DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” Results

August 11, 2026

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI) defeated Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) when Levante pinned Masada (11:55).
*paleyouth fails in V7. STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION become the 61st KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Ilusion (c) with a Belt Strike (2:29 pm).
*Super Sasadango Machine becomes the 1,885th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yuki Ishida defeated Super Sasadango Machine (c) with a School Boy (2:30 pm).
*Yuki Ishida becomes the 1,886th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yuni defeated Yuki Ishida (c) with a Body Slam (2:31 pm).
*Yuni becomes the 1,887th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuni (c) with the Tegatana (2:32 pm).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,888th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Akito defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with an Ankle Hold (2:34 pm).
*Akito becomes the 1,889th champion.
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Ilusion defeated Akito (c), Yuki Ishida, Soma Takao, Naomi Yoshimura, Fuminori Abe, Yuki Iino, Toru Owashi, Yuni, Masami Inahata, MJ Paul, Super Sasadango Machine and Yoshihiko (18:16).
2a. Yuni eliminated Yuki Ishida with an Inverted Hurricanrana (7:05).
2b. Naomi Yoshimura eliminated Yuni by Ring Out (9:20).
2c. Yuki Iino eliminated Naomi Yoshimura with The Apex Elbow Drop (10:11).
2d. Masami Inahata eliminated Akito (c) with the Argentine Backbreaker (11:19).
*Masami Inahata becomes the 1,890th champion.
2e. Ilusion & MJ Paul eliminated Soma Takao with the Combined Body Press (12:50).
2f. Yoshihiko eliminated Toru Owashi by Ring Out (16:13).
2g. Yoshihiko eliminated Yuki Iino by Ring Out (16:14).
2h. Yoshihiko eliminated Masami Inahata (c) by Ring Out (16:15).
*Yoshihiko becomes the 1,891st champion.
2i. Yoshihiko eliminated Super Sasadango Machine by Ring Out (16:16).
2j. Yoshihiko eliminated MJ Paul by Ring Out (16:17).
2k. Yoshihiko eliminated Fuminori Abe with the Reincarnation (16:20).
2l. Ilusion eliminated Yoshihiko (c) by Ring Out (18:46).
*Ilusion becomes the 1,892nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Ilusion (c) with the Hammer Attack (2:52 pm).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,893rd champion.
3. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi defeated Kazuki Hirata & To-y when Takagi pinned To-y with the Stone Cold Stunner (10:36).
*Sanshiro Takagi wins To-y’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
4. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Rukiya defeated Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai when Rukiya pinned Hinata with the R. Fisherman Buster (11:19).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Death Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Hideki Okatani (c) with the Totonou Splash with Barbed Wire (13:52).
*Hideki Okatani fails in V5. Shunma Katsumata becomes the 65th DDT Extreme Champion! Shunma Katsumata wins Hideki Okatani’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki defeated Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) when Miyawaki pinned HARASHIMA with the Sunshine Clutch (12:21).
*FANTÔMES DRAMATIC fail in V4. Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki become the 90th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
7. Special Single Match: YAMATO defeated Danshoku Dieno (w/ Yosuke♡Santa Maria) with the CBV (12:07).
8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI defeated Antonio Honda & Tetsuya Endo when Sasaki submitted Honda with La Mistica Crossface Lock (16:00).
9. DDT Universal Title: Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kazuma Sumi (c) with the Dodon (18:02).
*Kazuma Sumi fails in V3. Ryusuke Taguchi becomes the 22nd DDT Universal Champion!
10. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Kaisei Takechi with the Raging Fire (17:26).
11. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Asset Presents: MAO defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with the Cannonball 450° (33:47).
*Yuki Ueno fails in V9. MAO becomes the 89th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Asset Presents: MAO (c) defeated Sanshiro Takagi with an Inside Cradle (4:29).
*V1 for MAO. Sanshiro Takagi cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shogo Yamamoto defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with the Hammer Attack (7:21 pm).
*Shogo Yamamoto becomes the 1,894th champion.

The world is more fucked up than ever before so the time has finally come for MAO to be its champion! In a rematch from two years ago MAO stepped into Sumo Hall to face Yuki Ueno for the KO-D Openweight Title once more. Time will tell if this turns out to be DDT’s defining matchup for this generation but I can at least come out of it thinking this match came out better than the first one. Ueno got a nearfall with the Frog Splash and later dodged the Cannonball 450° so he could squeeze MAO with the Blackout Sleeper. MAO fought from beneath to kick out of the Jul.2 and also avoid the BME. Then in a flash of inspiration, MAO took a page out of his Moonlight Express days by doing the Ultima Weapon, the Shooting Star Knee Drop belonging to Speedball Mike Bailey. MAO switched over to using Palm Strikes while Ueno tried to combat them with Dropkicks. MAO got the better of the exchange and used the Michinoku Driver II to put Ueno in position for the match ending Cannonball 450°. With this win MAO has now become the KO-D Champion!

After the match MAO talked about coming so far ever since he watched DDT’s first Sumo Hall show back in 2009. During the time he’s been a pro wrestler he met Ueno who became his friend, his greatest rival and even his idol that he looks up to. Now he can finally put his own name next to Ueno’s. He thanked his friends in Strange Love Connection for being the reason he was able to beat Ueno today and finished by saying they won’t be stopping yet. MAO exited the ring and the show looked to have ended with him walking past everyone and receiving congratulations backstage. He then walked into the locker room to find Sanshiro Takagi standing in front of him. Takagi thanked him… then said just kidding, we’re getting a bonus title match!

Earlier in the show Takagi won his tag match and claimed one of the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets that allowed him to get a KO-D Title shot whenever he wants. He started attacking MAO backstage and dragged him back down to the ring because he was cashing in his shot right now! If the main event was too serious for DDT, this was the swerve back in the other direction. Takagi attacked MAO on the entrance ramp with a fire extinguisher and also the Dramatic Dream bike. Then in the ring he bribed Masami Inahata 10,000 yen to bring in plastic boxes to use as weapons. Takagi broke one over MAO’s head but MAO got revenge by Power Bombing Takagi through one of the others. Takagi fired back by doing the Sit Down Sunflower Bomb and then climbed the top rope carryinh another box. He tried to do a Diving Body Press with the box but MAO blocked it with his knees and in the wreckage cradled Takagi with a Small Package to pin him for the three count. The night ends with MAO not just winning the KO-D Title but scoring his first defence too!

MAO got on the microphone to yell at Takagi for the stunt he just pulled. He’s always been a bad influence to MAO going back to that first Sumo Hall show in 2009. It’s bad enough that Takagi sent MAO down a terrible path to ruin his life but he also goes and does this to him? Takagi said MAO has some nerve to make that accusation given that MAO has run over Takagi with a vehicle four separate times. Takagi was going to congratulate him but then got pissed off and thought this was the perfect chance to get things his way. MAO criticized Takagi for being childish but Takagi said it’s not like MAO to despise that kind of behavior. This kind of childishness and absurdity is what makes DDT and its Dramatic Dream the way it is. The show then had its proper ending with the curtain call and Ueno wrapping the KO-D Title around MAO’s waist. Backstage MAO said he will be turning 30 during the year DDT celebrates its 30th anniversary so his goal is to remain champion throughout next year. Ueno is looking forward to seeing what MAO’s DDT will look like but this does not mean he is starting again from zero. He promises to always be at the front of DDT.

There was a time when Konosuke Takeshita was called “The Future” and now he finds himself standing across the ring from the next person who can take that moniker. Kaisei Takechi was taking part in only his 18th pro wrestling match to step up against one of the best in the world. He hasn’t come out of it in one piece as Takechi was favouring his left knee after hitting a Swan Dive Elbow Strike. He gutted through the injury to give Takeshita a Canadian Destroyer and also the BREAK IT DOWN. When that couldn’t beat Takeshita, Takechi switched to a Sleeper Hold and almost choked him out with it. But Takeshita kept hitting Takechi in the hurt knee with his elbow to break out of the hold. He then took a Dropkick only to fire back with the Wagamama for a nearfall. Takechi tried one more attack but Takeshita easily brushed him off and used the Raging Fire to win the match. Backstage Takechi said he believed Takeshita could’ve still beaten him if he held back but instead he fought with all of his might today. He promised to get even stronger and cooler so he can fight Takeshita again some day. Takeshita said today is the beginning of his story with Takechi and it is also the beginning of Takechi as a pro wrestler. His advice is for Takechi to think about what it means to stand in the ring inside Sumo Hall and also think about what he wants to do with DDT in the future.

This was a shocker. Kazuma Sumi should have taken Ryusuke Taguchi’s warning to heart. He spent too much time thinking about using Taguchi as a stepping stone that he ended up becoming the stepping stone instead! That’s right, Taguchi is now the DDT Universal Champion! Sumi relied heavily on high risk moves including a Reverse 450° Splash that missed. Taguchi on the other hand paced himself by targeting Sumi’s legs and repeatedly using the Oh My & Garankle Lock. Sumi then trusted on using the School Boy to try and pin the New Japan wrestler, especially as a counter for the Hip Attack. But the Ankle Lock plan paid off and Taguchi and he hit the Dodon. Sumi kicked out of it but Taguchi immediately used his finisher again to win the title. He then got to do his dance in the ring to celebrate.

On the way back to the locker room, Taguchi was suddenly met by Daisuke Sasaki on the entrance ramp. The two went back to the ring where Sasaki grabbed the microphone and said he didn’t expect Taguchi could be this serious. If this is the way Taguchi is going to be in DDT then Sasaki wants to challenge him for the Universal Title. Taguchi responded by impersonating Masahiro Chono and describing Sasaki as a charismatic challenger (“Black Charisma” was one of Chono’s nicknames). Hisaya Imabayashi decided the title match will take place in Korakuen Hall on 30th August. However Taguchi said he is supposed to attend a boat race in Shimonoseki that day. He’ll be able to do the match but he advised DDT to go ask New Japan first. NJPW would later give their permission for the match to go ahead. Backstage Sumi said there is so much he wanted to do with the Universal Title so he definitely wants to win it back. He then brought up Taguchi’s idea for the two of them to team up at the upcoming Super Jr. Tag League. He would like to take up that offer if there is a chance it can happen. His goal is to become the top junior heavyweight and he wants to seize any opportunity to take part in the Best Of The Super Jr. some day in the future.

