as HARASHIMA but you can count on him staying loyal to them. Masada has become more comfortable as a wrestler by being part of SCHADENFREUDE International. He doesn’t have to worry about being the supernova rookie as first advertised but I hope he doesn’t lose his ambition as time goes by. He had a little taste of New Japan before on a dark match but that was pretty much played for laughs at the time because he had the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Maybe seeing Takeshita with the IWGP Title up close can stoke the flames a bit more for him.


10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)

This entire situation was all Yuki Ueno’s fault and he’s opened the door to making it worse. Back in January Ueno won the DDT Universal Title from Gringo Loco and came up with a grand plan to increase the championship’s value without needing to travel around the world. A couple of months earlier Ueno fought Minoru Suzuki in a tag match that ended in a draw. He wanted to face him again so what better way to lure the “Pirate King” back to DDT than to wave some treasure around to get his attention. A title match was put together at “JUDGEMENT 2025” and Ueno proceeded to balls it all up by losing to Suzuki. So after years of one-off appearances in DDT where Suzuki only showed up to torture Sanshiro Takagi, he had now become one of their champions and decided to stick around to wreck anyone else who dared challenge him. Various challengers of all shapes and sizes stepped up to him just to fall at his feet one after the other. With every victory Suzuki felt more at home in DDT until eventually the time came for him to start looking for the one prize in DDT that is worth even more than the Universal Title.

Ueno was left to regret his decision to bring Suzuki into DDT this way but he got over it in order to come up with another plan to raise his company’s profile. One day he would like to fight Konosuke Takeshita once more and he wants it to happen when both of them are at the height of their powers. Takeshita had the G1 win and later the IWGP Title so Ueno set forth to win back the KO-D Openweight Title. He achieved that at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” in August then suffered another massive blunder when Kazuki Hirata of all people won the belt off him thanks to an impeccably timed Right To Challenge cash in. Ueno got revenge for that one month later with his own deviously planned RTC cash in and now with the belt back around his waist he is ready to lead DDT again. That is until Suzuki showed up wanting to challenge Ueno for the title in order to dominate DDT once and for all. Ueno saw this as his chance to redeem himself by getting Suzuki to put the Universal Title on the line too so we are now going Title Vs Title at Sumo Hall.

While the fate of DDT’s two main championships hang in the balance for the main event, there is not much actual hatred shared between Ueno and Suzuki. Ueno respects Suzuki for the freedom he has achieved as a pro wrestler and how it strengthens him. It inspires Ueno to believe in his own ideas to become stronger. Meanwhile Suzuki is enjoying the time he has spent conquering DDT this year, describing the experience as a new beginning for him. As we’ve seen over the last two decades, Suzuki likes to make himself at home in a company for a couple of years before eventually jumping over to another for a while and then again onto the next place. With that being said, he still took the opportunity at a press conference to attack Ueno in an attempt to injure him before their match. Even if he likes fighting the guy, he’s going to remind Ueno that pro wrestling should be a ruthless business.


Video – Ueno Vs Suzuki For DDT Universal Title

October 31, 2025


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2025 ~28TH ANNIVERSARY 5 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 20/03/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

9. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Minoru Suzuki


Ultimate Party Press Conference, Dieno Pulled From Show, Baka Gaijin Mask Vs Mask

October 30, 2025

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Soma Takao, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Rukiya
3. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul, Demus & Ilusion Vs Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori
4. DDT Extreme Title – 5 Way Blindfold Death Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki Vs Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs AMAKUSA
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Survival 3 Way Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Chihiro Hashimoto & Yuu
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
9. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada
10. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)

There was a press conference held in Tokyo today where wrestlers from the three title matches all gave comments and interacted with their opponents. Minoru Suzuki told reporters that he feels like he is finally reaching the pinnacle of DDT and wants to enjoy the experience because it feels like a new beginning for him. Yuki Ueno said the strongest wrestlers in the world are those who live their lives the way they want and Suzuki does that the most. Ueno wants to live freely like he does and believes taking the DDT Universal Title from him while also protecting the KO-D Openweight Title will help him move towards his goal. But after their interviews were over, the two had a staredown and Suzuki attacked Ueno with a chair! He targeted Ueno’s leg and grabbed the limb in a Heel Hold until the two were pulled apart from each other.

A scheduling conflict meant Team 200kg could not attend the press conference but they sent a message to be read out to the other wrestlers in the KO-D Tag Team Titles 3 Way Match. Chihiro Hashimoto wants Yuki Iino to remember all of the times she Suplexed him around the ring while Yuu warns Yukio Naya that she will come flying out of the sky and flatten him! Iino lost his temper and wanted to go searching for Hashimoto until the others all calmed him down. KANON said he and MAO haven’t won the tag titles together yet so he wants to get the belts and raise the status of Strange Love Connection. MAO also talked about how much KANON has grown ever since he was kicked out of DAMNATION T.A. MAO also wants the match to be so intense it will destroy the ring and make things difficult for everyone wrestling after them. He isn’t trying to destroy Sumo Hall itself though, just cause enough mayhem to beat The Apex and Team 200kg.

During his DDT Extreme Title reign To-y has been establishing himself as a gambler so he wanted to gamble the right to choose the match stipulation with his four opponents. They all played a game of Chinchiro and Super Sasadango Machine ended up being the winner. He decided to pick a stipulation that will remove everyone’s eyesight so the 5 Way will now be a Blindfold Death Match! He explained how important eyesight is for wrestlers and how if you take that away, all of their training will go to waste. Sasadango however never trains so wrestling blind isn’t going to make a difference to him as far as he’s concerned. Everyone else though will be dragged down to his level. Akito said the match will prove who truly deserves the Extreme Title the most. Kazuki Hirata doesn’t mind because he still gets to bully To-y and possibly be rewarded for it. Antonio Honda is excited because he has the most experience out of all of them when it comes to wrestling blindfolded and has the advantage of being a pioneer with the gimmick. To-y believes even when blind he sees everything with his heart so he is going to show the old timers what a modern Extreme Champion is like!

