DramaticDDT’s Predictions For 2023

December 24, 2022

Merry Christmas to you all! There are a lot of things I’m not good at. Making predictions for pro wrestling is one of them. It’s what happens when the crystal ball I look through was bought in Lidl. But I like doing it anyway. The Christmas and New Year period is very busy for covering pro wrestling so I never really have the time to do something like this in previous years. To solve that problem I’ve been jotting down predictions in my free time this month so I could finally put out the article. I came up with 20 predictions for 2023 spread across four categories. Five for DDT, five for Tokyo Joshi Pro, five for Ganbare☆Pro and five guesses for anything even slightly related to DDT or CyberFight. I’m also listing them in order from easy to hard, likely to unlikely, mild to spicy, etc. Some are guesses based on past booking patterns, going with gut feelings, going the opposite of gut feelings and in some places just straight up fantasy booking. None of these are hints or teases of the little inside info I do know about. Will any of them come true? Nah, probably not. But let’s take a stab at it anyway?

DDT


– Brass Monkey, That Funky Monkey
Prediction: Mike Bailey wrestles a match in DDT again.

My evidence supporting this prediction is Mike Bailey’s profile on the DDT roster page is still there. They never took him off the website even though he hasn’t wrestled for the company since April 2020. The man has had a well deserved breakout year in America for 2022 splitting his time between Impact and the indies. I bet he’ll be in the area when DDT are doing their Hollywood shows in April. Also if he has the time to come back to Japan, I think it will be for DDT over anywhere else. There’s a whole new class of guys for him to kick the crap out of. Also a Moonlight Express reunion would be sweet.


– Have A Drink And Watch The Die Get Cast
Prediction: KANON outperforms Daisuke Sasaki.

The top prospect from JTO jumped to DDT back in April and has been all in with the company ever since. KANON was rewarded pretty quickly by being added to DAMNATION T.A while Minoru Fujita was out with injury. He had a rough go at the tournaments though, getting eliminated in the King Of DDT 1st Round and only winning one match in the D-Ou Grand Prix. But I’ve been impressed with his work and he is often the one who picks up the wins in DAMNATION T.A tag matches. I think he performs way better in 2023 and racks up a few achievements. In fact, I think he will achieve more in the next 12 months than his leader Daisuke Sasaki will! I’m talking the number of title matches he gets, the better performances he puts in tournaments and a higher amount of significant singles victories. KANON is going to claim some scalps this year that will leave Sasaki looking jealous. That’s if Sasaki is sober enough to register what’s going on.


– 365 Degrees, Burning Down The House
Prediction: Yuya Koroku becomes the next wrestler from DDT’s new generation (debuted 2020 onwards) to win a championship.

The first draft of this was slightly different. I had Yuya Koroku down as the first new gen wrestler to win any championship. Then I remembered Toi Kojima is currently one of the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Champions and Hideki Okatani once held the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title a year ago. Oh and Keigo Nakamura held both if he counts (debuted 2019 before the pandemic so eh?). As a result this prediction isn’t turning out as sharp as I thought it would be. But I’m sticking with the general idea. There’s a new wave of fresh blood coming into DDT and the highlight for me so far was Koroku and Kojima’s rivalry found within the BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA tag matches. Eyes will be on Yuki Ishida for becoming a bigger part of a diminished Harimao out of necessity, Takeshi Masada as the hot prospect and Kazuma Sumi for his athleticism. There’s still three more trainees yet to debut plus the short term future of El Unicorn and Ilusion is currently unknown. With that said Koroku has the advantage of seniority over most of the other rookies to make this prediction come true. Even if it’s just as the third man holding the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, I think Koroku has the best odds of getting belted up next year.


– Where’s Your Head At, At?
Prediction: Tetsuya Endo struggles to reclaim the top position in DDT.

This is a cruel one. Tetsuya Endo had everything in place before the summer to finally be the flag bearer for DDT. Then Katsuhiko Nakajima knocked him out and left him concussed, taking all of that away. I wouldn’t say he is a shadow of his former self since coming back but a bit of shine has disappeared in him becoming the leading man again. He has given himself a new goal of winning all of the singles championships. That’s going to be a long journey if it does work out that way. For 2023 I do not see Endo winning back the KO-D Openweight Title and I don’t think he will win any of the singles tournaments. The DDT Universal Title and DDT Extreme Title can be in his grasp but neither of them will bring him back to the number one main eventer spot in the next 12 months. To take a positive stance for this, think of 2023 as his rebuilding year for 2024. He’s already spent the last few months bulking up to become more a bigger heavyweight. Maybe the key to getting over this will be to confront his demon at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2023”…


– Loan Me A Dragon, I Wanna See Space
Prediction: Dramatic Dream Gate is revived.