Sasaki got to build up momentum to make the title challenge one match earlier. He teamed up with a different NJPW wrestler, DOUKI and showed up wearing a similar entrance mask as his partner’s. DOUKI made it clear to Tetsuya Endo what to expect by immediately poking him in the eye. Endo recovered and showed up his skills so DOUKI switched to stopping Antonio Honda from using Gongitsune when he could. Honda summoned the power of Hiroyoshi Tenzan by hitting DOUKI with Mongolian Chops and then planting him with the Tenzan Tombstone Driver. A Gongitsune misfire hit Endo by mistake but Honda was finally able to hit DOUKI with it. Endo got in on the fun too by doing a Swan Dive Gongitsune to Sasaki. Honda could have won when he hit the Diving Fist Drop to DOUKI but Ilusion pulled Daisuke Kiso out of the ring during the pinfall. DAMNATION T.A tried to replicate House Of Torture by setting up a signboard attack but Honda redirected Sasaki into knocking DOUKI off the ring apron. Honda then had a second chance of winning by using the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch to pin Sasaki but Kiso took too long to get back into the ring and Sasaki had enough time to kick out. DOUKI took out Endo with a Slingshot DDT and then hit Honda with the signboard while Kiso was distracted. That allowed Sasaki to use La Mistica Crossface Lock to make Honda submit.

The match between Danshoku Dieno and YAMATO revealed to an apparent rift that formed within the DDT Variety Team. Before the match took place Super Sasadango Machine, Toru Owashi and Akito all reminded Dieno of the rivalry between DDT and Dragon Gate. However Owashi then revealed that his allegiance is with Dragon Gate so he wouldn’t be in Dieno’s corner for the match! Dieno relied on Akito & Sasadango to interfere after Yukinori Matsui got knocked out with the Lip Lock. Dieno got into the Hell Gate position by shouting “Open The Dream Gate” out loud while his seconds tried to shove YAMATO face first into his rear. Owashi ran down to the ring to rescue YAMATO but ended up running face first into the Hell Gate instead. Then suddenly the DG wrestler Yosuke♡Santa Maria ran down to fight off Akito and Sasadango before turning on YAMATO so she could give him the Lip Lock! Maria helped Dieno give YAMATO the Danshoku Driver but it only got them a nearfall when Matsui recovered. Maria then gave Matsui the Lip Lock to knock him out again. YAMATO tried to make a comeback against the numbers disadvantage. An Enzuigiri to Dieno caused Dieno to fall forward with his backside fully exposed. YAMATO then knocked Maria face first into it with another Enzuigiri. By the time Matsui regained consciousness, he saw Dieno tapping out to YAMATO’s CBV submission hold and called for the end in YAMATO’s favour. Dieno later asked Maria backstage if there was something in the past between her and YAMATO because their interactions in the ring was like a lovers’ guarrel. Maria said there were a lot of things that happened in the past but wouldn’t go into detail. Dieno said Dragon Gate shouldn’t be allowing such an unusual relationship to happen in the workplace and threatened to go investigate if there are any other compliance violations.

New KO-D Tag Team Champions were crowned when Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki defeated FANTÔMES DRAMATIC. Aoki’s training that Miyawaki went through along with having some toughness of his own paid off. Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA tried to pick apart Miyawaki before switching over to Aoki. HARASHIMA went back to targeting Miyawaki and almost pinned him with the Somato but Aoki barely broke the pin in time. HARASHIMA then missed the Swan Dive Somato and Miyawaki suddenly tangled him into the Sunshine Clutch to get the three count out of nowhere for the title change! Miyawaki said it was a huge hurdle for him to finally win a championship in DDT and he achieved it because of Aoki. They now look forward to defending the title not just in DDT but in other places too so they can both reach the next level.

Their first challenge is coming up 30th August. Right after they won the titles, Aoki & Miyawaki were confronted by Jun Akiyama & Rukiya. The latter is feeling fired up because earlier in the show he won for the first time in Ryogoku. He now wants a title shot with Akiyama by his side. Miyawaki considered it because Aoki needs to train for his RIZIN fight coming up next month but Aoki accused Rukiya of only acting so brash because Akiyama is with him. Rukiya convinced him he’s doing this because he really wants the tag titles so the match is booked for Korakuen at the end of the month.

Hideki Okatani’s goal of finally beating Shunma Katsumata in a hardcore environment remains out of reach. The DDT Extreme Title was put on the line in a Barbed Wire Death Match that featured several weapons wrapped in the stuff. Chairs, a kendo stick, a barbed wire board and even a barbed wire turnbuckle were all used during the match. Okatani also wrapped some wire around Katsumata’s arm to hurt him that way. But Katsumata caused more damage giving Okatani a German Suplex onto a board. He then wrapped barbed wire around his waist and hit the Totonou Splash to win the match and take more than one prize from Okatani. Katsumata ended up winning both the Extreme Title and a Right To Challenge Gauntlet! He knows Okatani had a lot on his mind going into the match. Injuries derailed his career and Katsumata is sure he still thinks about Kazusada Higuchi. Katsumata understands how it feels and wants Okatani to know that as long as their bodies still move, they can liven up DDT. Okatani’s thoughts on the result is he is lacking something if he still cannot beat Katsumata in an Extreme Title match.

I’m not a father but I imagine some of the proudest moments a dad can have are hearing their kid’s first word, seeing their kid’s first steps and setting up their kid’s first death match skewer spot. Jun Kasai unexpectedly dug a bundle of them into Rukiya’s head while Hinata Kasai held him in a Headlock during their tag match. If that wasn’t enough, Jun pulled out a syringe and stuck it onto his own head before giving Rukiya a Lariat! Hinata didn’t go that far in copying his father but he did grab Jun’s goggles to tease doing the Pearl Harbor Splash. Jun Akiyama blocked him from doing the move and Rukiya took back control to win the match with the R. Fisherman Buster. The adrenaline rush he got from the match caused him to go challenge for the KO-D Tag Titles later in the show.

Things didn’t end there for the father and son tag team. Jun said he’s lived with Hinata for 22 years and has never seen the expressions on his face he made today. Today was fun but Jun needs more stimulation so he is challenging Hinata to a singles match as soon as possible! He would even do it right now but Imabayashi stepped in to tell him the result would be too predictable. So instead DDT will book the match for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2026” at Sumo Hall on 3rd November. Backstage Hinata said he learned pro wrestling doesn’t end with happy endings like a fairy tale. This match was to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of his debut and he still lost. But teaming with his father who introduced him to pro wrestling may finally open the door for this skinny, unathletic nobody to turn into something special! He promises to give his dad the ultimate excitement on 3rd November!

It turns out the tag team of Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi is actually kind of viable. Suzuki’s presence intimidated Kazuki Hirata to the point where Hirata almost couldn’t do anything but To-y had no such fear of fighting him. Hirata tried to encourage Suzuki into wearing the Hirata GO! glasses but he snapped them in half instead, causing Hirata to faint in shock. To-y was convinced that Hirata died so he fought to avenge him. However he jumped into thin air and hit the canvas while Takagi & Suzuki were arguing with each other. Hirata recovered from his near-death experience and caused Suzuki to knock To-y on top of Suzuki for a nearfall. Suzuki chased Hirata all around Sumo Hall while back in the ring Takagi caught To-y in mid-air with a Sunner and then pinned him with another Stunner. Because of this result, Takagi had won a Right To Challenge Gauntlet and he ended up using it to cash in the title shot at the end of the show.

A big prize was on the line for the Battle Royal. No, it was not the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title for whoever won the match. Whoever was the champion entering the ring would be rewarded with a year long bullet train pass to be used whenever DDT runs shows outside of Tokyo. At some point before the show Yuki Ishida lost the title to Ilusion. Then moments before the match began a string of title changes in a hallway had the belt move from Ilusion to Super Sasadango Machine to Ishida to Yuni to Kazuki Hirata, who was not booked for the match. But as Hirata made his entrance, he was suddenly grabbed from behind by Akito and put in an Ankle Lock on the stage. Hirata tapped out and Akito made it to the ring as the champion to win the train pass!

The Rumble match then went ahead with wrestlers like Yuki Iino and Naomi Yoshimura scoring eliminations. Akito lost the title during the match when he submitted to Masami Inahata’s Argentine Backbreaker. Sasadango entered the match by handing SSM masks to everyone in the ring. MJ Paul refused so the Sasadango group all ganged up on him, forced him to wear the mask and join their side much to Ilusion’s chagrin. The final entrant Yoshihiko cleared the ring, winning the Iron Man Title in the process. It last eliminated Fuminori Abe but Ilusion was still there to give Yoshihiko a fight. Ilusion survived taking the Infinity Destroyer and blocked the Reincarnation to throw Yoshihiko out of the ring and into the crowd a few rows deep. Ilusion’s title win was short lived though. Kazuki Hirata snuck up on him in his Hammer Hirata form and knocked out Ilusion to win the title for himself. Hirata then had to revert back to his normal self because his tag match was next.

The record for most KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title defences has not been broken after paleyouth failed to beat Strange Love Connection in the opening match. The match came down to Takeshi Masada facing off with Viento Levante with everyone else coming in to assist when needed. KANON & Yukio Naya held Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato in place for Levante to Moonsault onto them outside the ring. Levante then hit the Diving Headbutt on Masada for a nearfall. Koroku hit the other SLC members with a dive but paleyouth couldn’t capitalise on it. Levante instead tackled Masada to the mat and kept pinning him down until he somehow got a three count out of it! paleyouth weren’t happy with losing the titles that way and challenged SLC backstage to a rematch for the belts on 17th August. If paleyouth are going to be beaten, they want to be beaten to a pulp! KANON warned that next time SLC aren’t just going to leave it to Levante to win the match. He and Naya want to get the win for themselves too.

There was a little bit extra that happened after the show. DDT brought in another member of THE RAMPAGE to take part in the show. Shogo Yamamoto spoke to reporters about how it went afterwards when Kazuki Hirata and To-y suddenly broke into the room fighting over the Iron Man Title. The two of them knocked each other out so Yamamoto decided to pin Hirata and win the Iron Man Title. Then later in the evening MAO unintentionally tricked Yamamoto into giving up the title over to him when Yukinori Matsui overheard their conversation and misunderstood what was said.