So it turns out Danshoku Dieno isn’t ready yet to return to the ring. After he got surgery for acute appendicitis, he ended up developing an intra-abdominal abscess that will take some time for him to recover from. His match with Daisuke Sasaki has been cancelled and DDT went to find a new opponent for Sasaki. They went with AMAKUSA from NOAH, which is a fitting decision because he and Sasaki were each other’s opponents in their debut match just a little over 20 years ago! The wrestler once known as Yuki Sato went through a couple of reinventions over the years before becoming the Jr. Heavyweight missionary you see in NOAH today. He has no memory of his time spent with Sasaki back in SUPER CREW so it will be like they are facing each other for the very first time all over again.

DDT “RYOGOKU AFTER ~IT’S A WONDERFUL BATTLE~”, 06/11/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Antonio Honda

Both Minoru Suzuki and Kumadori will be at the show along with Demus.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’25”, 09/11/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 4 Way Tag Match: Mizuki & Suzume Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
2. Rika Tatsumi, Kira Summer, Chika Nanase & Ren Konatsu Vs Hyper Misao, Kakeru Sekiguchi, Mahiro Kiryu & Mifu Ashida
3. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Yuki Arai Vs Yuna Manase & Toga
4. MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Viva Van
5. International Princess Title: Arisu Endo (c) Vs Uta Takami
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs HIMAWARI & Shino Suzuki
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs J-Rod

We recently got the announcement of show dates for next year’s Max Heart Tournament so maybe some of the teams seen on the card here will be entering it come January.

Kakeru Sekiguchi returns to Tokyo Joshi Pro for the first time in a while and she gets to be on the same team as Mahiro Kiryu again.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 26: WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER?”, 02/12/2025
Shinjuku FACE

1. BK-G Openweight Title – Mascara Contra Mascara: Mr. Malo (c) Vs Mr. Bueno

A big match announcement was missed on the stream of the most recent Baka Gaijin + Friends show. Their 3rd Anniversary event is being held in Shinjuku FACE so a big match is needed, one with something that you don’t usually see in Baka Gaijin… Consequences! Mr. Malo will finally defend the BK-G Openweight Title against his complete opposite Mr. Bueno but the loser will also be unmasked!


LEVEL UP TRIAL, Ueno Vs Suzuki Set For Ryogoku, Urano’s 25th Anniversary

September 30, 2025

BASARA “BASARA 289 ~UTAGE AKA – HIEN~”, 02/10/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. 3 Way Match: SAGAT Vs Banana Senga Vs Ryuma Sekimo
2. IRON FIST Tag Tournament – B Block Round 1B: Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine & FUMA
3. IRON FIST Tag Tournament – A Block Round 1A: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Daichi Kazato
4. IRON FIST Tag Tournament – B Block Round 1A: Daiki Shimomura & Lil’ Kraken Vs Kyu Mogami & Naka Shuma
5. IRON FIST Tag Tournament – A Block Round 1B: Takeru Inoue & Tomoki Hatano Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

I only noticed now that BASARA originally got the brackets wrong when they posted the 1st Round matches. They should be correct now.

DDT “NARAHA TOWN COME ON! ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN ASAKUSA”, 04/10/2025
Tokyo Asakusa Broadway Shopping Arcade

1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya

It is now three years since To-y became an unofficial immigration ambassador for Naraha Town. He is still in an incredible amount of debt to the area that is nowhere near close to being paid off so he is eager to promote the place as hard as he can which includes getting DDT to hold Falls Count Anywhere matches over there every once in a while. Naraha’s mascot Yuzutaro will be in attendance, partially because he is To-y’s debt collector.

DDT “ECHIGO CHIN CRUSHER”, 05/10/2025
Niigata Higashi Ward Plaza

1. Yukio Naya, Akito & Hinata Kasai Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul
2. Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata
3. Yuki Ueno & Kazuma Sumi Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
5. Special Single Match: To-y Vs Ilusion
6. Special Tag Match: Super Sasadango Machine & Danshoku Dieno Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO)

A rematch between To-y and Ilusion is set for Niigata but this time the DDT Extreme Title is not on the line. It’s only going to be a singles match so there’s no streamer nonsense for either of them to worry about.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ADDITIONAL ATTACK ’25”, 18/10/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 5 Way Match: Raku Vs Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Suzume Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Mifu Ashida & Ren Konatsu Vs Kira Summer & Chika Nanase
3. LEVEL UP TRIAL Best Of 3 – Match 1: Shoko Nakajima Vs Uta Takami
4. LEVEL UP TRIAL Best Of 3 – Match 2: Mizuki Vs Haru Kazashiro
5. LEVEL UP TRIAL Best Of 3 – Match 3: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shino Suzuki
6. First One-On-One: Yuki Arai Vs Hyper Misao
7. International Princess Title: Arisu Endo (c) Vs Alice Crowley
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Yuna Manase & Toga
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Aino

The next big arena supercard show scheduled for Tokyo Joshi Pro will be over at Sumo Hall in March. The promotion wants its locker room to to start preparing for it straight away so they’ve come up with a “LEVEL UP TRIAL” for three of the lesser experienced wrestlers. Shino Suzuki, Haru Kazashiro and Uta Takami have been tasked with taking on Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki and Shoko Nakajima respectively in three singles matches. The goal of this challenge is for the younger side to win two of them.

