DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2017” Results

January 29, 2017

sweetdreams2017-kod

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2017”, 29/01/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,520 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) with a Running Body Attack (4:54).
*D10 for Nobuhiro Shimatani.
1. Bunkhouse Scramble Eye Glass 8-Man Tag Death Match – Lucha Libre Rules: Antonio Honda, Guanchulo, Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai when Katsumata pinned Hirata with a Glasses School Boy (9:11).
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Akito & Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki when Takanashi pinned Iwasaki with the Bacchus (6:00).
3. Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase when Paulie pinned Watase with the Paulie Buster (9:05).
4. DDT UNIVERSE Special Tag Match Suitable For Live Broadcasting: Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo defeated Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi when Togo pinned Oishi with the Diving Senton (12:56).
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) defeated Yasu Urano with the Kneel Kick (11:43).
*V2 for Keisuke Ishii.
6. KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision Tournament – Final: Konosuke Takeshita defeated KUDO with the German Suplex (18:42).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Somato (21:53).
*V3 for HARASHIMA.

The main event for “JUDGEMENT 2017” at the Saitama Super Arena is now confirmed. HARASHIMA will put his KO-D Openweight Title on the line against Konosuke Takeshita. It wasn’t an easy task for both men to make it this far. They each had to overcome a tough challenge in Korakuen Hall today.

sweetdreams2017-kod2

 

HARASHIMA had to fend off Daisuke Sasaki in the main event. The build up for the battle between Ace and Charisma saw Sasaki use his tricks to get one over on the champion. However this resulted in HARASHIMA at one point going over the edge and choking out Sasaki without mercy. Sasaki was willing to risk waking up that dragon again for the championship. He attacked HARASHIMA while he was being showered in streamers for his ring entrance. He also Suplexed him from the ring apron to the outside then followed up with a Super Diving Elbow to the champion while he was sitting on a chair at ringside. Momentum looked to be flipping over to HARASHIMA until a wild kick accidentally knocked down Yukinori Matsui. Sasaki hit a Low Blow but Matsui’s recovery took long enough for HARASHIMA to kick out. HARASHIMA blocked Sasaki’s La Mistica Crossface with a Face Kick. Sasaki hit the flash Hurricanrana from out of nowhere but only got a nearfall. HARASHIMA then hit the Somato just as quick. A second Somato afterwards put Sasaki down for the count.

sweetdreams2017-challenger

Takeshita’s road to Saitama Super Arena took a big turn when he beat KUDO in the final of the KO-D Title Contender tournament. KUDO threw everything at him but Takeshita caught it all, somewhat literally. Takeshita caught KUDO during the Diving Double Knee Drop and then Power Bombed him into the turnbuckles. He blocked KUDO’s Backspin Kicks and in return hit Big Boots and a Discus Lariat. KUDO was too spent to do anything in return and was pinned with the German Suplex. There were no hard feelings over the result and both shook hands afterwards.

sweetdreams2017-takeshita-harashima

The show ended with HARASHIMA and Takeshita facing off in the ring. Takeshita said it may selfish but out of everybody in the tournament, he wanted the KO-D Title the most. He is ready to carry all of DDT on his back to beat HARASHIMA in Saitama Super Arena. HARASHIMA said he is glad to know his next challenger is prepared. Of course he himself will be wrestling at full power so let’s hope both of them fight with their greatest effort!

sweetdreams2017-ajpw

Yasu Urano may have charmed his way into an AJPW Jr. Title match but in the end he was humbled by the champion Keisuke Ishii. Urano kicked out of the Tiger Suplex but a stiff Kneel Kick put him away afterwards. Urano said he had no regrets from the match. He’s known Ishii ever since Ishii joined DDT. Now at forty years old and just coming off of being defeated by his junior, Urano thinks it is time for a new start. Ishii now looks ahead to the AJPW Jr. League.