It was announced during the show DDT will hold their 30th Anniversary show “JUDGEMENT 2027” at Sumo Hall on 22nd March next year. Akito later said the 29th Anniversary this year was put together to show everything DDT has to offer. Careful decisions will have to be made for the 30th Anniversary. According to Akito it is unclear if the Tokyo Dome will be a realistic target next year but they hope it can become one in the future.


DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” Preview

August 10, 2026

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Yuki Ishida (c) Vs Yuki Iino Vs Toru Owashi Vs Akito Vs Soma Takao Vs Fuminori Abe Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs MJ Paul Vs Ilusion Vs Yuni Vs Masami Inahata
3. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata & To-y
4. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya
5. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Death Match: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki
7. Special Single Match: YAMATO Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI Vs Antonio Honda & Tetsuya Endo
9. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi
10. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kaisei Takechi
11. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Asset Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

The show is named after Peter Pan because DDT is the company that never wants to grow up. However the story of the main event asks if the challenger has matured enough to finally dethrone the champion? The latest visit to Sumo Hall isn’t packed with the star power I would usually expect from its guests. There are crossovers with New Japan and Dragon Gate on the card though. The buildup has kind of felt lacking too because a lot of the outsider names weren’t around to interact with their DDT opponents. It all hangs on the main event for the KO-D Openweight Title. It’s a rematch from “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” in the same venue that never left as much of an impact as it hoped it would back then. This is the second chance to get that performance right, not necessarily the result. If this is supposed to be the crowning of a new champion, I’m not exactly feeling it the night before the show.

Before we begin, let me remind everyone there are currently three Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets that are active. Two of them (Red and Blue) can be used to cash in a KO-D Title shot on a DDT show whenever the holder wants as long as the champion is around. The third one (Purple) is a trap Gauntlet that can be cashed in on anyone who holds one of the other Gauntlets. So yeah, imagine a Money In The Bank that you cash in on another Money In The Bank before that gets cashed in. That’s what we’re working with here.


1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)

Someone must have told Takeshi Masada that the second most important match on a wrestling card is the opener and he’s taken that theory to heart. One of the highlights of DDT this year has been paleyouth’s tag matches, especially the ones involving the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. While this unit of youngsters do not have as heavy of a chip on their shoulders as Team Dream Futures had years ago, their performances in the ring have been something I look forward to seeing on every DDT show. Daichi Sato really has something if he can grow into a proper heavyweight down the line. Character work needs some work between them (Yuya Koroku’s personality in particular could do with being slightly less dry) but you won’t find a more reliable trio elsewhere in DDT this year.

paleyouth currently ties the record for most KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles defences and winning this match will break the record. Masada believes such an achievement will need a lot of attention which is why he asked for the match to be put in the opening spot. One person in Strange Love Connection wants to stop them and has the opportunity to do so. KANON was part of the DAMNATION T.A trio that shares the most defences record with paleyouth. Even though that title reign ended when KANON was betrayed and kicked out of the unit, he is still proud of what he achieved back then and does not want to see the accomplishment get written out of the record books. His partners for the match have different levels of motivation going into the match. SLC introduced everyone to Viento Maligno six months ago but it didn’t take long for everyone to realised it was Keigo Nakamura under the mask, returning incognito from an excursion to Mexico that didn’t work out how he hoped. His performances were underwhelming and his true identity was revealed a few months later but Nakamura is sticking with it in an attempt to make this alter ego work. Demus gave him the name Viento Maligno (Evil Wind) but being a rudo is not in Nakamura’s nature so it has since been changed to Viento Levante (named after the Mediterranean wind). Yukio Naya has spent this time being Levante’s supportive big buddy and has promised to help Levante score the winning pinfall in this match.

There is an added wild card for this match, the Right To Challenge Anytime Anywhere Anytime Anywhere Gauntlet. This purple version of the prize was created to be cashed in against other Gauntlet holders instead of any champions. So anyone who has a regular RTC Gauntlet need to watch their back just as much as the champion does! KANON has possession of the Purple AAAA Gauntlet heading into this match and will likely keep it unless he directly takes the losing fall. That means he can cause some chaos later in the show if he decides to cash in on either the Red Gauntlet holder or the Blue Gauntlet holder.


2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Yuki Ishida (c) Vs Yuki Iino Vs Toru Owashi Vs Akito Vs Soma Takao Vs Fuminori Abe Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs MJ Paul Vs Ilusion Vs Yuni Vs Masami Inahata

Sometimes you just need to add a little extra incentive to encourage people. DDT usually puts in a Royal Rumble style match on the undercard for the most unstable championship in pro wrestling the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. What also often happens is the champion going into the match might get beaten and lost the belt to someone else on their way to the ring thanks to the 24/7 rules. It can sometimes make one wonder why wrestlers would even bother trying to be the champion going into the match. DDT decided to fix this problem by adding a special prize to this year’s Iron Man Battle Royal. Whoever enters the match as the reigning champion will receive a one year long travel pass for the Shinkansen bullet train to be used whenever DDT books them for shows held outside of Tokyo. That’s going to come in handy in the coming months when DDT make their Autumn trips to Osaka, Hokkaido and Yokohama. I bet those tours alone will pay off the pass by themselves unless DDT starts managing how their wrestlers are booked by using a bucket system.

At the time of writing Yuki Ishida is the reigning champion as he continues his journey into rediscovering himself. He’s kind of in the same position that Nakamura was in but it’s a lot more shallow. Ever since Kazusada Higuchi retired and Harimao went their separate ways, Ishida has struggled to keep up with the other wrestlers from his generation. Lately he believes he needs to change himself to finally make the progress he wants. All he’s been doing though is tell people over and over he wants to change and also take part in a photoshoot trying out different outfits. The one of him in a suit makes him look like a young Jaki Numazawa if Numazawa never took part in death matches so maybe there’s something to be found there. He really needs to put more thought into the idea though because right now it just comes off as him being superficial.

The usual bunch of undercard wrestlers are filling up the ranks. Yuki Iino is taking on double the bookings between DDT and NOAH. It’s working out great for him on the NOAH front with Iino getting a passionate makeover and winning the GHC Tag Team Titles with Manabu Soya. He has to hide his wild looking haircut back in DDT and his presence on shows has mostly been reduced to being another body in SLC multi-man tag matches. Soma Takao recently came back from injury and wants to remind everyone he is not just the guy who works at the Dropkick Bar. Yes, he’s been gone long enough for the newer DDT fans to be unaware that he is a wrestler. Naomi Yoshimura remains low on the card due to his physical limits but he has talked about having a special opponent in mind for his homecoming show later this year. Ilusion continues to be a trollish dick to everyone outside of DAMNATION T.A. He often gets away with it because MJ Paul is always nearby to have his back no matter what trouble he causes. Some of the other young guns like Yuni and Masami Inahata have briefly won the Iron Man Title in the leadup to the show. That leaves the likes of Toru Owashi, Akito, Fuminori Abe and Super Sasadango Machine to fill up the rest of the field. Sasadango’s been trying to join different stables as a Nagoya-only based member but those kind of alliances mean nothing in Tokyo!


3. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata & To-y

No matter how many enemies Sanshiro Takagi makes in the ring throughout his career, at some point he’ll try teaming up with them. Minoru Suzuki is the latest foe turned tag partner as it was the only way Suzuki could find a spot on the show. The two have caught attention in Japan and around the world for their feud built around Falls Count Anywhere matches in the unusual environments. They’ve fought inside an empty Tokyo Dome, they’ve fought along a tramline and most famously of all they’ve fought inside a moving bullet train. They must know each other inside and out by now so let’s see how they will get along as a tag team.

I would consider the opposition to be an Easy Mode option if it wasn’t for the risk of Suzuki & Takagi’s team becoming to volatile to last. We are approaching one year since the wonderful Summer Of Kazuki Hirata and he’s back in the 2nd match of the card where he himself would admit he belongs. He also continues to lose matches as soon as they begin which has been disastrous for Hisaya Imabayashi’s heart rate. To-y has been doing better than Hirata when it comes to win-loss records but his somewhat manical personality can lead him towards making some costful mistakes. He is the holder of the Blue RTC Gauntlet and the stage can be set for him to make a big splash later in the show if he decides to cash it in. Or he could make a foolish mistake like a certain stablemate of his from The 37KAMIINA did once before and let Suzuki open up a pathway towards becoming a DDT champion again.


4. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya

What if the cat’s in the cradle and the cradle is also filled with lighttubes? Thankfully Hinata Kasai has not taken to following in his father’s footsteps the exact same way. Instead his pro wrestling career is with DDT where he’s been working as the fourth member of FANTÔMES DRAMATIC. It’s been apparent from his debut a year ago that he is lacking in physical skills but he’s been making up for it by looking sympathetic every time he takes a beating. When DDT announced that Hinata would team up with his dad Jun Kasai inside Sumo Hall to celebrate the one year anniversary of his debut, Hinata made it his goal to earn his first victory by then. That hasn’t happened yet so his self-imposed challenge is going straight to the wire. Jun Akiyama & Rukiya will be making up the wall Hinata has to try and climb over. This will be the first time Jun and Akiyama will have a proper match against each other (they were both part of a wacky Taiji Ishimori gauntlet match in New Japan last year). This is different from Hinata and Rukiya who have been regularly teaming up or fighting against each other on DDT shows ever since Hinata’s debut. Rukiya was even Hinata’s first singles opponent so if there’s anyone most suitable for Hinata to score his first victory against, it’s Rukiya.

Quick sidenote before I move onto the next match. I should really take the time to watch the Jun Kasai “KYO-EN” documentary that was made a few years ago to see what presence Hinata has in that. That kind of info would have been really helpful in hindsight. If it’s good enough for Hideo Kojima then it’s good enough for me.


5. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Death Match: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata

The show was missing some kind of spectacle but I didn’t expect DDT would go the violence route to fill in that spot late in the buildup. Hideki Okatani has gone on a mean streak as DDT Extreme Champion to prove his superiority over other wrestlers from his generation. It’s all so he can come face to face with one wrestler in particular, the one who welcomed him into Hardcore wrestling in the first place and he could never beat in two previous attempts. But simply making this a Hardcore Match feels underwhelming to Okatani. He wants to use the most exciting rule he can think of so he decided he will defend the title in a Barbed Wire Death Match!