Remember this unholy alliance? There were three occasions when DDT and Dragongate worked together and promoted shows under the name Dramatic Dream Gate. Once in 2007, again in 2008 and the final one taking place in 2012. Then the relationship between the two companies went icy for a long time after that. Things began to defrost a few years ago thanks to Toru Owashi getting DG bookings and in return bringing one of their wrestlers from his generation over whenever DDT goes to Kobe or Nagano. Now that Naruki Doi is bouncing back and forth between the two companies as a freelancer without pissing anybody off I’d like to think everyone’s now cool with each other. What a way to show it by bringing DDG back for another show! It would be worth it just to see Kazuki Hirata do his Magnum Tokyo parody in front of all the DG wrestlers who weren’t even born when the gimmick first existed. I know, I know, DG currently has a working relationship with NOAH. They’re probably all CyberFight’d out at this point. Doesn’t matter, DDT will continue taking their dojo dropouts anyway…

Tokyo Joshi Pro


– It Ain’t My Fault That I’m Out Here Making News
Prediction: At least 3 women who originally came from Actwres girl’Z will appear in TJPW and at least 1 of them becomes a regular roster member.

It’s kind of a running joke at this point. Actwres girl’Z constantly turn dozens of idols into newly trained joshi at a time then whoever emerges as top of the class ends up leaving them for greener pastures. It’s probably one of the more successful development programs in modern pro wrestling when you think about it. AWG’s lossese end up being another company’s gain and TJPW are usually in that group. Yuna Manase, Natsupoi and Nao Kakuta all came from there. Even just recently we have HIMAWARI pulling off a speed run in how to go from AWG to TJPW in record time. I think it’s only going to increase from here. My prediction is not one, not two but three joshi who were associated with AWG at some point in their lives will appear on TJPW shows throughout 2023. I’m giving myself a little bit of rope here because I am not saying they will all be full time roster additions. Somebody like Saori Anou or Miyuki Takase having one or two guest matches like SAKI did this year would count towards this. But yeah, I can at least guarantee there will definitely be one woman on the active AWG roster who will be showing up at Korakuen Hall wearing a TJPW shirt in the next 12 months.


– Pull Up With A Zelda And A Peach And A Daisy
Prediction: An outsider wins the Princess Of Princess Title

In the almost seven years the Princess Of Princess Title has been around its lineage has belonged entirely to the TJPW roster. In Japan it’s rare for a men’s company to have their main championship stay within their walls for this long but in joshi it’s a little more common. However the scene opened up again to the rest of the world this year and there is a wave of new faces we can all look forward to seeing. The risk is they have their eyes on the gold just as much as the regulars do. I think the time has come for somebody outside of TJPW to become the Princess Champion. Whether they are a Japanese freelancer, an invader fans associate with another company or somebody from overseas I bet the top prize will be taken by an outside force sometime in 2023.


– It’s All Around The World, Just La La La La La
Prediction: Maki Itoh gets to No. 1 on a iTunes or Spotify chart somewhere in the world.

Hikari Noa unexpectedly showing up in the Canadian iTunes J-Pop chart at the end of November inspired this one. Some domino is going to fall that will kickstart a chain reaction resulting in Maki Itoh’s music going viral and being discovered by a new audience. She ends up getting a song to No. 1 on one of the digital music services. It doesn’t matter how obscure this gets. It could be No. 1 in Zimbabwe’s chart for the Chamber Psych genre due to input error for all I care.


– Once I Ran To You, Now I Run From You
Prediction: A woman from Sakisama’s past comes back to haunt her.