sweetdreams2017-dino-takayama

Before Danshoku Dino and Yoshihiro Takayama fight each other one on one in Osaka next month, Dino wanted a piece of him straight away. He chased Takayama through the audience while Makoto Oishi and Dick Togo wrestled in the ring. Dino later used lewd moves on Togo to taunt Takayama while he was on the apron. That backfired when Togo returned to the ring wearing Danshoku tights, giving him the power to beat Dino & Oishi on his own. Takayama couldn’t help because he lost consciousness when Dino gave him the Stinkface. After the match Dino said that 8% of pro wrestlers around the world are gay. Today he was fighting at 70% or 80% gayness. He warned Takayama that in Osaka he will be at 100%!

sweetdreams2017-dino-dream

After Dino left the ring Amon Tsurumi called him back in. Tsurumi wanted to know if Dino had spent the 500,000 yen to sign his dream opponent for “JUDGEMENT 2017”. Dino didn’t know what he was talking about until a message on the screen announced Dino’s opponent is Joey Ryan! That’s not all, Super Sasadango Machine entered the ring and announced he will provide a special international PowerPoint presentation for the match. The presentation will be in Japanese, English, Mandarin and Spanish so many of DDT UNIVERSE’s foreign subscribers can follow it. However, Dino Vs Ryan is a match that could get too graphic. So if at any point the match gets out of control, the stream will cut to a censor graphic of Sanshiro Takagi posing naked. Enjoy!

sweetdreams2017-takao

Amon Tsurumi kept a close eye on Soma Takao during his match. After suffering another defeat Takao was asked to stay in the ring by the GM. He noticed that Takao made great progress when Team Dream Futures disbanded but his win-loss record then became poor when he lost the AJPW Jr. Title. Tsurumi would like Takao to be competing for championships again but maybe it is time for him to be part of a unit again. Takao admitted he had no goal to fight for when he lost the AJPW Jr. Title. Being in a unit again is a nice idea but it may not fix his problems. Takao promised to think about it and he will make up his mind soon.

sweetdreams2017-bacchus

Shuten-dōji got a small measure of revenge on Team DNA by winning the 3 Way Tag Match. Masahiro Takanashi surprised Kouki Iwasaki with the Bacchus rolling pin. Iwasaki apologised to Kazusada Higuchi for being careless. They lost today but are hoping to beat Shuten-dōji in Osaka when the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles are on the line. Takanashi isn’t impressed by what he’s heard. He thinks they could at least try to make the title match sound exciting.

sweetdreams2017-scramble

The opening match was turned into a Bunkhouse Scramble Death Match with Hirata GO! glasses as the object left in the middle of the ring. But when the match began everyone ignored them to fight among the fans instead. Antonio Honda stopped the match again to tell a fairy tale but this time asked Guanchulo to translate it into English for the foreign viewers watching on DDT UNIVERSE. The story turned out to be Little Red Riding Hood except in this version the wolf when disguised as the grandmother says his eyes are red because he’s watched too much porn. Kazuki Hirata wanted all the attention for himself so the glasses finally came into play. But Shunma Katsumata took the glasses from him and rolled Hirata over for the pin.

sweetdreams2017-dark

Nobuhiro Shimatani is now at 10 “defences” for the King Of Dark Title. He was reminded that if he does not lose the title before the end of February he will not be a part of DNA’s relaunch. His next “defence” is scheduled for 12th February.

Colt Cabana will wrestle in DDT for the first time in February. He is already booked for three shows during the month. On 12/2 he is in a 3 Way Match with MAO and Konosuke Takeshita. Then on the 14/2 YaroZ show he will face Antonio Honda. Finally on 19th February Colt goes one on one with Danshoku Dino.

“JUDGEMENT 2017” had some more matches announced during the show. Shigehiro Irie Vs Mike Bailey, a Battle Royal for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title (still held by comedian Hyota Echizenya), an 8-Person tag featuring Jaguar Yokota and a tag match between Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo against Shungo Oyama and a mystery partner are all part of the card.

DAMNATION will be running their own unlawful show in Shinjuku FACE on 14th April. There will also be a show exclusive to members of the DDT Fan Club happening in Kitasenju Theatre 1010 on 13th May.