Shunma Katsumata is no stranger to the Extreme Title and has twice defended the championship against Okatani. The first in 2023 ended badly when Katsumata suffered a leg injury that forced him to vacate the title despite winning the match. The second in 2024 worked out better for him as he won the match without getting injured this time. This past Katsumata has with Okatani feels kind of special to him because he keeps being involved in Okatani’s first experiences. He must be an important person in Okatani’s life because he seems to be the only one who can motivate Okatani into making these really violent kind of matches.

There’s an extra prize on the line too. Okatani is going into the match holding the Blue Right To Challenge Gauntlet that he recently won from Katsumata. Whoever wins this bloody battle will walk out with both the Extreme Title and a Gauntlet. But will the winner be in any state to cash it in later in the night or could they end up becoming a sitting duck for the holder of the Anytime Anywhere Gauntlet to ambush once the ring gets cleared of all the sharp barbed wire?


6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki

I don’t think I will ever be able to imagine DDT without HARASHIMA. Even without changing anything about himself he continues to stay relevant with the company as one of the most reliable wrestlers you can ever count on. He continues to show it here as a backbone member of FANTÔMES DRAMATIC and a 12-time holder of the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Whatever it is that keeps him feeling young is probably being provided by Chris Brookes because that guys keeps finding ways to stay busy. Whenever he’s not wrestling in Fandora tag matches, he’s off causing mayhem with the Baka Gaijin + Friends. It will take a pair of wrestlers as “Baka” as the two of them to take the KO-D Titles away.

Here’s where Shinya Aoki comes in as a challenger who both Brookes & HARASHIMA are very familiar with. Joining him is the sunlight of NOAH who came to DDT looking for new experiences. Junta Miyawaki is on a year long loan from The Ark and spends some of his time here taking part in every DDT comedy gimmick he can think of. The rest of the time Miyawaki has attached himself to Aoki, having been taken under the MMA fighter’s wing after spending years being influenced by Aoki’s skills. This new mentor/student dynamic can make Miyawaki’s stay here even more worthwhile if it can win him his first DDT championship.

What might get in the way of this promising new tag team is Aoki’s plans for the rest of the year. He recently ended his MMA contract with ONE Championship and quickly made the jump over to RIZIN. Aoki now has a big fight coming up in September against Mikuru Asakura. If Aoki & Miyawaki can win the tag titles, Miyawaki has promised to carry the belts down to the ring for Aoki’s fight next month!


7. Special Single Match: YAMATO Vs Danshoku Dieno

Alas poor Dragon Gate, the company where you sometimes have to remind yourself it’s no longer the promotion it was from 15 years ago. Shun Skywalker has buggered off and the new units being created all sound like a half completed title of a Kingdom Hearts spinoff that was generated by AI. But you can always count on YAMATO to be a flagbearer for the company and take the lead whenever others fail to do. Working relationships between DDT and Dragon Gate have a tricky history together. There were times when they joined forces to put on “DRAMATIC DREAM GATE” events and then there were the times when DDT took in the runaways who couldn’t cut it at the dojo in Kobe. Things seem to be okay between the two companies right now (maybe thanks to UJPW?) so YAMATO is coming to DDT looking for a suitable opponent for an inter-promotional bout.

YAMATO’s request is a grand one. He is looking for somebody of comparable stature to his own. Somebody whose collection of work could create or even carry a company by itself just like how YAMATO has done it for Dragon Gate. Even if you didn’t know the match already you knew the opponent was going to be Danshoku Dieno, right? YAMATO tried to get the match changed because in his opinion nobody wants to see him grappling with Dieno in the ring. The DDT fanbase, or at least those who were inside Korakuen Hall when the match was announced, tend to disagree. YAMATO now claims that he is immune to Dieno’s antics but we’ll all discover together how truthful he is being at Sumo Hall.


8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI Vs Antonio Honda & Tetsuya Endo

The cheek of DDT to hold a contest asking fans to predict what match Daisuke Sasaki was going to be in and this is the answer. The spots began to fill when DDT announced Antonio Honda was going to be on the other team. It would then be up to Sasaki and Honda to choose their own tag team partners. Sasaki made the first move and contacted DOUKI from the House Of Torture to join forces with him. It’s a perfect fit. Sasaki has known DOUKI for many years, it’s a fellow heel who wouldn’t look out of place standing next to DAMNATION T.A and he’s coming off one of the most dominant runs the NJPW Junior Heavyweight division has seen in years. Honda was rightfully worried about who he is going up against and was motivated to choose a tag team partner that would feel just as unfair towards Sasaki.

A call was made to repair a broken bridge. Honda was part of a unit from a decade ago called Happy Motel and another member of that group left them behind to join DAMNATION. Honda has never teamed with this person ever since but the time had come to let bygones be bygones. Honda’s partner is Tetsuya Endo! Even though Endo is now a full time wrestler with NOAH he has a plan to come back to DDT once he wins the GHC Heavyweight Title. He failed to become champion back in June but decided to briefly return to DDT when he saw how lazy Sasaki has become lately. The Sasaki he sees now who has been standing to the side and letting others in DAMNATION T.A claim leadership of the group is nothing like the Sasaki that Endo knew from the original DAMNATION. Honda claims he only asked Endo to team with him because it would make for a more exciting match. Endo says he is taking part to remind Sasaki what his true colours should look like.


9. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi

This is an odd one although that’s to be expected with Ryusuke Taguchi being involved. The stalwart of NJPW’s Jr. division was one of the first guests to be booked for the show so when Kazuma Sumi asked if he could defend the DDT Universal Title against a New Japan wrestler, Taguchi got the spot. Sumi has felt annoyed over missing out on the recent DDT Vs NJPW matches especially since NJPW have been on the winning end more often than not. But putting any ill feelings on the matter aside, he is also happy to fight Taguchi and use him as a stepping stone to the top of the Junior Heavyweight scene. The odd thing is Taguchi seems to be accepting his fate. He’s been the stepping stone before for Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega so this scenario is nothing new to him. All he can do is teach Sumi a lesson. If Sumi isn’t careful then he could end up becoming used as a stepping stone for somebody else!

When it comes to star power, this is not the match I would have booked for Sumi. However that isn’t the goal DDT has in mind here. They want a solid hand to help Sumi take the next step and Taguchi still has those kind of performances in him once every blue moon. You can always count on him to have that one particularly good match every Best Of The Super Jr. and I bet the goal is for him to give Sumi the same match here. Some rumours over NJPW replenishing their Jr. division earlier this year have not come to pass but I think something is coming up over the horizon after the company recently changed ownership. Taguchi had suggested during the contract signing that he and Sumi could team up together for an upcoming tag tournament in New Japan. He even suggested they both shave their heads so they can be called The Buzz Cut Brothers. Sumi is indecisive over the idea (the last time he shaved his head everyone thought he was being punished for something but it was for a TV role) but who knows? This might end up becoming an audition for something bigger down the line.


10. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kaisei Takechi

DDT’s new gravy train goes up against the company’s pride and joy. You know I would really appreciate it if DDT announced their attendance numbers again so we could find out how much of a draw this match is but we’re going to be left in the dark. Konosuke Takeshita is taking a time out from the G1 CLIMAX to semi-main a Sumo Hall show. He has one more A Block match to get through a day later but the odds are in his favour he can make it to the playoff stage (knock on wood). Don’t expect him to act like he’s taking the night off. He’s promised to go all out given who his opponent is here.

Just like the rise of Yuki Arai in Tokyo Joshi Pro, I reckon it is only a matter of time before Kaisei Takechi takes to pro wrestling on a full time basis and becomes DDT’s top pushed act. We’re still a while away from that happening though. His schedule had slowed down after the early part of the year due to him suffering from a case of pink eye than having priorities elsewhere by the time it cleared up. He’s going into this Dramatic Dream match understanding that 99% of his fans expect him to lose. That just means he’s going to fight his heart out for the 1% who do believe in him. Surviving against one of the best in the world is the goal here but the closer he gets to achieving that, the more he can figure out if Takeshita isn’t as fresh as he claims to be thanks to the G1.


11. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Asset Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

We’re back here for a second try. Two years ago Yuki Ueno and MAO fought in the main event of “WRESTLE PETER PAN” in Sumo Hall with the KO-D Openweight Title on the line. It was a match determined to establish the two as DDT’s big rivalry of the era much like Takeshita Vs Endo or Ibushi Vs Omega both were in times past. It didn’t hit the mark. So what has changed two years later that DDT is giving the match another go? For one, Ueno has finally grown into the confident ace the company has been looking for post Takeshita and Higuchi. Even though this is his third reign as champion, it’s really his second because of a fun detour that Kazuki Hirata sent everyone on last year. Once the title returned to Ueno he has looked the most comfortable he’s ever been when taking the reins and setting a long path towards the dream destination that is the Tokyo Dome. That’s one half of the problem sorted. Has the opponent matured just as much?

According to MAO he’s taking the steps towards deserving a KO-D Title run. He left The 37KAMIINA to form his own team turned unit Strange Love Connection. This was all so he could stand across the ring from Ueno and eventually catch up to him, raising their rivalry to the same level as Takeshita/Endo, Ibushi/Omega and even further back to HARASHIMA/KUDO. Ueno and MAO always like fighting each other, it’s just that their friendliness towards each other was one of the reasons why their previous Peter Pan main event didn’t land the way they thought it would.

MAO is the question mark I’m having trouble with because two years ago showed his wrestling style is not suited for the big arenas. Sure he has the crazy spirit I want from a DDT superstar but I don’t see him eagerly Moonsaulting off of a balcony like Ibushi did. MAO is at his best the smaller the room is. His antics go down a treat in Shinjuku FACE (I’m going to miss that place) and his appearances in Baka Gaijin + Friends are often my favorite part of those shows. He also likes to take out of the box chances as shown from his Universal Title run but that’s a role I can’t see being done with the KO-D Title, at least at this point in time. There is a way MAO can positively stand out as a KO-D Champion. That way is not by having a forced 30+ minute epic main event in Ryogoku. Should MAO win the title and leave Sumo Hall as champion, DDT will have to go in a completely different direction than where they’ve been heading with Ueno on top. Can that direction also take them to the Tokyo Dome or is it time to put that dream to rest after bringing it up so often for the last year or two? I hate to end this preview with that question but it’s the mystery that’s swirling around in my head.