It is inevitable that NEO Biishiki-gun will come back to terrorize TJPW again. They always do. Sakisama will return to grace TJPW fans with her glamourous presence while rubbing it in about how perfect she is. She makes it look easy. There has to be a reason for that, right? You don’t become that much of a narcissist without having something, or someone, that’s been out of your reach for your entire life. Like a rival perhaps? That one person who no matter how good you are at something, they are always better. Like what if there was somebody in Sakisama’s life who always stole her thunder whether it was in their private classes, on the badminton court or even at an extravagant gala? What if that woman with a familiar looking face from somewhere else suddenly shows up in TJPW and begins to waltz through the roster, tempting NEO Biishiki-gun away from their leader in the process. What if Sakisama finds herself in a position she has never experienced before, becoming the underdog? It would be a big change of pace for the gimmick that’s for sure.


– Cause A Girl Gonna Push It All Out The Way
Prediction: Sasha Banks appears at Grand Princess ’23.

Am I being cheeky with this one? I dunno, something about the Sasha Banks odyssey still sounds kind of murky to me. I don’t think somebody with her leverage is going to settle down with a contract to just one corporation again. I believe she’s aligning with New Japan/Stardom no doubt about that. But why stop there? Something tells me she isn’t going to be exclusive to them in Japan. Not with the people she’s been meeting and spending time with these last few months. TJPW needs something massive if they want to fill up Ariake Colosseum on 18th March. They won’t be doing that by keeping to themselves. Aim big, play big, win big.

Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling


– I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends
Prediction: Some of the wrestlers Shota worked with in America get booked for Ganpro.

Shota accomplished a lot during his three month stay in America. Among the most important during his excursion was connections. He made friends, met new people and whether intentional or not scouted talent. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of the people he wrestled across the United States get invited over to Ganpro in the coming year. The likes of Ryan Davidson and Phil Shark have been to Japan before but could we see a wrestler like Clay Roberts or Aaron Mercer get the chance to come over thanks to their links with Shota?


– All The Way (Keep Going, You Got This)
Prediction: Keisuke Ishii wins the Spirit Of Ganbare Title.

Ganpro has been a good home for Keisuke Ishii ever since he came over from DDT in 2018. Maybe it’s because he’s in a smaller pond but he’s been able to stay more consistent up the top of the card. 2023 will be the right time for Ganpro’s resident “Puwota” to challenge for the Spirit Of Ganbare Title and win it. I’m not confident he will be the man to dethrone Hartley Jackson but if Mizuki Watase or Ken Ohka can’t do it, it may have to come down to him anyway.


– Swing Your Partner ‘Round And ‘Round
Prediction: Ganpro creates a tag team championship and builds it around mixed tag wrestling.

This should have been done when they held the Mixed Tag Tournament in 2021! At the moment the Spirit Of Ganbare Title is the only championship being defended in the promotion. Tag Team Titles should be next on the list for Ganpro to grow into a bigger company. They regularly book mixed tag matches anyway and it would be a good way to differentiate the belts from other company’s tag titles. I’m not even calling for it to be a mandatory rule, just have most of the teams competing in title matches be mixed gender.


– Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows
Prediction: Ganbare☆Joshi runs their own show in Korakuen Hall.

The Ganbare☆Joshi division took a step back in 2022. Gone were the Ganpro doubleheaders with GanJo running the afternoon shows. It would be nice if they came back with a vengeance in 2023. Not only could they promote their own shows again but they should take a shot at the big time by having an event at Korakuen! It would be a challenge. Maybe Yuna Manase calls in some favors from Ice Ribbon and Gatoh Move or picks a fight with Prominence to build up a headline match. Moeka Haruhi has worked hard all year too so she deserves a spotlight like this too.


– Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Prediction: Kota Ibushi wrestles a match in Ganpro.

The aftermath of what happens in January could be either a rising flame of a phoenix or an absolute trash fire. There is plenty of gossip online about Kota Ibushi being done completely with New Japan when his contract is allegedly expected to expire during the month. So if he is going to become a free agent you’d think there will be a lot of suitors out there looking for his services. That might not happen if the guy decides to let loose and produce an exposé on his time with NJPW. If he instead behaves and decide against that then there should be nothing to be worried about, right? Hmmm, can’t be too sure on that one. Ibushi made it clear on Twitter he has no interest in ever going back to DDT. He also sounds bullish about doing work with NOAH when rumours of that surfaced online. Money doesn’t sound like it’s a big motivation for his future plans. If that’s true then wouldn’t a place like Ganpro be more his vibe? It’s where you can wrestle with your heart on your sleeve and a fire in your belly. It would be a wild move to see Ibushi do one match in Korakuen for Ganpro while he is sorting out the Ibushi Wrestling Institute or whatever crazy project he’s been thinking about during his time away from the ring.