Tomorrow’s Sweet Dreams

January 28, 2017

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2017”, 29/01/2017
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. King Of Dark Title: Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) Vs Gota Ihashi
1. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda, Guanchulo, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Akito & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase Vs Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie
4. DDT UNIVERSE Special Tag Match Suitable For Live Broadcasting: Yoshihiro Takayama & Dick Togo Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Yasu Urano
6. KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision Tournament – Final: Konosuke Takeshita Vs KUDO
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

This weekend is the first live show to air on DDT UNIVERSE. The broadcast begins at 11:30am in Japan and will include the King Of Dark Title match. The show begins proper at 12:00pm. For overseas subscribers the broadcast begins 9:30pm EST on Saturday and 2:30am GMT on Sunday. I’m not sure when the Video On-Demand will be available. Most of the shows on the schedule will be added three days after the event ends but there’s no mention of it for the live shows like this one.

DNA “FIGHTING GIG DNA EP.30 ~Starting Signal Run!~”, 23/02/2017
Shinjuku FACE

1. FIGHTING GIG STARTING SIGNAL Run!: Guanchulo & Rekka Vs Daiki Shimomura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Youth’s Esperanza 2017: MAO Vs Yuki Ueno
3. Dai Suzuki Which Way Is Your Tomorrow?: Dai Suzuki Vs Shogun Okamoto
4. Stand By The Sky: Shunma Katsumata Vs Kotaro Suzuki
5. Running Without End: Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase Vs Kazushi Sakuraba & LEONA

Comedian Masahiro Ehara will be the ring announcer for the show.


DDT Universe Launches, Dog Chain Death Match, BASARA Wrapped Around NWA

January 23, 2017

ddtuniverse

First thing’s first, DDT UNIVERSE launches today! Go sign up for it. Thankfully a lot of other sites have beaten me to the punch of writing up guides and reviews for the website so all you need to know can be found in these links.

F4W Online/Wrestling Oberver Online
Wrestling With Words
The Indy Corner

That saved me a bunch of time. Once I get to grips with the service I hope to write up some match recommendations. To any new readers, welcome! Things get weird and wonderful as I try to tell you all about what goes on in DDT and its spin offs.

DDT “NANIWA WRESTLING ROAD 2017”, 04/02/2017
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Yuni Debut Round 3: Yuni Vs X
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Mizuki Watase (c) Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
3. Ultra Special Single Match: Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Danshoku Dino
4. DDT Extreme Title – Dog Chain Death Match: Jun Kasai (c) Vs Mad Paulie

Jun Kasai noticed that Mad Paulie is always led to the ring with a dog chain so let’s have a Dog Chain Death Match!

Shuten-dōji get their rematch for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. They weren’t the beaten team when Team DNA won the belts during the weekend.

BASARA “VAJRA 28 ~DESTRUCTION OF HEART~”, 05/02/2017
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title Challengers Decision Battle: Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT
2. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles: Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs Ikuto Hidaka & Sean Guinness

BASARA’s latest focus is on the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles. The team of Ikuto Hidaka & Sean Guinness want to bring the belts back to ZERO1.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “GET DOWN 2017”, 11/02/2017
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Japanese Psycho ~When You Fight~: Yumehito Imanari Vs Mars Spector
2. Ai Shimizu Ganbare☆Wrestling Trial – 3rd Round: Ai Shimizu Vs Cassandra Miyagi
3. G-COSMOS 2017 ~ Japan Vs Thailand International Combat In Prince: Takafumi Ito Vs Tanomusaku Toba
4. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Shin Ganbare☆Wrestling: Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Mitomi Masayuki Vs Kenso Ohka, Osamu Namiguchi & Shibata

Shibata is the newest member of Shin Ganbare☆Wrestling.

BASARA “VAJRA 29 ~TENKA FUBU~”, 12/02/2017
Nagoya City Higashi Sports Center

1. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles: Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs X & X

Either The Aldini Brothers or Hiroshi du Soleil will challenge for the NWA Light Tag Titles.