Where’s The One Wish Willow When You Need It?

July 17, 2026

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’26”, 18/07/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Momo Sato Debut Match: Uta Takami & Ren Konatsu Vs Shion Kanzaki & Momo Sato
2. Shin Sakura Katsushika Hirota, HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida Vs Raku, Pom Harajuku & Chika Nanase
3. Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro Vs MIRAI & Toga
4. Aja Kong Vs Arisu Endo
5. Yuki Kamifuku, Kumadori & Sakura Hattori Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Yumehito Imanari & Mahiro Kiryu
6. Mizuki Vs Chris Brookes
7. International Princess Title: Suzume (c) Vs Wakana Uehara
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Unfortunately Willow Nightingale’s flight was cancelled and Tokyo Joshi Pro were unable to rearrange her travel plans to get her to the show in time so her match with Mizuki has been cancelled. Mizuki will now be facing Chris Brookes tomorrow in a last minute attempt to find Mizuki a big name opponent. Given that Nightingale teased doing an angle with Thekla while in Japan (Thekla is over there as part of the AEWStardom relationship) I don’t know if this means her entire trip was cancelled or just her TJPW booking.

Normally when a TJPW rookie has her debut match in a tag team bout she enters to the music of her senpai tag partner. However Shion Kanzaki has given her approval to let Momo Sato enter the match to her own theme song for her debut.

DDT “LET’S GO! IMAIKE MOTTOIKE 2026”, 19/07/2026
Aichi Imaike Gas Hall

1. Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Junta Miyawaki, Yuki Ishida & Rukiya
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Kazuma Sumi & Yuni Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito & Hinata Kasai
3. Jun Akiyama, Naomi Yoshimura & Masami Inahata Vs Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante
4. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs paleyouth!: Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Takeshi Masada & Daichi Sato
5. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yuya Koroku
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs MAO, KANON & Muscle Sakai (w/ KIMIHIRO)

Sunday will be the first DDT show where both Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets will be active along with the brand new bonus Gauntlet. Shunma Katsumata has the Red Gauntlet, Masami Inahata has the Blue Gauntlet and Ilusion has the Purple Gauntlet that lets him cash in on either of the other two.

The Nagoya show is sold out.

DDT “OSAKA VS TOKYO ~DREAM EAST-WEST PRO WRESTLING BATTLE 2026~”, 02/08/2026
Osaka Umeda Stella Hall

1. East Vs West Showdown: Daichi Sato (Kanagawa), KANON (Ishikawa), Viento Levante (Iwate) & Hinata Kasai (Kanagawa) Vs Yuni (Osaka), Yuki Ishida (Kumamoto), Rukiya (Osaka) & Masami Inahata (Osaka)
2. East Vs West Showdown: Shunma Katsumata (Chiba) & To-y (Saitama) Vs Kazuma Sumi (Mie) & Junta Miyawaki (Kagawa)
3. East Vs West Unknown Showdown ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Soma Takao (Tokyo) & Shota (Tokyo) Vs Akito (Aichi) & Naomi Yoshimura (Osaka) Vs MJ Paul (Unknown) & Ilusion (Unknown)
4. East Vs West Showdown: HARASHIMA (Tokyo) & Antonio Honda (Tokyo) Vs Jun Akiyama (Osaka) & Danshoku Dieno (Hiroshima)
5. East Vs West Showdown ~ Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata (Tokyo) Vs Gym Trainer Kotoka (Kumamoto)
6. East Vs West Showdown ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuya Koroku (Chiba/Vice Captain), Daisuke Sasaki (Tokyo) & Yukio Naya (Tokyo) Vs Takeshi Masada (Osaka/Vice Captain), Hideki Okatani (Kochi) & Chris Brookes (Great Britain)
7. East Vs West Showdown ~ Special Tag Match: MAO (Miyagi/Captain) (w/ KIMIHIRO) & Shinya Aoki (Shizuoka) Vs Yuki Ueno (Osaka/Captain) & Sanshiro Takagi (Osaka)

An entire show of DDT matches pitting the roster from the east side of Japan against everybody from the west side. Among the match is one where Soma Takao & Shota reunite as ROMANCE DAWN.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs X
2. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs X & X
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO)
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI Vs Antonio Honda & Tetsuya Endo
5. Special Single Match: YAMATO Vs Danshoku Dieno
6. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi
7. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kaisei Takechi
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

Antonio Honda claims he only picked Tetsuya Endo as his tag partner because it would make the match against Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI more exciting. However Endo has history with both Honda and Sasaki. He used to be in DAMNATION with Sasaki and isn’t impressed with what Sasaki has been doing lately. Endo also used to be in Happy Motel with Honda and this match will be the first time in about a decade when the two will be teaming up together.

Either paleyouth are going to break the record of most KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title defences or Viento Levante will find redemption over his decision to keep his luchador gimmick.

GANBARE☆PRO “IT’S A SUMMER FILM 2026”, 15/08/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yumehito Imanari Vs Hyo Ogawa
2. Ken Ohka 25th Anniversary Match Part 2: Ken Ohka, X & X Vs Chris Brookes, Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe
3. YuuRI Vs Takumi Iroha
4. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Takuya Wada & Tyson Maeguchi (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Yuya Susumu
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Mizuki Watase (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie

With Munetatsu Nakamura out of action Chris Brookes is now being moved over to Ken Ohka’s 25th Anniversary Match. He’s going to team up with Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe while Ohka’s partners are yet to be announced.


DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2026 IN SHINJUKU 【FINAL COUNTDOWN 2】” Results

July 16, 2026

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2026 IN SHINJUKU 【FINAL COUNTDOWN 2】”, 16/07/2026
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Soma Takao & Yuki Ishida defeated Kazuma Sumi & Yuni when Ishida pinned Yuni with the Ensho (7:29).
2. Special Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Mikiya Sasaki when To-y pinned Mikiya with a School Boy (10:18).
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI) defeated Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul when Levante pinned Paul by Referee Stoppage with a Body Lock Sleeper Hold (13:27).
4. Kaidan Shin-Numabukuro Royale: Kaisei Takechi Vs Jun Akiyama Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs MAO Vs KANON Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Rukiya Vs Hinata Kasai ended in a No Contest (12:25).
*Kaidan Reading Artist: Hisaya Imabayashi
5. Blindfold Nipple Covered 4 Way Death Match ~ Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet: Masami Inahata defeated Yuki Ueno, Kazuki Hirata and Junta Miyawaki when Inahata removed Ueno’s bra (14:10).
*Masami Inahata wins the Blue Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Falls Count Anywhere Match: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) defeated Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda when Sato pinned Honda with a Diving Body Press through a Table (19:41).
*V6 for paleyouth.

There was a contact signing at the start of the show that for the two upcoming title matches going on between FANTÔMES DRAMATIC and paleyouth. However paleyouth were late to the signing which caused Antonio Honda to get angry. He demanded that today’s KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match should now be Falls Count Anywhere. Akito was in charge as the GM today and he agreed to make the change. The two sides brawled all over Shinjuku FACE until Honda was placed onto a table near the counter. Daichi Sato climbed the counter and jumped off it to crush Honda through the table and win the match, meaning paleyouth have now tied the record for most KO-D 6-Man Tag Title defences!

After the match three members from Strange Love Connection appeared and confronted paleyouth. KANON & Yukio Naya stood aside so Viento Levante could challenge the champions for a title match. He said he went to Mexico and doesn’t know if it was worth it. He then came home and worked hard to become as strong and cool as everyone else but doesn’t feel like he has earned the right to make this challenge. But if there is at least one person out there who cheers for him he will work hard for them. paleyouth accepted the challenge because they all understand where Levante is coming from. They will defend their titles against SLC on 11th August with the goal of breaking the defence record at Sumo Hall.

The second of two Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets belongs to Masami Inahata after he won the Blindfold Bra 4 Way Match. But since he was still blindfolded when the match ended, Ilusion easily crept into the ring and approached Inahata from behind to put him in a Sleeper Hold. All he did though was give Inahata a warning that he can cash in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere, Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet on him whenever he wants.

You better start believing in ghost stories Kaisei Takechi. You’re in one! He took part in the annual multi-man match that turns into a ghost story if it does not end in three minutes. He had to be dragged into the ring by everyone else because he admittedly does not like scary stories. Danshoku Dieno tried to calm him down by telling him he only has to fall down when Hisaya Imabayashi points at him. That doesn’t actually mean he dies. Everyone then encouraged Imabayashi to do his point except he wanted to add a twist to the proceedings. He would only do the point at one person, whoever wins the Battle Royal! The match continued and Takechi ended up becoming the last man standing. Imabayashi began to tell his ghost story called “The Coin Locker” about a person finding an abandoned child at a coin locker. However Imabayashi didn’t expect Takechi to pull out a script and start reciting the story alongside him. Takechi then revealed he took part in this match to get revenge on Imabayashi for his mentor Makoto Oishi because all those years of Imabayashi doing the “It’s you!” point at Oishi made him addicted to the scare! Imabayashi tried to scare him with the point but missed and hit Dieno by accident. Takechi did one of his own but hit Yukinori Matsui. This kept going on until everyone else fainted. Imabayashi and Takechi finally hit each other at the same time but Takechi was the only one to survive it. He slumped into KANON’s arms and told him he was going to sleep for a while. KANON screamed in panic and the room turned into darkness… The lights then came back on and everybody lined up in the ring to bow to the audience.

According to Daisuke Sasaki his tag partner today Mikiya Sasaki is actually his long lost twin brother. That means they are the Super Sasaki Brothers! The brotherly love disappeared late into the match when Daisuke complained about having to wear green while Mikiya got to wear red and blue. They started fighting each other which helped lead them into losing their match against The 37KAMIINA.