Miscellaneous


– You Know That I Would Love To See You Next Year, I Hope That I Am Still Alive Next Year
Prediction: Gake no Fuchi Joshi crosses over with Baka Gaijin + Friends.

It’s been a while since we last heard from Gake no Fuchi Joshi. Seems like Miyako Matsumoto has moved on to other priorities. The spirit of insanity we see in those shows could easily fit in with the newly formed Baka Gaijin + Friends. Matsumoto’s chaotic energy is not something Chris Brookes & Drew Parker want to be responsible for but what power do they have to stop it if she ever steps foot inside one of their shows?


– Are You Ready To Meet And Defeat The Elite?
Prediction: AEW will host another event in Japan with DDT & TJPW involvement.

AEW held half of a women’s tournament in Japan during 2021 and produced exhibition matches at the Tokyo Game Show in 2022. They have it in them to do something in Japan for a third year in the row with DDT/TJPW along for the ride. I’m thinking it will be something on a similar scale as the first two events. A project separate from the TV shows and instead taking place on Youtube. That’s if it is intended for broadcast at all. But hey, if they want to go full blown Dynamite taping in Korakuen Hall with Konosuke Takeshita in a title match I’ll take that any day of the week.


– Back To The Family, I Guarantee Emergency
Prediction: CyberFight adds another promotion to their portfolio.

CyberFight’s recent financial losses don’t concern me. In fact I think they’re due for a slight expansion and will add a fifth wrestling promotion to their collection. In past interviews Sanshiro Takagi talked about ideas to launch a new death match group or present another joshi company separate from TJPW. If this happens it can be something brand new or maybe there’s going to be a smaller company that’s finally at the end of their rope and needs to be sold to survive. The recent power shift in WWE kind of winds the clock back to 2019 with their desire to launch spin-offs around the world returning to the surface. The last attempt at that resulted in Stardom selling to Bushiroad and NOAH selling to CyberFight. I could see a repeat happening with another company if WWE wants to go shopping in Japan again. But that’s the cynical prediction. CyberFight might create something brand new to fill in a gap that none of their existing properties can reach. Like what if a certain star who has crazy ideas for his own wrestling company strikes a deal with CyberFight to make it a reality in return for making a few dates with the other promotions? What a golden scenario that would be.


– Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, When I Was Dead Broke, Man I Couldn’t Picture This
Prediction: A brand new puroresu console game gets announced.

Come on, what’s the freaking hold up? I love Fire Pro Wrestling World but I have squeezed every last drop of blood out of that stone. Time for something new. I think this prediction is possible but it all hangs on whether or not AEW: Fight Forever becomes a success. I’m really looking forward to that game and you all know the first thing I’m going to do is pick Yuka Sakazaki but I still have my worries it will turn out to be a bumpy AA title at launch. If it does take off then my hope is for Yuke’s re-using the assets to make a Japan only wrestling game get one step closer to coming true. One where they strike a deal with Bushiroad or CyberFight (or hopefully both). For this prediction Fight Forever releasing “Forbidden Door” DLC doesn’t count, Makoto being added to The Wrestling Code doesn’t count and phone games do not count. I am looking for a full fledged console game here. If it works on the Steam Deck then that would be cool too.


– Same As It Ever Was
Prediction: BASARA does something new and different.

Please? Things have been stale with BASARA for a long time. Even the summer series with Dove Pro I always look forward too is the same old stuff. Probably harsh of me to say that because I hear they are more or less happy with the way things are. They have their regular schedule with their regular crowd always showing up. Sometimes that’s all you need to keep a good thing going. I still wish they showed more ambition though.