BASARA “VAJRA 30 ~WINTER SUMMER BLUE~”, 20/02/2017
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Ryuichi Sekine

Will Ryuichi Sekine survive the NWA Tag Title rush long enough to become a double champion?


DDT Universe Coming Soon!

October 24, 2016

ddtuniverse

http://ddtuniverse.com/

DDT is the latest wrestling company to set up a video on-demand service. DDT Universe will be available on computers, phones and tablets from January 2017. The service gives subscribers unlimited access to shows from DDT, DNA, BASARA, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Wrestling and other spin-offs such as Street Wrestling matches. The intention is to have all the shows from Korakuen Hall and Sumo Hall throughout the year be aired live on the service. Monthly subscriptions cost 900 yen which at the time of writing is about €7.95/$8.65/£7.05 per month.

So far so good but there’s a few things we don’t know about yet. DDT has been around for almost 20 years so they have a lot of matches and shows in their archives. The website trailer did show clips of old DDT gimmicks like Super Uchu Power and HERO! as well as early footage of Sanshiro Takagi. Music is already dubbed over with in-house songs on the official DVDs so I assume that is also how the website will handle entrances. Region locking shouldn’t be a problem. The price is in line with the other services out there and when you combine all the brands together the DDT family there should be a lot of new videos added every month. And if wrestling isn’t enough there are plans to do reality style shows for some of the DDT roster. No mention of compatibility with devices such as Chromecast which would be a bit of a downer. Still given how little of the spin offs make tape it’s great to see this service get set up.


DDT “DDT SPECIAL 2016” Results

October 23, 2016

ddtspecial-dino-ishikawa2

DDT “DDT SPECIAL 2016”, 23/10/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,563 Fans – No Vacancy
DDT Dramatic General Election Ranking In Parentheses

0. Dark Match: Yuko Miyamoto (#24) & Mad Paulie (#25) defeated Mizuki Watase (#26) & Rekka (#27) when Paulie pinned Watase with the Paulie Buster (6:34).
1. Makoto Oishi (#17) & MAO (#21) defeated Kazuki Hirata (#14) & Toru Owashi (#21) when Oishi pinned Hirata with a School Boy (7:13).
2. DDT Special Great Single Match: Cherry (#20) defeated Saki Akai (#9) with the Cherryton Bomb (7:29).
3. Soma Takao (#8) & Akito (#11) defeated Keisuke Ishii (#13) & Yasu Urano (#19) when Takao pinned Urano with the Gin And Tonic (8:47).
4. KUDO (#8) & Yukio Sakaguchi (#15) defeated Antonio Honda (#12) & Kazusada Higuchi (#23) when KUDO pinned Honda with the Diving Double Knee Drop (10:30).
5. DDT Special Great Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita (#6) defeated Ken Ohka (#16) with the German Suplex (8:43).
6. DDT Special Great Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki (#3) defeated Masahiro Takanashi (#4) with the Vietnam Driver II (12:22).
7. DDT Special Great Single Match: HARASHIMA (#1) defeated Tetsuya Endo (#5) with the Somato (16:33).
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) defeated Danshoku Dino (#2) with the Giant Slam (21:27).
*V2 for Shuji Ishikawa.

Dramatic Dream Rock-Paper-Scissors 2016

1. Qualifying Round: Cherry defeated Yasu Urano with Rock.
2. Round 1: Cherry defeated Makoto Oishi with Rock.
3. Round 1: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Ken Ohka with Scissors.
4. Round 1: Keisuke Ishii defeated Kazuki Hirata with Paper.
5. Round 1: Shunma Katsumata defeated Antonio Honda with Scissors.
6. Round 1: Saki Akai defeated Akito with Scissors
7. Round 1: Soma Takao defeated KUDO with Scissors.
8. Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tetsuya Endo with Paper.
9. Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Masahiro Takanashi with Scissors.
10. Round 2: Cherry defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with Scissors.
11. Round 2: Shunma Katsumata defeated Keisuke Ishii with Rock.
12. Round 2: Saki Akai defeated Soma Takao with Paper.
13. Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Konosuke Takeshita with Paper.
14. Semi Final: Shunma Katsumata defeated Cherry with Scissors.
15. Semi Final: Saki Akai defeated Daisuke Sasaki with Paper.
16. Final: Saki Akai defeated Shunma Katsumata with Paper.