The 5 Way Match will have special rules applied but they haven’t been decided on yet. It will like become an Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title match too if Mahiro Kiryu is still the champion on the day of the show.

Rika Tatsumi and HIMAWARI won’t be at the show because they will be wrestling each other over in China that day instead.

DDT “WRESTLING HARVEST ~UNDER THE RED SKY~”, 19/10/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Naomi Yoshimura & Soma Takao Vs Munetatsu Nakamura & Hinata Kasai
2. Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Daichi Sato & Rukiya
3. Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada Vs Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito
4. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON, Kazuma Sumi & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi (c) Vs Minoru Suzuki, HARASHIMA & Yuya Koroku

DDT held a press conference today to announce the upcoming title matches involving Yuki Ueno and Minoru Suzuki. Yes there’s more than one because it turns out Ueno’s fun idea for his first KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence is to nominate Suzuki as one of the challengers! Kaisei Takechi is just as excited by the idea because as a pro wrestler he wants to overcome all kinds of threats no matter how scary they can be. To-y feels like he has no choice but to fight Suzuki too. Suzuki first said he could fight all three champions by himself but Hisaya Imabayashi told him that wouldn’t be possible. Suzuki then asked if he could invite wrestlers like Lance Archer or Chris Jericho to team with him? Imabayashi couldn’t find an answer but Suzuki understood that would be too difficult to set up on short notice. Imabayashi decided he will choose who Suzuki will team up with, eventually picking HARASHIMA & Yuya Koroku to be on Suzuki’s team.

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku Vs Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki
3. DDT Extreme Title – 3 Way Match: To-y (c) Vs Akito Vs Super Sasadango Machine
4. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs X & X
5. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
6. KO-D Openweight Title & DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (K/c) Vs Minoru Suzuki (U/c)

Double title matches aren’t anything new in pro wrestling lately. In fact they’ve kind of become a bit too common. At least here it will be the first time the KO-D Openweight Title and DDT Universal Title will both be on the line in the same match. This whole thing started with Ueno luring Suzuki to DDT by using the Universal Title only to lose it to him. At the press conference, Suzuki even blamed Ueno for thinking he could beat him with just youth and momentum. He came to DDT to become a dominant champion and now that he sees Ueno with the KO-D Title he is coming to take that too. Ueno admits that this match was always his plan to get revenge on Suzuki. He felt the best way to get the rematch was to win DDT’s most important title and put it on the line against him. With that said, Ueno can’t find it in himself to hate Suzuki. He also said if he loses this match he will never challenge Suzuki again. Suzuki then started pretending he was a reporter for “Weekly Piledriver” and asked Ueno questions about why he wanted this match so badly so Ueno then did the same to him as a “Weekly Sauna Kamiina” reporter. Eventually the two almost got into a fight over the belts and had to be seperated.

“YASU URANO 25TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 16/11/2025
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Yasu Urano Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi

We’ve had twenty five years of the bandana boy Yasu Urano bouncing around the Japanese indies. DDT was his home for a lot of that period but he’s been a freelancer for a long time now with BASARA being one of his regular spots. Urano is putting together his own show to celebrate his anniversary but BASARA have been promoting it pretty strongly so for all intents and purposes I’m lumping the show in the BASARA category on this site.

Urano has picked Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi to be his opponent but several other wrestlers have already been booked for the show. They are Minoru Fujita, HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Daisuke Sasaki and Fuminori Abe with more to come.


DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~” Results

September 28, 2025

DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 28/09/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Dark Match: Soma Takao & Rukiya defeated Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai when Rukiya pinned Kasai with the Proto Bomb (4:47).
1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Yuya Koroku with a Triangle Lancer Counter (8:04).
2. Survival 3 Way Tag Match: Akito & Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya and MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) (8:32).
2a. MAO & KANON eliminated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when MAO pinned Naya with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (6:55).
*MAO wins Yukio Naya’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
2b. Akito & Kazuma Sumi eliminated MAO & KANON when Sumi pinned MAO with the School Boy (8:32).
*Kazuma Sumi wins MAO’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida defeated Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Diego when Ishida pinned Honda with the Flame Palm (11:20).
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with a Jackknife Pin (0:08).
4a. Rematch: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with the Somato (5:43).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi defeated Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion when Takechi pinned Ilusion with a Swan Dive Forearm (18:47).
*Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi become the 59th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated Takeshi Masada with the Sleeper Hold (13:06).
*V5 for Minoru Suzuki.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) defeated Yoshihiko with an Avalanche Rolling Power Bomb (15:42).
*V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with the WR (6:47).
*Kazuki Hirata fails in V3. Yuki Ueno cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover. Yuki Ueno becomes the 88th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Kazuma Sumi with the WR (12:02).
*V1 for Yuki Ueno. Kazuma Sumi cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.

From this point on no matter what happens with DDT, we will always have the September of Kazuki Hirata. He had it all going for him today. He was headlining a packed Korakuen Hall show in a KO-D Openweight Title defence against his most unique rival Yoshihiko. The battle doll used multiple German Suplexes to throw the champion around and also strategically targeted his arm with submissions. But Hirata held on and started using Power Bombs to beat Yoshihiko to a pulp, putting an end to the match with a Somersault Power Bomb from the top rope as some over the top tribute to the Kobe World Liner spot. Things could not have been going better for our good pal Hirata. Yoshihiko even applauded his victory and brought a gift to congratulate Hirata on his victory.