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Brookes Off This Week’s Shows, New Grand Princess Matches, LiLiCo Retirement Match, Genki In DDT

February 13, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -FEBRUARY- ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2022 IN SHINJUKU!!”, 14/02/2022
Shinjuku FACE

-. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – B Block: Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul (2) defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (2) by Forfeit.
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 5 Way Match: Toru Owashi (c) Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Akito, MAO & Yuki Ishida
3. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Toui Kojima Vs Maya Yukihi & Yukio Naya
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Soma Takao Vs Jun Kasai, Yuji Hino & Yukio Sakaguchi
5. DDT Extreme Title – Turkish Wrestling Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino
6. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama (4) Vs Shuji Kondo & Kazuki Hirata (0)
7. Ultimate Tag League 2022 – A Block: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno (4) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani (0)

B Block

1. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura (4)
-. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (4)
3. Shunma Katsumata & MAO (2)
-. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul (2)
-. Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi (2)

What an utter disaster the Ultimate Tag League has become for CDK. First Masahiro Takanashi had to pull out of a match because of covid forcing the team to forfeit against Pheromones and now Chris Brookes has been pulled from tomorrow’s show due to illness (so far not confirmed to be covid related), forcing them to forfeit another match. This time DAMNATION T.A are getting the free two points and their first win in the tournament.

The card is changes several matches as a result of this. DAMNATION T.A are now in a non-tournament match but on the plus side have Minoru Fujita with them again. The trio demolished their opponents yesterday and made it clear they want to dominate DDT. However Sasaki is being targeted by MAO because of his DDT Universal Title challenge, which Sasaki has declined over and over. Takanashi now has to take MAO’s place in the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title 5 Way Match. Another change is Yusuke Okada and Yuya Koroku becoming opponents in a dark match instead of teaming together in the opener.

DDT “HANAYORI NEPPA ~TOTONOU IN THE MIDDLE OF SHINJUKU~”, 15/02/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Shinya Aoki Vs Toui Kojima
2. Hardcore Judo: MAO Vs Takayuki Ueki
3. Sea Sauna Shack Presents SSS Cup Special Gauntlet Tag Match ~Beyond Totoi~: Soma Takao & Shota Vs Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Antonio Honda & Yoshihiko Vs Hyper Misao & Mecha Mummy
4. Vihta JP Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Into The Light~: Yuki Ueno, Sanshiro Takagi & HERO! Vs Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno & Masahiro Takanashi
5. Hokuo Presents Special Tag Match ~WE GOTTA NeppWER!!~: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka

Brookes also has to miss teaming with Yoshihiko in the wacky sauna sponsored Gauntlet Match. Antonio Honda is filling in for him there.

The winners of Match #4 will be rewarded with 365 bags of bath salts from the match sponsors. Sounds relaxing… I hope?

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GRAND PRINCESS ’22”, 19/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Juria Nagano Debut Match: Juria Nagano Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa
3. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Yuki Arai
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

Fresh off of the Max Heart Tournament we are left with the two strongest teams in Tokyo Joshi Pro fighting over the Princess Tag Team Titles. On one side are the champions, The Magical Sugar Rabbits. Their pride was bruised after an early elimination from the tournament so they feel the need to defend the belts against the Max Heart winners. That team is Daydream. They made one dream come true, now they have an even bigger one. They want to win the Tag Titles at Sumo Hall!

The growing history shared by Maki Itoh and Yuki Arai reaches another chapter. Arai is cashing in on her supernova rookie year by challenging Itoh for the International Princess Title. It wasn’t long ago that Itoh dared Arai to try and beat her with as many attempts as she wants to use. Arai thinks the time is now to strike and she has earned every strength needed to win against her fellow rival idol.

Hikaru Shida Vs Hikari Noa is definitely happening, no mistranslation here (why yes, I am one to talk). Excluding her recent MAKAI work and the AEW tournament she produced last year (empty arena), this will be Shida’s first pro wrestling match in front of a Japanese audience in over two and a half years.

Yuna Manase, Ram Kaichow and NEO Biishiki-gun will all be on the show. Manase is looking for an opponent to step up and face her in the ring. Nao Kakuta has shown interest in doing so given their history from Actwres girl’Z.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 20/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. LiLiCo Retirement Match: LiLiCo, Ryohei Odai & Akito (w/ Junretsu) Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Naomi Susan)
3. DDT 25th Anniversary Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Michael Nakazawa
4. Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Maya Yukihi
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo

So when LiLiCo asked for her retirement match to be filled with handsome men, it only made sense to include her husband in it. Ryohei Odai is a Kamen Rider actor and former member of the pop band Junretsu (which the DDT unit was also named after). He has little athletic experience but his inclusion in the match will be very important for LiLiCo. Speaking of Junretsu, they will be in the married couple’s corner while Akito takes up the last spot on the team.