ddtspecial-dino-ishikawa

As the runner-up of this year’s DDT Dramatic General Election, Danshoku Dino received a KO-D Openweight Title shot against Shuji Ishikawa. It’s a situation Dino has been in before, earning KO-D Title matches through popularity contests. However each time Dino came up short and today was no different. Dino targeted Ishikawa’s legs by applying Crab Holds and an STF. Ishikawa fired back with Knee Lifts and even added insult to injury by attempting a Danshoku Nightmare to Dino. The champion of course hit his Headbutts but Dino responded with a middle finger and a Headbutt of his own! Dino wore down Ishikawa with the Sliding Lip Lock, hit the Danshoku Driver and rolled him over with the Gay-do Clutch but Ishikawa kicked out! A Rainmaker Lip Lock was countered with an Elbow Strike. The Danshoku Driver was countered into the Fire Thunder. All seemed lost for Dino but he wouldn’t give up and continued to flip off Ishikawa. Sadly a Running Knee Strike and Rainmaker Headbutt took away the last of Dino’s energy and Ishikawa won with the Giant Driver. Ishikawa stood proud of himself for beating DDT’s icon. Dino gave him one more middle finger before collapsing. Ishikawa moved forward to shake Dino’s hand but Daisuke Sasaki kicked him away so he could rub the victory in Dino’s face. HARASHIMA then showed up to congratulate the champion. He said he will face Ishikawa for the title at Osaka Edion Arena #1 in December and he will beat him fair and square! Ishikawa said he will beat HARASHIMA because he is the strongest in pro wrestling. Sasaki interrupted him again to close out the show.

rockpaperscissors2016

The annual Rock Paper Scissors tournament took place with a DDT Extreme Title shot on the line. Saki Akai was the last woman standing beating out Shunma Katsumata in the final. Akai will face Dino for the belt at the 23rd November Korakuen Hall show. Akai said after that night she will be walking down the runway with the championship belt wrapped around her!

ddtspecial-harashima-endo

HARASHIMA Vs Tetsuya Endo began with HARASHIMA Dropkicking his opponent out of the ring. However Endo took the opportunity to hide away from HARASHIMA and lure him outside. Endo snuck back into the ring behind HARASHIMA’s back and then dove onto him with a No Touch Topé. Endo stomped on HARASHIMA back in the ring, mockingly calling him “Ace” as he did so. The match went back and forth with Endo cutting off HARASHIMA through Dragon Screws. Endo got a nearfall with the Torture Rack Bomb then went for the Sky Twister Press. HARASHIMA rolled out of the way and countered with the Somato. He was too tired to go for the pin but a second Somato later was enough to put Endo away.

ddtspecial-sasaki-takanashi

Due to their opportunistic personalities, both Daisuke Sasaki and Masahiro Takanashi were careful not to make any mistakes while wrestling each other. Sasaki forced Takanashi to sit on a chair at ringside so he could go for his Super Diving Elbow but Takanashi cut him off by throwing the chair at him as he climbed the turnbuckles. Sasaki later countered the Takatonic into the Cross Facelock but that itself was countered into a Cradle for a two count. Sasaki pushed Takanashi into the referee and used the distraction to hit the Vietnam Driver II for the three count.

ddtspecial-ohka-takeshita

Part of the card had to be reshuffled when Super Sasadango Machine was unable to wrestle due to poor physical condition. Ken Ohka now had to wrestle Konosuke Takeshita. Ohka brought out a barbed wire baseball bat and used it to choke Takeshita. However Ohka was given a taste of his own medicine when Takeshita gave him the Blue Thunder Bomb onto the bat! Ohka kicked out of that but he couldn’t kick out of the German Suplex afterwards. Takeshita thanked Ohka for the match because they both have the same goals. Ohka disagreed and thinks they are on different paths, Ohka only does things the Ganbare way!