Hirata was handed over a cardboard box and inside it was a special bag made out of Haribo packaging. Hirata grabbed a bag inside a pulled it out, slowly revealing the Blue Right To Challenge Arm Cover was attached to it. As Hirata started to realize what was happening, behind him the black shadow that normally accompanies Yoshihiko placed the doll out of the ring and unmasked himself to reveal it was Yuki Ueno and this was him cashing in his title shot! Ueno grabbed Hirata in a Sleeper Hold and then confirmed he was getting his title match right now. Hirata did his best to survive and was able to kick out of Ueno’s moves. He also pulled out the Miracle One Shot Cradle but this time Ueno kicked out of it. Hirata tried using the move again and again but each repeated use became less effective until he reached the point of exhaustion. Ueno held up Hirata in something of a hug before using the WR to pin him and win back the KO-D Title.

And yet it didn’t end there. While Ueno and Hirata were patching things over, Kazuma Sumi suddenly ran down to the ring and launched a Missile Dropkick towards Ueno. He was armed with the last remaining Right To Challenge sleeve and was cashing it in so everyone in attendance was getting a second bonus KO-D Title match! Sumi came close to winning with a Canadian Destroyer followed by the School Boy. He also used an Imploding 450 Splash but Ueno kicked out of that too. Ueno halted Sumi’s drive with Dropkicks to the face along with the Himawari Bomb. It took the WR for him to put Sumi away and already score his first title defence right after he just won the belt. Ueno said this match made him feel just as happy as any of the other opponents he has defended the KO-D Title against in the past. Sumi explained it’s been three years since he debuted and he always wants to immediately take any opportunity that presents itself. So today his body felt like it moved on its own and he poured everything he had into this chance to become the champion.

So that’s it for this year’s Right To Challenge series. All four arm sleeves have been used and in the end Ueno is the last man standing with the KO-D Title. However a new challenger did make himself known. Minoru Suzuki entered the ring carrying the DDT Universal Title. He doesn’t have any automatic title shots but he still wants to take the KO-D Title for himself! Ueno told him this must be a coincidence going on because he also wants to take back the Universal Title from Suzuki! The two talked about having a match straight away until Hisaya Imabayashi interrupted them. The GM told them the show was running out of time but if they really want to do this match then it should be a double title bout at Sumo Hall on 3rd November! Suzuki gave a warning that he is close to completely dominating DDT. Ueno spoke about his mistake of inviting Suzuki to DDT in the first place and ever since then one of his goals has been to avenge that loss. He’ll make sure Suzuki won’t dominate DDT and will be driven out empty handed.

Suzuki’s path of domination through DDT happened in the semi-main event (which at this point was now three matches ago) when he put Takeshi Masada through misery. Suzuki brushed off the challenger’s early attacks and knocked him dizzy with a steel post attack outside the ring. He also attacked Masada with chairs and even a wrench before Masada made a comeback which included using moves from the other members of SCHADENFREUDE International. However Suzuki grabbed him in a Sleeper Hold to drain the energy out of his opponent until Masada gave up. Suzuki added insult to injury after the match by telling Masada he better put his life on the line if he’s ever going to pick a fight with him. A beaten Masada tried to get back at Suzuki but got another Elbow Strike for his troubles before being taken away. Suzuki explained backstage that he cannot be beaten with just brute force alone. You need to put your soul on the line from the moment you step into the ring, just like he does. Meanwhile Masada said he isn’t giving up and will definitely have another go at Suzuki.

The rise of “The Rampage” continues although he picked up some more noticeable bumps and bruises along the way. Today Kaisei Takechi has won his first pro wrestling championship! He teamed with Ueno & To-y from The 37KAMIINA to fight DAMNATION T.A over the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The belts were vacated by DAMNATION T.A when Daisuke Sasaki got injured but Sasaki was at ringside for the match looking over his team. Hideki Okatani is really trying to establish himself as Takechi’s main enemy by attacking him with the bamboo stick while Sasaki hit Takechi’s leg with a chair next to the corner post. Sasaki also saw fit to attack Takechi in the ring with a chair but things went wrong for the heels when Ilusion missed the Swanton Bomb and was then hit with Okatani’s bamboo stick by accident. Takechi took control while his partners held Okatani & MJ Paul back. Then with one Swan Dive Forearm strike, Takechi pinned Ilusion to become a champion! He called the match the toughest fight he ever had and he’ll bring his title belt back to the LDH HQ so his boss can touch it. His next match in DDT will be at Korakuen on 19th October and DDT are hinting it will be the champion team’s first title defence. Ueno also mentioned to To-y & Takechi that there’s a fun idea he wants to do with them and the titles but he’ll talk to them later about it.

Evil Uno’s DDT debut came and went before he could even get into the ring. As he was making his entrance, his tag partner Danshoku Dieno decided to attack HARASHIMA straight away only to get rolled up in a Jackknife and get pinned. Imabayashi was furious because it’s bad enough when Hirata matches end like this but now it’s spreading to the rest of the locker room! This was an AEW star making his first appearance in DDT so he isn’t going to let anyone ruin it! Imabayashi apologized to Uno and allowed him to complete his entrance before the rematch began. HARASHIMA almost pinned Dieno again but Uno was there to break it up this time. Dieno was later put in the Hell Gate position with his rear end exposed but when Uno was thrown face first into it, his mask protected him from the exposure. So Jun Akiyama grabbed him by the mask, pulled it up past Uno’s mouth and shoved him back into Dieno’s hell gate. This time Uno was in danger and he fled the ring while HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with the Somato. Uno was in disbelief backstage. He came to DDT wanting to fight HARASHIMA & Akiyama but all he got out of it was the taste of rotten cheese stuck in his mouth!