It was LiLiCo’s decision to make Pheromones her opponents. She has had many unforgettable experiences with Danshoku Dieno so it is fitting for him to be one of her final opponents. Unfortunately for Odai, he got a, um, taste of Pheromones when they crashed the press conference announcing this match. They attacked Odai and Dieno shoved one of the Junretsu member’s face into Yuki Iino’s crotch while Yumehito Imanari filmed it.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2022 TOUR IN KOBE”, 24/04/2022
Kobe Art Center

Has Open The Forbidden Gate been used by DRAGONGATE yet? I’m sure it’s been used by them before. Let’s use it anyway. Genki Horiguchi is the latest name from the promotion coming over for a DDT appearance. The previous ones all worked on DDT shows booked by Toru Owashi in Nagoya but here it is for a show happening in Kobe. It’s slap bang in the middle DG territory but still progress in a seemingly growing relationship between the two companies. It’s another small step towards Kazuki Hirata jumping over and forcing them to play “Tokyo GO!” again.

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DDT “GET ALIVE 2021 TOUR IN NAGANO” Results

October 10, 2021

DDT “GET ALIVE 2021 TOUR IN NAGANO”, 10/10/2021
Nagano City Museum Of Art Act Space
182 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Soma Takao defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Official Endless Waltz (8:58).
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Saki Akai & MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani when MAO pinned Okatani with the Michinoku Driver II (12:46).
3. Tetsuya Endo & Ilusion defeated Akito & Yuya Koroku when Endo pinned Koroku with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (12:51).
4. Nagano Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match – DRAGONGATE Rules: Yasushi Kanda, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Antonio Honda when Kanda pinned Honda with the Diving Anal Elbow Drop (13:27).
5. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya when Yoshimura pinned Naya with a Lariat (14:05).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs Junretsu!: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno defeated Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Mizuki Watase when Takeshita submitted Watase with the Plus Ultra (21:48).

Mizuki Watase’s homecoming didn’t go the way he wanted it to. The main event ended with him submitted to Konosuke Takeshita. He was given some kudos by Takeshita afterwards and he is doing his best. But Takeshita also pointed out that everybody in DDT is doing their best. Jun Akiyama told the rest of Junretsu that they have to be more determined. He said that according to the unit’s leader, Junretsu will disband if they don’t win the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles on 12th October. The leader Makoto Oishi wasn’t certain he said that so Akiyama made him decide if that is the ultimatum. Oishi confirmed they will split up if they lose.

The KO-D Tag Team Title challengers HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura showed their strength as a team by beating Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya. They don’t have long to wait until they take on Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata for the belts.

The alleged big draw for this show was Yasushi Kanda. He and Toru Owashi go way back which is why Owashi wanted their tag match today to be a big occasion. He also told the production team not to play “TOKYO GO!” when Kanda was in the ring. Pheromones declared they were going to render DRAGONGATE useless which led to both teams agreeing to wrestle the match under DRAGONGATE tag rules. Kazuki Hirata tried to impress Kanda but made the mistake of putting on the Hirata Go glasses. As soon as “TOKYO GO!” hit, Kanda attacked Hirata and hit the John Woo Dropkick. He calmed down and took control of the match against Antonio Honda. After charging up his arm in Danshoku Dieno’s “Hell Gate”, Kanda pinned Honda with the Diving Anal Elbow Drop. Backstage Owashi and Kanda asked each other if they should bring Hirata over to DRAGONGATE.

Ilusion got some more ring time to prepare for the DDTeeeen!! show on 27th October. He thinks getting this extra experience while El Unicorn is absent gives him a big advantage for their match on the 27th. Tetsuya Endo gave approval to Ilusion’s comments.

Everybody on the DDT roster are still confused over Daisuke Sasaki’s sudden babyface turn. He is also studying Isami Kodaka for their DDT Universal Title match on Tuesday.