After the match Honda came down to the ring to reveal his tag partner against Sasaki & DOUKI at Sumo Hall on 11th August. It’s going to be Tetsuya Endo and he is here right now! Endo couldn’t believe what he is seeing from Sasaki. This isn’t the Daisuke Sasaki he knew from DAMNATION so at Sumo Hall Endo is going to expose Sasaki’s true colours! Sasaki taked back, saying nobody here knows who Endo is because he’s wrestling on a green canvas and couldn’t even win a crappy GHC Championship. Honda then stepped in to explain he chose Endo because it will make the match more exciting. It will also be nostalgic because it will be the first time in a decade that Endo & Honda are teaming up together.

The contract signing with Fandora and paleyouth that was mentioned earlier also involved the KO-D Tag Team Titles match taking place on 26th July. paleyouth were present by the time this contract was signed so no extra stipulation was made for it. Neither HARASHIMA nor Chris Brookes are that worried by their opponents. Brookes even had Honda speak about the match on his behalf. Takeshi Masada spoke about how much winning the KO-D Tag Titles would mean for both himself and Yuya Koroku. The two of them are confident they will become double champions and after today they are halfway towards achieving that goal.


Barbed Wire Board Crash, Right To Challenge Gauntlets Are Back, New Wrestle Peter Pan Matches

July 1, 2026

DDT “CHARISMANIA IV”, 02/07/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Yasu Urano & Sangre Azteca Jr. Vs Naohiro Katsumi & Yunicaras Jr. (w/ Sumicaras)
2. Special Single Match: MJ Paul Vs Ryunosuke Nagai
3. Fake Brahman Army Vs Mataro Army All-Out Confrontation: Fake Brahman Yuki, Fake Brahman Yuki & Fake Brahman Yuki Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Takayuki Ueki & Takeshi Masada (w/ Mataro)
4. Special Tag Match: Minoru Fujita & Ilusion Vs Ayato Ishida & Gabai Ji-chan
5. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Board Crash Match: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Yuko Miyamoto
6. O-40 Title – 3 Way Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs Keisuke Ishii

Members of the rock band HEAD PHONES PRESIDENT will present a prize to the winner of the O-40 Title main event.

The DDT Extreme Title match between Hideki Okatani and Yuko Miyamoto will now be a Barbed Wire Board Crash match. The first person to put their opponent through a Barbed Wire Board or make their opponent break it another way will be the winner.

DDT “ASAKUSA ROX NAKAMISE FIGHTING 2026”, 08/07/2026
Tokyo Asakusa ROX 3G Super Multi Court

0. Dark Match – Nariagari Showcase: X Vs X
1. Shunma Katsumata & Viento Levante Vs Akito & Hinata Kasai
2. Yuya Koroku, Daichi Sato & MBM Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Rukiya & Masami Inahata
3. Sanshiro Takagi & Yukio Naya Vs Jun Akiyama & Junta Miyawaki
4. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) & Kazuma Sumi Vs Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Ryota Nakatsu & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuki Ishida

The Nariagari amateur group gets to provide their annual dark match before the show begins.

DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN HANDMADE IN JAPAN FES’ 2026”, 11/07/2026
Tokyo Big Sight West Halls 1 & 2, Music & Play Area

1. Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Tag Match: Kazuma Sumi & Rukiya Vs Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku Vs To-y & Hinata Kasai Vs Yuki Ishida & Masami Inahata

An entirely D GENERATIONS based lineup will be part of the Falls Count Anywhere Match at this year’s Handmade In Japan Fes.

DDT “CHECK OUT DDT AT GRANSHIP”, 12/07/2026
Shizuoka Granship Exchange Hall

1. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata & Akito
2. Jun Akiyama & Rukiya Vs MJ Paul & Ilusion
3. Daichi Sato Vs Masami Inahata
4. Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs Junta Miyawaki & Yuki Ishida
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Hinata Kasai Vs Kazuma Sumi, Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs MAO, KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO)

From opponents fighting over a championship to allies teaming up together. Yuki Ueno & Shinya Aoki are now back on the same side after their grueling KO-D Openweight Title match over the weekend. Aoki will now help out The 37KAMIINA for a tag match against Strange Love Connection.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2026 IN SHINJUKU 【FINAL COUNTDOWN 1】”, 15/07/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Junta Miyawaki & Masami Inahata
2. Jun Akiyama & Soma Takao Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Rukiya
3. Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ishida & Hinata Kasai
4. Invisible Man Rumble: Kazuki Hirata Vs Lengendary Invisible Man Fighters
5. Special Tag Match: Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs Yuni & Kumadori
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki, To-y & Kaisei Takechi Vs KANON, Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)
7. Summer Fun KING OF DRUNK 2026 ~ Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Chris Brookes Vs MAO Vs Shunma Katsumata

This summer there will be two Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets available to fight for. Whoever wins them will get a KO-D Title shot whenever they want from the time they win them up until 27th September. However the longer they wait to cash in their shot, the bigger the risk of them losing it to somebody else because the Gauntlets must always be defended in every matches the holder is booked for.

DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2026 IN SHINJUKU 【FINAL COUNTDOWN 2】”, 16/07/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Kazuma Sumi & Yuni Vs Soma Takao & Yuki Ishida
2. DAMNATION T.A Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)
3. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Mikiya Sasaki Vs Shunma Katsumata & To-y
4. Kaidan Shin-Numabukuro Royale: Kaisei Takechi Vs Jun Akiyama Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs MAO Vs KANON Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Rukiya Vs Hinata Kasai
*Kaidan Reading Artist: Hisaya Imabayashi
5. Blindfold Nipple Covered 4 Way Death Match ~ Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet: Yuki Ueno Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Junta Miyawaki Vs Masami Inahata
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda

There will be one Gauntlet up for grabs on each Beer Garden show. This time it will be the sillier matches on the card that are getting what are supposed to be big prizes.

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: KIMIHIRO (c) Vs X
2. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs X & X
3. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI Vs Antonio Honda & X
4. Special Single Match: YAMATO Vs Danshoku Dieno
5. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi
6. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kaisei Takechi
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

The card is starting to fill up. Yuki Ueno and MAO will be in the KO-D Title match in Sumo Hall again for the second time in the hopes of carrying DDT on the ultimate path towards the Tokyo Dome. There are also some inter-promotional bouts to look forward to with Kazuma Sumi defending the DDT Universal Title against Ryusuke Taguchi in a continuation of the DDT Vs New Japan rivalry. There is still some friendliness between the two companies because Daisuke Sasaki has picked DOUKI to be his tag partner for the mystery match against Antonio Honda and whoever he is going to pick (the popular guess online so far seems to be YOH). Dragon Gate is also taking part in the fun by sending YAMATO over for a match. Unfortunately for him he’s getting Danshoku Dieno as his opponent.


DDT “KING OF KINGS 2026 ~TENKA TAIRAN~” Results

June 28, 2026

DDT “KING OF KINGS 2026 ~TENKA TAIRAN~”, 28/06/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Dark Match: Junta Miyawaki & Viento Levante defeated Akito & Miles Karu when Miyawaki pinned Karu with the Sunshine Driver (7:26).
1. Soma Takao Comeback Match: Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida defeated Soma Takao & Naomi Yoshimura when Naya pinned Takao with The World’s Best Back Drop (7:10).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Rukiya & Masami Inahata defeated Minoru Suzuki, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Akiyama pinned Hirata with a Lariat (0:09).
2a. Hirata Cannot Lose Until He Loses Three Times: Jun Akiyama, Rukiya & Masami Inahata defeated Minoru Suzuki, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata (8:05).
2a1. Jun Akiyama pinned Kazuki Hirata with a Lariat (0:18).
2ab. Masami Inahata submitted Kazuki Hirata with a Crab Hold (0:43).
2a3. Rukiya submitted Kazuki Hirata with an Anal Hand Camel Clutch (8:05).
3. STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION Vs The 37KAMIINA!: KANON & Yuki Iino (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI) defeated Shunma Katsumata & To-y when Iino pinned To-y with a Lariat (7:49).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: KIMIHIRO defeated Shunma Katsumata (c) by Submission (12:24 pm).
*KIMIHIRO becomes the 1,836th champion.
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato defeated Kazuma Sumi, Yuni & Kumadori when Sato pinned Yuni with a Rolling Elbow Butt (9:44).
5. No Referee Match: MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Cannonball 450° through the Plastic Case (12:31).
6. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai when Sasaki submitted Kasai with the Crossface Lock (10:24).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Shinya Aoki with the Sleeper Hold (21:48).
*V8 for Yuki Ueno.

There was no repeat from what happened back in 2024. This time Yuki Ueno was able to put Shinya Aoki away and remain the KO-D Openweight Champion. It was a complete swap of results from two years ago as this time Ueno was able to make Aoki submit instead of the other way around. He had to go that direction because Aoki avoided the WR and used the Aoki Clutch to try and win. Ueno kicked out of the move and got to use his finisher except Aoki still had enough movement left in him to avoid getting pinned. Ueno had to instead stick Aoki in a grounded Sleeper Hold and make him tap out to finally win. After the match Ueno thanked Aoki for becoming part of the DDT family and said how much he respects him from the bottom of his heart.

There is still some time to go until “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” takes place in Sumo Hall on 11th August. It’s enough time for a surprise title defence or two to happen before then but Ueno was given the nod by Hisaya Imabayashi to choose his Ryogoku challenger. Ueno brought up his goal to bring DDT to the Tokyo Dome and in order to do that he feels he must come up with a match that can sell out Sumo Hall first. The opponent he wants to fight in front of a packed Sumo Hall is MAO! This will also be a title rematch from 2024 in the same building. MAO calls himself a realist because he wonders if he can really make it to the Tokyo Dome. He thinks he can because he has become stronger that he was two years ago and is carrying none of the burdans from back then. He accepts the challenge to determine who will win between DDT’s Prince and DDT’s square shaped devil!

The 8-Man Tag between FANTÔMES DRAMATIC and DAMNATION T.A was a little preview for the mystery tag match at Sumo Hall that Daisuke Sasaki and Antonio Honda are both involved with. It was also an opportunity for Hinata Kasai to earn his first win. His partners helped out by weakening Sasaki using Chris Brookes’s Penalty Kick, HARASHIMA’s Swan Dive Body Press and Honda’s Fist Drop. Kasai then applied the STF for the finish but Sasaki got out of it by biting Kasai’s hand. After that MJ Paul hit Kasai with a chairshot from ringside and Hideki Okatani followed it up with the Claymore Kick. Ilusion wiped out the other Fandora wrestlers with a Trust Fall dive out of the ring while Sasaki made Kasai give up to the Crossface Lock.