A visiting Diego joined SCHADENFREUDE International’s side for today so there could be three of them to take on Harimao in a 6-Man Tag Match. It was also a warm up for Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida to get ready for their KO-D Tag Team Titles shot on 19th October. Antonio Honda used Gongitsune to stun the Harimao team and then got his own partners to join in the Bionic Elbow. But all of Harimao dodged the move and made the other team flinch with hand claps. Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura hit Honda with a Cross Bomber but Ishida failed to follow up by missing the Dosukoi Splash. Chris Brookes & Diego dealt damage to Ishida and left things up to Honda. But Ishida blocked Honda’s Diving Fist Drop and eventually pinned him with the Flame Palm. Ishida said he isn’t going to let this momentum stop. He is definitely going to win the tag titles with Higuchi!

The Survival 3 Way Match ended up playing a part in how the show ended the way it did. The rules allowed one wrestler from each team to be in the ring at all times and there were No Tag rules applied too for partners to swap in and out. The Apex were the first team eliminated despite being the KO-D Tag Champions. Strange Love Connection took out Yuki Iino with the Lariat-McEnroe combination but Yukio Naya gave KANON the Choke Slam. Sumi rolled up Naya with a School Boy only for KANON to push him away. MAO then pounced in and got Naya in his own roll up to get the three count! Since Naya was a Right To Challenge holder at the time that meant MAO had now won it off him. But the match was still continuing with SLC having to fight Akito & Sumi. MAO tried to vault over the referee to give Sumi a Cutter but Sumi instead turned it into a School Boy slam to pin him out of nowhere and win the Arm Cover!

The decision to have Yuya Koroku face Shinya Aoki one on one made more sense when it was announced the two of them would be teaming up at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” to take on a NOAH team led by Tetsuya Endo. This single match was Koroku and Aoki going tit for tat against each other with the two impressing each other along the way. Koroku countered the European Clutch into a German Suplex and then went for the Triangle Lancer. But Aoki used his grappling knowledge to cradle his way out of the hold and pin Koroku for the victory.

In the dark match Rukiya took his first step of progress since coming back from injury by picking up the win for his team. Soma Takao wanted to teach Hinata Kasai how to get the crowd excited for the first match of the show but got more than he bargained for when Daichi Sato stepped in to face him. Rukiya was able to beat Kasai for the win but it took him using the Proto Bomb twice to get the pinfall after Kasai kicked out of it the first time.


MAO And Dieno Have Matches In Dragon Gate

September 24, 2025

DRAGON GATE “THE GATE OF MIYANE 2025”, 24/09/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,268 Fans – No Vacancy

3. Danshoku Dieno, Masaaki Oka & Don Fujiko defeated KAI, BxB Hulk & Hyo when Dieno pinned KAI with the Danshoku Driver (9:16).
*Special Referee: Seiji Miyane
6. Art Moving Center Presents: Yuki Yoshioka & MAO defeated Dragon Kid & Dragon Dia when Yoshioka pinned Dia with the High Fly Flow (12:52).

Now this brings me back. Remember the Dramatic Dream Gate series of shows? Well it hasn’t been revived but today’s Dragon Gate show had some DDT involvement in it. It was a show produced by the TV personality Seiji Miyane so it wasn’t the usual wrestling card you would come to expect from Dragon Gate. For example MAO had a match where he teamed up with Yuki Yoshioka. The two were paired together because they look alike but the match was also sponsored by a transportation company so they both entered through the audience dressed like delivery men. They took the match against Dragon Kid & Dragon Dia seriously though. A double dive where MAO took out Kid at ringside while Yoshioka landed the High Fly Flow on Dia was the big finish at the end. MAO said he already has many friends and enemies named Yuki in DDT so he is happy to meet another one. He thinks it would be a shame to leave this inter-promotional relationship where it is and not do anything further.

There was another match involving a DDT wrestler and that just so happened to be Danshoku Dieno. He was put in a comedic 6-Man Tag where wrestlers had to kiss their opponents during the pin attempt for it to be counted. Dieno however warned Miyabe that such a stipulation was very dangerous especially to referees. So he left a spare ref shirt aside for Miyabe to wear if an emergency was to happen. Also Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii both showed up dressed in drag. They chased after Hyo while KAI & BxB Hulk fell victim to Dieno’s Hell Gate in the corner. The ref Takayuki Yagi also suffered that cursed fate, causing Miyabe to put the spare ref shirt on and take his place. He counted Dieno pinning KAI to end the match but Dieno got to give him a Lip Lock too after the match.

Oh and Minoru Suzuki brought the DDT Universal Title with him for the main event. That was nice of him.


DDT “YOKOHAMA BAY☆CLUTCH” Results

September 6, 2025

DDT “YOKOHAMA BAY☆CLUTCH”, 06/09/2025
Yokohama Radiant Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Naomi Yoshimura & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Rukiya & Hinata Kasai when Yoshimura submitted Kasai with a Side Headlock (9:37).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, HARASHIMA & Yuki Ishida defeated Shigehiro Irie, Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi when Ishida pinned Sumi with the Flame Palm (9:01).
3. Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul defeated KANON, KANON & Daichi Sato when Paul pinned Sato with the Reverse Splash (12:01).
4. Yuki Ueno, To-y & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Jun Akiyama when Koroku pinned Naya with a Body Press (13:37).
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Shinya Aoki defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when Suzuki submitted Masada with a Heel Hold (7:25).
6. Special 3 Way Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dieno and Antonio Honda when Hirata pinned Honda with the Anal Egoist Driver (13:45).