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Ganbare In Shin-Kiba, Union 8th Anniversary Tournament, Mochizuki Enters Hard Hit

September 25, 2013

GANBARE☆WRESTLING 4, 30/09/2013
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. General Public Offer Match: X Vs X
2. Hanako Nakamori Vs Gorikiko
3. Ultraman Robin Vs J-Soul Pandita III
4. Ricky Fuji Vs Shota
5. 6-Man Elimination Tag Team Match: Ken Ohka, Yumehito Imanari & X Vs Osamu Namiguchi, Kazuhiko Ogasawara & Bad Tension TAMAGAWA

Last time on Ganbare☆Wrestling, Batten Tamagawa turned on Ken Ohka and sided with the invaders Osamu Namiguchi and Kazuhiko Ogasawara, changing his name to Bad Tension TAMAGAWA in the process. Ken Ohka and Yumehito Imanari get their first shot at revenge with a 6-Man Elimination Tag match that main events Ganpuro’s first Shin-Kiba show. However the Ganpuro team needs a third member. Tomohiro Otani volunteered to team with Ohka and Imanari but they aren’t too sure. Ohka decided to give Imanari an important challenge to prove he is strong and tough. He will put Otani through special training on the day of the show so he can teach him his Spear of Flame finisher. If Otani can pass the challenge and learn the move, he will be added to the team.

Ganbare☆Wrestling wants new wrestlers and they don’t mind who they are. Ken Ohka has opened up spots in the roster for new wrestlers no matter what their gender, wrestling experience and profession are. Ganpuro opened up a mixi website for applications and they will choose people to wrestle at the show.

UNION “8TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 23/10/2013
Shinjuku FACE

1. 1 Day Tournament – Round 1: Shuji Ishikawa Vs SAGAT
2. 1 Day Tournament – Round 1: FUMA Vs Daichi Kazato
3. 1 Day Tournament – Round 1: Isami Kodaka Vs Cherry
4. 1 Day Tournament – Round 1: Seiya Morohashi Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
5. 1 Day Tournament – Semi Final: Winner of Match 1 Vs Winner of Match 2
6. 1 Day Tournament – Semi Final: Winner of Match 3 Vs Winner of Match 4
7. Idea Pocket Presents: Menso~re Oyaji (w/ Tsubasa Amami) Vs Mio Shirai (w/ Rika Seibi) Vs Mitomi Masayuki (w/ Diva Recommended by Mr. Nagata)
8. 1 Day Tournament – Final: Winner of Semi Final 1 Vs Winner of Semi Final 2

Union celebrates its 8th Anniversary with a one day tournament between the main members of the roster. Meanwhile Idea Pocket continues its sponsorship with wrestlers fighting each other over the Idea Pocket idols. Mio Shirai wants to continue having the idols working exclusively for her. Menso~re Oyaji isn’t really interested in competing and would be happy with any resolution that involves him having a date with at least one of the idols. Mitomi Masayuki recently entered the contest and is desperate to win the heart of any woman involved. Mr. Nagata (no not Yuji!), a producer for Idea Pocket gets to decide who will be in Masayuki’s corner for the match.

HARD HIT “ROAD TO KORAKUEN”, 27/10/2013
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Kamen Shooter Super Rider Vs Takaku Fuke
2. Poai Suganuma Vs Kotaro Nasu
3. Super Tiger Vs Koji Iwamoto
4. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Masaaki Mochizuki

Dragon Gate’s Masaaki Mochizuki makes his Hard Hit debut to take on Yukio Sakaguchi.

Koji Iwamoto from Sportiva Entertainment is also a student of judo. He asked to enter Hard Hit and not to be paired with a joke fighter. Super Tiger is his opponent and he is to be taken seriously. Why? Because a lot of the Hard Hit roster thinks he is very dangerous and don’t want to get hurt by him.

Poai Suganuma is a graduate from the BJ Penn MMA Academy. He faced and defeated Hikaru Sato in his Pancrase debut back in 2005. He is not familiar with the Hard Hit ruleset but Sato believes he is a strong fighter.