ddtspecial-shutendoji-honda

With Takeshita moved over to fave Ohka, Antonio Honda now had to team with Kazusada Higuchi for his match against Shuten-dōji. Honda stopped the match so he could show off his new ballet skills. He went to see The Nutcracker the night before and has been practicing ever since. As he tried to dance he hit KUDO and Yukio Sakaguchi with Brain Chops. Shuten-dōji got their payback by kicking the hell out of him. They’re now looking forward to winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles in Nagano on 3rd November.

ddtspecial-ishii-soma

The rivalry between former teammates Soma Takao and Keisuke Ishii is heating up now that the AJPW Jr. Title is involved. Ishii recently became the No. 1 Contender for the championship and he will get his shot in All Japan on 27th November. Ishii thinks their title match is the culmination of their time spent in All Japan over the last three years. Soma got the better of him here with a Thrust Kick. Then he pinned Yasu Urano with the Gin And Tonic while Akito kept Ishii at bay.

ddtspecial-cherry-akai

I don’t know if you noticed but Saki Akai and Cherry don’t like each other. Cherry refused to shake Akai’s hand before their match and instead attacked her. After some stomping and hair pulling the match properly begun. Cherry won the match but Akai got a little bit of revenge by Dropkicking Cherry out of the ring afterwards.

ddtspecial-owashi-nwa

Toru Owashi took time out of the opening bout to complain that T2Hide weren’t being invited to perform as idols at “DDT FES 2016”. While he complained, NωA took advantage and pinned Kazuki Hirata. When the match was over Makoto Oishi called Sanshiro Takagi into the ring. If NωA wasn’t going to be added to “DDT FES 2016” then he will quit the group! Takagi told him the group was originally set up so they could be a part of the festival. Oishi’s threat showed just how serious he took his role so Takagi agreed to add them to the festival! NωA then performed “Never Give Up☆I LOVE YOU”. They also have a second song in the works.

ddtspecial-paulie-miyamoto

The last change to the card involved adding Rekka to the dark match. Rekka took Higuchi’s place in the match, teaming with Mizuki Watase against Yuko Miyamoto & Mad Paulie. Miyamoto patted Paulie like a pet when they won the match.

ddtspecial-irie

Shigehiro Irie made his first appearance in DDT since his excursion to America back in July. Irie spoke about how he gained experience in USA that he could not have gotten in Japan. He got to wrestle against people who are more his size like Colt Cabana, Chris Hero and Tommy Dreamer. While Irie’s first match back in Japan is set for 6th November at “DDT FES 2016” he won’t go back to regular competition in DDT until the 4th December Osaka show. Also he is looking forward more to seeing his favourite idol group perform at “DDT FES 2016” than he is wrestling. Irie then showed off the English he learned in America. “Nice to meet you. My name is SHIGEHIRO IRIE. From Japan. ……I Love You. I Miss You. I Need You.”

More details to come later but DDT will launch its own video on-demand service next year! DDT Universe will launch on January 2017 and for 900 yen a month subscribers will get access to watch DDT, DNA, BASARA, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Ganbare☆Wrestling and Street Wrestling shows. All Korakuen Hall shows and major events in big buildings will air live on the service. There will also be other content like reality shows featuring the DDT roster.

Yukio Sakaguchi & Masakatsu Funaki Vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Kazusada Higuchi was announced for “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2016” on 4th December.

A secret series of Spring wrestling shows were made public starting with an event in Best Western Rembrandt Hotel Tokyo Machida on 22nd January. The tour will be called the Best Western Lariat Series. Also the YaroZ brand will be brought back for a St. Valentine’s Day show in Shin-Kiba 1st RING.

DDT’s branch of restaurants and bars including the Drop Kick Bar, Ebisuko Tavern and SWANDIVE will now belong to a new parent company called DDT Foods. KUDO was chosen to be the new president of the company.