With three Right To Challenge Arm Covers still in play and at least two of its holders wanting to cash them in as soon as possible, Kazuki Hirata intentionally delayed himself and arrived late at the venue. That meant when Yuki Ishida wanted to cash in his Arm Cover for a KO-D Openweight Title shot after Match #2, Akito had to tell him he couldn’t because Hirata hadn’t made it to the building yet. When Hirata finally arrived it was right when the entrances for the main event took place so he went straight to the ring bringing his luggage with him.

As for the actual main event, Hirata wanted to go all out in the ring against Danshoku Dieno and Antonio Honda. He went as far as to decide against putting on the Hirata GO! glasses while also encouraging Dieno not to go into the Hell Gate position. Honda even avoided tripping over the ropes to keep the match serious. But when the match was about to reach its conclusion where Hirata would beat Honda using the Egoist Driver, the voice of a fairy from the GO! glasses spoke out to Hirata asking if he was really okay with doing things this way? Then the voice of a fairy from Dieno’s pants started to speak, asking Dieno a similar question. Finally, a third fairy’s voice spoke to Honda but it was from Gongitsune itself. Honda snapped everyone back to their senses and the three agreed to use their gimmicks. Hirata put on the glasses, Dieno went into the Hell Gate position with his pants pulled down and Honda used the Hell Gate to charge up Gongitsune. Hirata blocked Honda’s attack, turned it against him and then used the Egoist Driver to win the match.

Hirata quickly got changed after the match wanting to leave the venue as quickly as he could. However both Yuki Iino and Yuki Ishida climbed into the ring wanting to cash in their RTC Arm Covers. They were both suddenly attacked by Honda who heroicly shoved each of their heads into Dieno’s Hell Gate to knock them out. Dieno then told Hirata that the three of them will always be the “2nd Match Mates” even when they are in the main event. He and Honda are proud of what Hirata has accomplished and they encourage him to carry their feelings as his title reign survives for another day. He then told Hirata to go home so the show would end which means no one will be allowed to cash in on him today. Hirata ran off but bumped into the third RTC Arm Cover holder Hideki Okatani along the way. Luckily for him, Okatani didn’t know what was going on and he allowed Hirata to escape.

Ishida then recovered and tried to cash in his title shot but Akito explained to him that the show was now over and Hirata went home. Akito admitted this rule is a blindspot DDT did not expect to be exploited and he asked Ishida to wait until the next show to cash in. Then sometime later in the day Hirata actually returned to the venue to take part in an autograph session. Ishida approached him demanding the title match but Hirata told him the show is already over and he has to wait. All he can do is offer him some chocolate, which Ishida accepted. Hirata was also asked who he wants his scheduled challenger to be on 28th September and he once again said Hisaya Imabayashi. First it was because Imabayashi is a weak opponent but now Hirata believes it will also be the most unpredictable KO-D Title match DDT could ever put on!

Takeshi Masada is now learning the consequences of angering Minoru Suzuki. There was a contract signing for their upcoming DDT Universal Title match during the show. Masada spoke about how he is still haunted by how the first time he challenged for the title went and winning the belt this time will erase those painful memories. Suzuki laughed at those comments and told Masada not to use him and the championship as something to create a happy memory with while he is still young. The contacts were signed and the two posed for pictures when Masada hit Suzuki with an Elbow Strike. That made Suzuki so mad he attacked Masada with a chair and hit him in the left leg with it multiple times. Their tag match later in the show still went ahead despite Masada clearly favoring his injury and Suzuki continued to target the limb until Masada gave up to a Heel Hold. Backstage Suzuki gave a message that Masada does not realise who he is challenging. The Universal Champion is Minoru Suzuki and he is going to break Takeshi Masada!

The next challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Titles got a shock win over the champions. Yukio Naya was going to give Yuya Koroku The World’s Best Back Drop when To-y cut him off with a Dropkick. Koroku then repositioned himself to land on top of Naya as they both fell and he got the pinfall out of nowhere. To-y then bragged about being louder than Iino was during the match. He did it to show that he and Koroku have their own strengths that can be used to beat The Apex’s power. Those strengths are Koroku’s grit and To-y’s cockiness.

There was also an emergency press conference involving Yuki Iino that took place at the show. He announced he has become a trainee for his local American Football team, the Nojima Sagamihara Rise and will now become a duel athlete while he continues his pro wrestling career with DDT. Iino thought about doing this when he was recovering from his eye injury, feeling at 30 years old he wanted to play a field sport again and would regret it if he didn’t. When Iino approached Sanshiro Takagi with the idea of playing American football, he received an immediate approval. Takagi at the announcement said wrestling has a history of American football players switching to pro wrestling but the other way around is quite rare (like Brock Lesnar and that whole thing is among the biggest wrestling butterfly effects to happen in the 21st century). The Rise GM Mitsunobu Ishii brought up examples of other dual sport athletes and said he has high expectations for Iino. The plan is for Iino to play on the defensive line and become a registered player in time for next year’s season of the X League. Should he make it to the first team then his gridiron career will take priority. He will then wrestle in DDT whenever his schedule allows it.


The Aftermath Of Wrestle Peter Pan, Kong Vs HIMAWARI, Baka Gaijin Gets New Friends

September 1, 2025

DDT “DDT ASAKUSA-KAI PRESENTS EDO NO NAKAMISE FIGHTING”, 02/09/2025
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

0. Dark Match – Nariagari Offer Match: Tawaramachi Kid Jr. & Super Nikuyaki Machine Vs KAKERU & Akinori Ariji
1. Rukiya Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Kazuki Hirata & Danshoku Dieno Vs HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura
3. Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul
4. Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Akito Vs Jun Akiyama, Soma Takao & Daichi Sato
5. Yuki Ueno’s Birthday Celebration Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kazuma Sumi Vs MAO, KANON & Yoshihiko (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Satoshi Kojima, Antonio Honda & Yuya Koroku

The first Right To Challenge Arm Cover has been used and bloody hell has it changed directions for DDT going into Sumo Hall later this year. Kazuki Hirata is now the KO-D Openweight Champion but there are still three Arm Covers remaining. They currently belong to Soma Takao (Red), Hideki Okatani (Blue) and Yuya Koroku (Green).