Sasaki then had an announcement to make after the match. Both he and Honda need to find their own tag partners for their Sumo Hall match. Sasaki revealed he has found a suitable partner and played a video of him recruiting DOUKI from New Japan! The addition of the House Of Torture wrestler had Honda beginning to worry about the match. He told Sasaki when it will be time for him to reveal his tag partner, Sasaki’s going to act like it is an unfair choice too. Backstage Sasaki said he’s known DOUKI going back to before he was even DOUKI. Sasaki also recently just came back from Thailand where he claimed to have learned Muay Thai during his stay so he thinks he will take Honda down in seconds.

No referee? No problem! It was up to the audience to count the pinfall during the grudge match between MAO and Sanshiro Takagi. Not even the most stringent wrestling official could get in the way of MAO and Takagi’s crazy ideas for the match. Takagi made his entrance through the Korakuen Hall seating only to get run over by MAO riding the Dramatic Dream bike. He then crashed a scooter into Takagi along with a cart with KIMIHIRO sitting on it at ringside. Takagi fought back by bringing a toilet into the ring so he could DDT MAO into it. The fans were aided with on-screen instructions to count either fast or slow much to the wrestlers’ chagrin. The fan count would only register when it was determined the majority of them reached to three. MAO then played mind games by showing video footage of him running over Takagi in different vehicles over the past six years. The trauma effected Takagi so much that when MAO pulled out a small remote control van it caused Takagi more mental damage. Takagi was able to fight back using Stunners but the crowd only made it to a collective 2.9 before MAO kicked out. MAO got his own nearfall using the Michinoku Driver II so he placed a plastic box on top of his opponent and hit the Cannonball 450° through it for the three count. He then added insult to injury by driving the toy van into Takagi’s beaten body. With this win, MAO now considers himself to be Takagi’s successor so he encourages everyone else to DDT to become as crazy as he is and carry the weight of DDT with pride!

Kazuma Sumi came back from his eye injury with something in particular being stuck in his mind. But first he had a 6-Man Tag Match against paleyouth to get through. He got to show he didn’t lose a step in his brief absence by going toe to toe with Takeshi Masada. His partners Yuni & Kumadori pulled off some big dives late in the match. But when it came down to Yuni, he became overwhelmed by Yuya Koroku and then Daichi Sato who put him away with a Rolling Elbow.

After the match Sumi talked about how frustrating it was he had to miss the recent DDT Vs New Japan show due to his injury. He was annoyed in particular by seeing the NJPW young lion Tatsuya Matsumoto beat Hinata Kasai. Sumi can’t stand seeing DDT lose to NJPW like this so he made a demand to defend his DDT Universal Title against a wrestler from New Japan. Suddenly the lights in the room went out and when they switched back on, Ryusuke Taguchi was standing right behind Sumi! Akito was there too in his CyberFight Director form to announce he just so happened to have already booked Taguchi for Sumo Hall so Sumi can give him a title shot on that show. Sumi said it is a dream for him to reach the top of the Junior Heavyweight scene and asked Taguchi if he could be his stepping stone? Taguchi responded that Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega have used him as such to help them spread their wings to the world so he will do his best to do the same for Sumi. However after they shook hands, Taguchi suddenly hit Sumi with the Hip Attack and warned him to be careful otherwise he will be used as a stepping stone by somebody else!

By wrestling back and forth between DDT and NOAH recently, Yuki Iino is developing a balancing act between his DDT form and his Jonetsu MAX form. The Iino that wrestled today isn’t quite the same persona as the one that just won the GHC Tag Team Titles. Still, he and KANON worked as a well oiled duo in order to beat Shunma Katsumata & To-y. Iino even pulled off his cap at the end to show everyone his Jonetsu double mohawk before pinning To-y with a Lariat.

With Strange Love Connection getting the victory, KIMIHRIO did a rap for Iino to reintroduce him to the fans. Iino didn’t quite get what he was doing while Katsumata also felt provoked by it. He felt so provoked that he suddenly started a rap battle against KIMIHIRO in the ring! Katsumata quickly realised the mistake he made and said he gave up. But as Katsumata left the ring, Yukinori Matsui took the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title from him and handed it over to KIMIHIRO because KIMIHIRO just technically beat the champion by submission! Katsumata tried to take the belt back but the rest of SLC were there to stop him and make sure KIMIHIRO would leave the show as the new champ.

Rules had to be changed for Match #2 thanks to Kazuki Hirata. He ended up fighting the other team all on his own and quickly lost the match before Minoru Suzuki or Danshoku Dieno could even make their entrance. Imabayashi decided to restart the match with the added rule that Hirata could only lose the match if he gets beaten three times. Jun Akiyama immediately pinned Hirata before Dieno made it to the ring. Masami Inahata then made Hirata tap out before Suzuki’s music even hit. Inahata almost did it again but Suzuki got there in time to physically stop Hirata from tapping out. The match went on as normal from there. Except the normality went away when Rukiya rubbed his hands against Dieno’s bare backside and then grabbed Hirata in a Camel Clutch to make him give up and lose the match for good.

Today was Soma Takao’s first match since January. He’s been on the shelf since then dealing with an old knee injury and used his comeback to show off a new ring costume to go along with his trusty Dropkick Bar shirt. Yuki Ishida also had something new to show with a slightly changed hairstyle but nobody really noticed his attempt at changing himself into something new. He still played his part at keeping Naomi Yoshimura away so Yukio Naya could play spoiler and end Takao’s comeback match with a loss. Takao said he was happy to be in the ring with other members of the Dropkick Bar and also wrestle in front of the newer DDT fans who may never seen any of his matches before.

DDT welcomed back Miles Karu for another appearance during his excursion to Japan. He brought along his MYPW Southeast Asia Title to the ring for his pre-show match teaming with Akito. Does this mean Junta Miyawaki can now lay claim for a title shot because he & Viento Levante won the match when Miyawaki pinned Karu with the Sunshine Driver.

Another special guest from another wrestling promotion will appear at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” this August. YAMATO from Dragon Gate attended the show so he could step into the DDT ring for the first time (not counting the “DRAMATIC DREAM GATE” joint show from 2012). He was relieved to find out the DDT fans know who he is and he wants to be given a suitable opponent comparable to his stature as a wrestler who built an era in his own company. Guess what? His opponent is going to be Danshoku Dieno. YAMATO argued the match is happening ten years too late because nobody wants to see two old men like them getting it on. The DDT fans disagree and started chanting for the match to happen. YAMATO reluctantly accepted the challenge but warned Dieno his Danshoku tactics won’t work on him.

Even though the KO-D Title match is now set for Sumo Hall, it may not be Ueno going into it as champion. The Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets are back for another year! There will be only two Gauntlets this time and possessing one will give the holder a KO-D Title shot whenever they want from the period between 15th July to 27th September. The matches to determine the holders will take place at the Beer Garden shows taking place on 15th and 16th July.


Team DDT Gets Purged By House Of Torture

November 19, 2025

NJPW “NIGHT OF THE PURGE ~PURGE NIGHT OF TORTURE~”, 07/10/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,481 Fans – No Vacancy

4. SANADA, DOUKI & SHO defeated Yuki Ueno, Akito & Kaisei Takechi by Referee Stoppage when DOUKI used the Italian Stretch No. 32 on Akito (16:08).

A few DDT wrestlers were given an invite to a dangerous event held in a New Japan ring. The House Of Torture are the latest act in the company who got to run a vanity show of their own, following in the footsteps of El Desperado and Taiji Ishimori. But while the previous shows were put together for the sake of having crazy ideas come to life, today’s event had a more evil (or should I say EVIL) motive. The House Of Torture had a list of wrestlers they wanted to purge for one reason or another and EVIL wanted to see Kaisei Takechi in particular be punished for his success.

SHO started things off by making fun of THE RAMPAGE and called everyone on Takechi’s team a bunch of country bumpkins. Akito then got under SHO’s skin by pointing out that SHO may be hiding his true feelings but he is taking everything in this match seriously. The proof is right there in how much he prepared his speech to introduce each wrestler on the team to the audience. Also you don’t get a physique with low body fat like that without some serious training.

The House ended up getting the last laugh with a destructive victory over the DDT team. SANADA broke a guitar over Yuki Ueno’s head while DOUKI used the Italian Stretch No. 32 on Akito, holding onto him with a tight grip. SHO added extra damage by hitting Akito over the head with a tray while he was stuck in the hold, leading the referee to stop the match for Akito’s safety and declare HOT the winners. The team then added extra insult to injury by attacked Takechi after the bell, holding him upside down with his legs split apart so SANADA could karate chop him in the crotch.

Backstage DOUKI said that just because Takechi is good looking, has a great body and can do super cool moves that doesn’t mean he is a match for HOT. All of his lame fans who support THE RAMPAGE shouldn’t underestimate pro wrestling! The same goes for anyone who thinks DDT and NJPW are on the same level. However Ueno noticed there was a giant glint in DOUKI’s eye while they were wrestling each other because the two of them used to train together in DDT’s old dojo ten years ago. With that being said there is only on wrestler in NJPW that makes Ueno’s heart flutter and that’s Hiromu Takahashi. If Ueno ever comes back to New Japan, he will be on the lookout for him. Meanwhile Takechi stepped forward under his own volition and told reporters he wants to have a match with Hiroshi Tanahashi somewhere before Tanahashi’s retirement takes place.


DDT At “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” Results

June 10, 2024

“DESPE-INVITACIONAL SUPPORTED BY ROLLING CRADLE”, 10/06/2024
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,506 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. The Buy In: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Kyoko Inoue defeated Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & DASH Chisako when Tanahashi pinned Kodaka with the High Fly Flow (9:57).
1. Dragon Kid & Starlight Kid defeated El Desperado & Mima Shimoda when Starlight submitted Shimoda with the Black Tiger Foot Kill (17:25).
2. Lucha Rules 4 Way Match: DOUKI, Eita and Daisuke Sasaki defeated Violento Jack when DOUKI, Eita and Sasaki all pinned Jack after the Super Power Bomb onto the Empty Can Board (11:36).
3. Jun Kasai & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki & Takayuki Ueki when Takahashi pinned Ueki with the Pearl Harbor Splash (19:53).
4. Hardcore 4 Way Match: Chris Brookes Vs MAO Vs El Phantasmo Vs Masashi Takeda ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
5. Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hikaru Sato with the Orienteering with Napalm Death (10:55).
6. Gedo & Dick Togo defeated El “Exotico” Desperado & Danshoku Dieno when Gedo pinned Dieno with the Gedo Clutch (18:18).