The card has been changed around a bit due to Daisuke Sasaki being injured. He is out of action for a while with a fractured rib.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN VICTORY IN KITAZAWA”, 07/09/2025
Tokyo Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Yuki Arai Vs Chika Nanase
2. HIMAWARI Vs Ren Konatsu
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Uta Takami
4. Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Haru Kazashiro & Shino Suzuki
5. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Mahiro Kiryu, Kaya Toribami & Mifu Ashida
6. Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Miu Watanabe, Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
7. Yuna Manase & Toga Vs Miyu Yamashita & Kira Summer

The Love Triangle will be wrestling together on both Tokyo Joshi Pro shows during the one day doubleheader.

DDT “SUMIRE SEPTEMBER LOVE 2025”, 14/09/2025
Hokkaido Sapporo Sun Plaza

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida Vs Jun Akiyama, Noriyuki Yoshida & Daichi Sato
2. Sapporo Specialty Trial Of Two Single Matches Again – Round 1!: Akito Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Special 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno Vs MAO & KANON Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
4. DDT Extreme Title: To-y (c) Vs Ilusion

Ilusion has taken up belt collecting as a hobby. You usually see him carrying all three KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles that currently belong to DAMNATION T.A. Next he wants to add the DDT Extreme Title to his collection so To-y better give it to him!

GANBARE☆PRO “LES AMANTS DU PONT-NEUF 2025”, 15/09/2025
Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center

1. Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Sentaro Motoshima
2. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Tyson Maeguchi
3. Moeka Haruhi & Makoto Vs YuuRI & Misa Kagura
4. Mizuki Watase & Shota Kawakami Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Takeru Inoue
5. GanPro Vs FREEDOMS: Yumehito Imanari, Keisuke Ishii & Yuna Manase Vs Takashi Sasaki, Toru Sugiura & Dragon Libre
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title Next Challenger Decision Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

The top championship in Ganbare☆Pro now belongs to Masaaki Mochizuki and his priorities are currently with Dragongate. He wants Shuichiro Katsumura to be his first challenger but Ken Ohka is pleading to get the title match instead. The answer to this is to have a No. 1 Contender’s match while Mochizuki is back in his home promotion.

GanPro also continues their rivalries with FREEDOMS and BASARA. The FREEDOMS match is getting more tense while things seem to be under control with BASARA.

BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. 24: EVERYTHING ENDS”, 16/09/2025
Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa

1. 3 Way Tag Team Handicap Match: Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Charli Evans & Everett Connors Vs Dark King Ueki, Munek & Princess Ram
2. Special Single Match: Kota Sekifuda Vs MAO

It seems that Kota Sekifuda made a good first impression at “FUCKED UP FEST 2025” so he is getting another big match at Baka Gaijin + Friends. This time he is going to experience fighting MAO in his element!

Two new friends join the fray and they might be familiar to fans from certain parts of the world. Charli Evans is from Australia but usually calls the UK wrestling scene her home. She and Chris Brookes had many matches against each other before the pandemic. Her husband Everett Connors made a few GCW appearances coming out of the pandemic before moving his career to Australia with Evans.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS VI”, 20/09/2025
Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Aja Kong Vs HIMAWARI
2. International Princess Title Match: Arisu Endo Vs Jada Stone
3. Princess Tag Team Titles: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao (c) V Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara
4. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

This is a big task for HIMAWARI. She has to go fight Aja Kong all by herself!

The full card will be revealed tomorrow.

DDT “DRAMATIC EXPO 2025”, 23/09/2025
Osaka Namba SkyO Convention Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs To-y & Yuya Koroku

Koroku might need to hold onto his RTC Arm Cover for as long as he can because that’s the only reason why he and To-y are getting a KO-D Tag Team Titles shot. Yuki Iino has good memories of using the Right To Challenge prize and he wants to take the one Koroku currently has. He says he will cancel the match if Koroku loses it before then but I don’t know if he or Yukio Naya have the power to do that. The Apex are confident thet can keep the tag titles either way.

DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 28/09/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Takeshi Masada

There seems to be no one out there brave enough to take the DDT Universal Title from Minoru Suzuki. Well, Takeshi Masada thinks he can do it and only got the match because he dared to accuse Suzuki of running away from a challenge. For that Suzuki is now threatening to kill Masada in the ring!

DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs X & X
3. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes

We’re not done yet with Chris Brookes’s reunion with Zack Sabre Jr. They realized it has been years since they last had a singles match against each other and it hasn’t been done in Japan yet. So why not do one at Sumo Hall for DDT’s biggest show of the year? Sabre is still the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion too. But for how long…

It will be around a year and four months that have gone by when Sanshiro Takagi finally returns to wrestle again. He only admitted recently that one of the reasons he was out of action for so long was because he was diagnosed with angina and wasn’t allowed to even do a proper workout by his doctor until he recovered. He also sees something special with Hinata Kasai and specifically chose him to be his opponent at Sumo Hall. Kasai understands how important the match is especially because it will be the opener. But he isn’t sweating over the result. In his eyes Takagi doesn’t have a lot in the tank in his current state so Kasai thinks he has a really good chance of winning his first match in Sumo Hall!


DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2” Results

August 31, 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Wrestle Peter Pan 2025 Press Conference

August 29, 2025

I don’t have the time to write up full previews for this weekend’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” shows but there was a press conference held during the week where several wrestlers talked about their matches.

The current Right To Challenge Arm Cover holders going into the weekend are Kazuki Hirata (Yellow), Daichi Sato (Green), Hideki Okatani (Blue) and Soma Takao (Red).

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025
Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena

1. Hinata Kasai Debut Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Soma Takao & Rukiya Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba Vs Akito, Naomi Yoshimura & Daichi Sato
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & Kazuma Sumi Vs MAO, KANON & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. DDT Extreme Title – Earn Your Own Life!! Pro Wrestling Life Or Death Death Match!: To-y (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
7. Muscle Sakai 15th Anniversary Of Retirement Match ~ Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki Vs Muscle Sakai
8. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama

There are two KO-D Openweight Title matches guaranteed to happen this weekend with the first day going to Kazusada Higuchi defending the belt against Jun Akiyama. The challenger said it’s been four years since he last attended a press conference for a big event in this position and he’s excited to be competing at the highest level again. He aims to win the title without getting injured so he can have a good match with Yuki Ueno the next day. He would have wanted to be Higuchi’s first challenger but HARASHIMA beat him to the punch. When Akiyama saw how hard HARASHIMA worked in the match it motivated him to get next in line for a title shot before anyone else.

Higuchi talked about challenging Akiyama for the title four years ago and losing. It remains the most frustrating time of his wrestling career but time has passed long enough for him to develop respect for Akiyama. It is with that respect that he will beat him this time. He also hasn’t put any thought towards any Right To Challenge title shots getting cashed in on him. What motivates Higuchi right now is to make it to Sumo Hall on 3rd November as the KO-D Champion because he never got to have a title defence there during his previous reign.

When Muscle Sakai originally retired after wrestling Minoru Suzuki 15 years ago, Suzuki thought Sakai completely disappeared from the industry. So when he discovered that Sakai quietly returned to the business as Super Sasadango Machine, he decided he will make him pay for going back on his decision to retire! If you get Minoru Suzuki as your final opponent you should never take your decision to retire lightly.

The result of the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on Day 1 will have an effect on Day 2’s card. If The Apex successfully defend the tag titles against DAMNATION T.A then their match against HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki the next day will also be a title match. But if Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani win the titles then they will defend the belts on Day 2 in the 3 Way Tag Match. Sasaki said all that Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya are good for is being big. They aren’t funny, the tag belts don’t suit them and they’re both too ugly. Iino said he can’t tell if Sasaki is ugly or not because he covers 80% of his face with his sunglasses.

At the time when the press conference took place To-y had 15 life points and Yuya Koroku had 14 for their DDT Extreme Title match. Social media numbers are what determine how many Life Points they can get before the match starts. Life Points will be lost in the match after every One Count in a pin, every time someone gives up, every rope break and every time someone is thrown out of the ring. First wrestler to reduce their opponent’s Life Points to zero will be the winner. To-y admits he needed help in his previous title matches and has no shame in admitting he will continue to rely on the help of others from now on. If he can get 100 Life Points before the match begins then he thinks he will can win easily. One of the things Koroku did to prepare for this match is meet up with Animal Hamaguchi at the gym he trained at before going to DDT. The rules of the actual wrestling isn’t any different from a normal match so Koroku thinks he just has to avoid getting pinned while he whittles down To-y’s LP to zero.

The debuting Hinata Kasai wasn’t at the press conference but did an interview online to talk more about himself. His favorite wrestlers are CM Punk and Ric Flair because he loves American wrestling of all shapes and sizes. He wants to be the kind of wrestler who leaves an impact that people will never forget once they see him. It was Sanshiro Takagi’s idea to debut Kasai while he is still a college student because a debut match in a big building like Higashin Arena would draw a lot of attention. Kasai admits he currently does not have a lot of skill and is more of a clumsy type but what sets him apart from others is his mentality. He wants his debut match to stir the audience’s emotions with all of the passion and feelings he has held for pro wrestling ever since he was a child. He would like it if his goal was to win the KO-D Title but he thinks he should win support from the fans and trust from the company first to build himself up to that goal.

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

1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai Vs Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Yuki Ishida
2. Loser Of 30/08 KO-D Title Match, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito Vs KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO)
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs MAO
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) or Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Ueno

Ueno cannot predict who he will be facing for the KO-D Title on Day 2. He thinks he has made progress during his time without the championship and he’s been watching Konosuke Takeshita win the G1 Climax. If Ueno becomes champion again he does not want to compare himself to others. He would rather focus on raising DDT and one way to do that is to wrestle Takeshita when both are at the height of their powers! He’ll have to beat either Higuchi or Akiyama to move that plan forward. He knows he’ll have the stamina advantage going into the match because his opponent won’t even have 24 hours to rest after Day 1’s main event ends.

It took Minoru Suzuki becoming the DDT Universal Champion to make MAO feel it is time for him to win the title back for a fourth time. He cannot help but get excited over the thought of beating Suzuki for the belt in front of a packed Korakuen Hall. It’s all he can see in his mind right now. He even said it doesn’t matter if the win is clean or dirty, he will beat Suzuki doing whatever it takes! Suzuki is also looking forward to the match because he’s been wanting to fight MAO ever since they first met. With that being said he’s not here to play around. He’s going to kill MAO!

Matches #3 and #4 may swap places on the card depending on who wins the KO-D Tag Titles on Day 1. The tag title match will be placed as the 4th match. Iino approves of the idea because he wants The Apex to rack up title defences. Sasaki complained he will be too busy celebrating the title victory on Day 1 to defend it on Day 2.