I’m only going to write about the DDT and BASARA related matches but I wanted to include results for the entire card because just look at it! I’d say this is a show full of Fire Pro matches but that reference is a bit old hat nowadays. The influence here is more GCW Spring Break and PWG Mystery Vortex given how much of a modern day wrestling nerd El Desperado is. He has spent the last two months handing out invitations to wrestlers he would like to be in the ring with for a special mystery show he was producing in Korakuen Hall. He also narrated the introductions for each match, either explaining why he put them together or revealing another unexpected surprise he had in store for everyone.

There were hints as to who got invited to take part in the show. Videos were posted on the event’s Twitter page teasing fans with clips of unknown wrestlers being handed the invitations. But one in particular took place in public at a recent DDT show. Desperado straight up asked Danshoku Dieno to come along with a partner of his choice because Despy wanted to see Pheromones chase some Bullet Club wrestlers around the venue. Dieno couldn’t bring Pheromones back so he thought of a good replacement. If El Desperado wanted to experience Pheromones so bad then he will be Dieno’s tag partner! After all this match was the main event and Despy should be headlining his own show.

Desperado was given a spare Danshoku costume and as he went off to get changed the other team made their entrance. It was the two managers of the current New Japan heel factions: Gedo from Bullet Club War Dogs and Dick Togo from House Of Torture! Dieno then did his big Pheromones introduction for El “Exotico” Desperado! The match was as close to the Pheromones experience as they could get away with as both Desperado & Dieno stripped down to their O-backs by the end of it. However Gedo & Togo worked saved each other from taking the Danshoku Driver. Togo gave Dieno the Pedigree and Gedo pinned him with the Gedo Clutch.

There was more DDT involvement elsewhere on the show. Both Chris Brookes and MAO were put into a Hardcore 4 Way Match with El Phantasmo and Masashi Takeda also involved. Desperado admitted in the introduction that he expected one of them to turn down the match because it sounded too dangerous and was surprised no one did. Brookes and MAO smashed each other with plastic boxes. Takeda threatened everyone with his large pair of scissors and eventually got to cut open Brookes’s forehead with it. MAO, ELP and Takeda all ended up underneath the ring and Brookes flushed them out by spraying a fire extinguisher beneath the apron. ELP then took out a literal clothesline with clothes pegs included. He pinched them to Takeda’s ears and Brookes’s nipples. MAO then wrapped the other end of the line around his foot and Super Kicked ELP, pulling the pinched pegs off of the other two! The match lasted the full twenty minute time limit without a winner and had to end in a four way draw.

Afterwards Brookes remained in the ring and got on the microphone. First, he said he would have won if the match lasted longer and complained that a 20 minute time limit is too short. He then told Desperado to get into the ring because he wanted to tell him something. They have known each other for a while but have never been in the ring at the same time until now. Brookes is tired of waiting so he is challenging Desperado to a match at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” in Sumo Hall on 21st July! Despy agreed and shook Brookes’s hand. He then tried to pin him with a School Boy in an attempt to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title but Brookes kicked out and escaped.

Daisuke Sasaki got to be part of the show in the other 4 Way Match of the night. Despy wanted it to be a match filled with wrestlers who have lucha libre skills so Sasaki was in there with DOUKI, Eita and most unexpected of all Violento Jack! Lucha moves were used but Jack also brought out a board with sharp halves of plastic cans attached to them. None of the other three wanted to get slammed onto it so they all teamed up together and Super Power Bombed Jack onto it instead. They then piled on top of Jack to pin him for the three count. The referee determined all three pinned Jack at the same time so DOUKI, Eita and Sasaki were each declared winners.

There was even a pre-show match because Despy wanted to see Toru Yano wrestle in Match #0 of the card. He was accompanied by Hiroshi Tanahashi and both were dressed in yankii uniforms. Yano gave out a hint for who their other partner was going to be. He asked what was the name of the heroine played by Miho Nakayama in the movie Be-Bop High School? Tanahashi’s answer was Kyoko. Their partner is Kyoko Inoue and she entered the ring wearing a schoolgirl uniform! Their opponents were also a bunch of Yankees in the forms of Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & DASH Chisako! Unfortunately for BASARA fans Kodaka took the fall when he was pinned with Tanahashi’s High Fly Flow. After the match Tanahashi & Yano both gave Inoue a kiss on the cheek at the same time.


“~ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL 2023~” Results

March 1, 2023

“LEC PRESENTS JUNIOR DREAM FESTIVAL ~ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL 2023~”, 01/03/2023
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,381 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Special Gift Match: YOH, Soma Watanabe & Kazuma Sumi defeated Fuminori Abe, Akira Jumonji & Ryo Hoshino when YOH pinned Jumonji with the DIRECT DRIVE (10:35).
1. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato, AMAKUSA & Hiromu Takahashi defeated YAMATO, HAYATA & Kazuki Hashimoto when Hayato submitted Hashimoto with the K.I.D (8:52).
2. Isami Kodaka & MAO defeated Onryo & SHO when SHO was Disqualified for assaulting the referee (9:43).
3. Ganbare! Shinjiro Otani 10-Man Tag Match: Tatsuhito Takaiwa, TAKA Michinoku, Minoru Tanaka, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Jun Kasai defeated MUSASHI, LEONA, Kota Sekifuda, Shoki Kitamura & Chicharito Shoki when Takaiwa pinned Shoki with the Death Valley Bomb (10:28).
4. Hikaru Sato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yumehito Imanari defeated The Great Sasuke, Tigers Mask & Batten×Blabla when Sato submitted Blabla with a Cross Armbreaker (7:29).
5. 3 Way Tag Match: Volador Jr. & El Desperado defeated Yuki Ueno & El Lindaman and HANAOKA & DOUKI when Desperado pinned HANAOKA with the Pinche Loco (10:34).
6. Mistico, Gurukun Mask, Billy Ken Kid & Alejandro defeated Dragon Kid, BUSHI, Black Menso~re & Atlantis Jr. when Mistico submitted Menso~re with La Mistica (11:29).
7. Surprise Match: CIMA defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Meteor (7:16).
8. 5 Way Match: Taiji Ishimori defeated Shun Skywalker, Ninja Mack, YO-HEY and Soberano Jr. when Ishimori pinned YO-HEY with the Bloody Cross (9:38).
9. Master Wato defeated Atsuki Aoyagi with the Recientemente II (14:24).

I’m only covering the matches relating to DDT, BASARA and Ganbare☆Pro but the entire event is worth watching. One of the highlights was the unexpected appearance of Kazuki Hirata for a surprise match with CIMA! Given CIMA’s history with people previously associated with the “Tokyo GO!” song, he was in no mood to dance along with Hirata. CIMA grabbed the Hirata GO! glasses to prevent the song from coming back and got boos from the crowd, causing him to sulk. Later in the match Hirata got his glasses back and convinced CIMA to put on his own pair so the two could finally dance together. They shook hands afterwards and CIMA pinned Hirata with the Somato. Backstage CIMA praised the show for bringing the entire Junior Heavyweight wrestling scene together. If there are still barriers keeping these companies apart, he thinks we should get rid of them. Hirata asked if he is invited for this kind of show again then please do not put him in the unadvertised surprise spot.

Yuki Ueno was thrown into a lucha flavored 3 Way Tag Match teaming with El Lindaman. He was in the ring from the start squaring off against both Volador Jr. and DOUKI. But as the match went on Ueno & Lindaman started bickering a little bit while trying to fight off both DOUKI & HANAOKA. Then El Desperado got a few of his opponents out of the ring for Volador to dive onto all of them. HANAOKA stopped Desperado from doing his own dive but ended up taking the Pinche Loco from him instead for the finish. Backstage Lindaman said he does not hate DDT or Ueno, he just got worked up because he wants to beat everybody. Ueno said he had fun both wrestling in this match and from watching all of the others. He believes the strongest pro wrestlers are those who enjoy wrestling and he hopes there will be a second “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL” in the future.

Yumehito Imanari showed off his more pervy side by wearing a “Virgin Killer” sweater along with Hikaru Sato & Ryusuke Taguchi in their match. Because their costumes were at risk of becoming too revealing, their opponents were careful with how they fought to avoid shocking the audience. Batten×Blabla convinced Imanari to continue the match without the costume while Taguchi and Tigers Mask did some actual wrestling in between. Sato went on to tap out Blabla with a Cross Armbreaker. Afterwards Sato called his team the pinnacle of Japan’s Jr. division! If there are three wrestlers better than Sato, Taguchi & Imanari then send them their way. Sato has had enough of every pro wrestler trying to look cool. They should instead bare it all for the fans!

MAO wants fucked up pro wrestling for a fucked up world. Isami Kodaka wishes “Peace & Fuck” on the world. But the two of them combined still wasn’t as unusual as the combination of SHO & Onryo. SHO ended up using Onryo as a weapon by slamming him on top of MAO. Onryo got his own back by throwing his ectoplasm powder in SHO’s face. Then in an even weirder turn of events, Ram Kaichow got on the top turnbuckle and hit a Diving Cross Body on SHO. The match lost control when SHO got out of the ring, pulled the referee out with him and then started attacking him for the DQ. Kodaka got on the microphone and told SHO if he wants to use weapons so bad they should do a death match against each other! SHO refused and left ringside in a huff. Backstage Kaichow complained about the show only inviting male wrestlers. If another “ALL STAR JR FESTIVAL” happens she wants to wrestle on it!

A bonus pre-show match gave Kazuma Sumi a spot on the card and a chance to share the ring with YOH & Soma Watanabe. Sumi’s main confrontation was with Akira Jumonji but he had interactions with Fuminori Abe & Ryo Hoshino too. He ended up on the winning side thanks to YOH pinned Jumonji with the DIRECT DRIVE. Sumi thanked the organisers for inviting him and said Jr. Heavyweight wrestling is the best!