Hikaru Sato, Yasu Kubota and Tiger Shark will be fighting on the card.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT/DRAGON GATE “DDG COMES BACK” Results

June 5, 2012

DDT/DRAGON GATE “DDG COMES BACK”, 05/06/2012
Higashinari Citizens Center
501 Fans

0. Special Dark Match – Falls Count Anywhere: Michael Nakazawa Vs Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa is probably still going on (230:50). (Special Guest Referee: Gorgeous Matsuno)
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma defeated Masaaki Mochizuki & Kotoka when Takagi pinned Kotoka with the Sit Down Sunflower Bomb (10:04).
2. Masa Takanashi & Ken Ohka defeated Super Shisa & Shisa Boy when Takanashi pinned Shisa Boy with the Takatonic (9:31).
3. Danshoku Rumble: Don Fujii defeated Danshoku Dino, Antonio Honda, Gorgeous Matsuno, Ryo “Jimmy” Saito and Rich Swann (14:47).
3a. Danshoku Dino kisseded Gorgeous Matsuno (0:57).
3b. Danshoku Dino kissed Rich Swann (6:55).
3c. Danshoku Dino kissed Antonio Honda (8:20).
3d. Danshoku Dino kissed Ryo “Jimmy” Saito (10:43).
3e. Don Fujii defeated Danshoku Dino with a Small Package (14:47).
4. Shingo Takagi & YAMATO defeated Kenny Omega & Keisuke Ishii when YAMATO pinned Ishii with the Gallaria (15:23)
5. BxB Hulk defeated Kota Ibushi with the First Flash (16:52).
6. HARASHIMA, KUDO, Shigehiro Irie & Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Cyber Kong, Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy & Mondai Ryu by DQ when Ryu attacked the referee (3:00).
6a. Sanshiro Takagi, Masaaki Mochizuki, HARASHIMA, KUDO & Shigehiro Irie defeated Akira Tozawa, Cyber Kong, Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy & Mondai Ryu when HARASHIMA pinned Kzy with the Somato (12:10).

The Falls Count Anywhere dark match between Michael Nakazawa and Stalker Ichikawa began 5 minutes before the doors of the arena were open to the public. After brawling outside the ring for a long time and guest ref Gorgeous Matsuno being unable to physically count to three, the match was nearing its time limit. Nakazawa, Ishikawa and Matsuno all agreed to get rid of the time limit and continue the match until a winner was crowned. They brawled to the back and everyone has assumed that the match is still going on.

Sanshiro Takagi and Masaaki Mochizuki became kindred spirits after the opening match, showing respect to each other for still going strong into their forties. Takagi wondered if they should form a tag team to show the younger wrestlers that they’ve still got it.

Ken Ohka tried to get Masa Takanashi and Super Shisa to put aside their differences and shake hands after their match. Takanashi refused and lashed out at Shisa Boy. Super Shisa got angry and gave everyone in the ring the Yoshitonic, even Takayuki Yagi the referee.

Danshoku Dino announced the rules for the Danshoku Rumble. Dino believes that 80% of pro wrestlers are secretly gay and it was up to him to get them out of the closet. So for this match if Dino kissed any of his opponents, they would have to admit they were gay and wear one of Dino’s spare tights. Anyone who beats Dino or lasts 15 minutes without getting kissed wins the match and proves that they are not gay. One by one the competitors fell to Dino and Don Fujii was soon left on his own. But right when Dino had Fujii’s head down his tights for the Danshoku Driver, Fujii escaped and pinned him with a Small Package to win. Then it was revealed that Fujii was wearing Danshoku tights under his gear all along and he gave Kotoka a kiss followed by the Danshoku Driver.

Back to the proper matches, Dragon Gate scored victories in the two most anticipated bouts. Shingo Takagi & YAMATO were too powerful for Kenny Omega & Keisuke Ishii to handle. As Omega and YAMATO were going back and forth, Takagi caught Omega by surprise with a Pumping Bomber. Ishii tried to keep the match alive but was then targeted by YAMATO. Ishii was down and out after a Vertical Drop Brainbuster and the Gallaria.

BxB Hulk defeated Kota Ibushi in a rematch from their DDG bout five years ago. Both men have grown a lot since then, both with their ability and with their personalities. Ibushi almost won with two Lariat and the Sit Down Last Ride Power Bomb. Hulk turned the tables with a big combo of Mouse, F.T.X., Spin Kick, Axe Kick and finally the First Flash to score the win and avenge his defeat to Ibushi from 5 years ago.

The main event saw some changes due to a possible delay with Akira Tozawa returning from the UK. When it was time for the main event to begin, Kzy yelled about Tozawa not being in the arena and also said that both Naoki Tanizaki & Mondai Ryu would replace him. The MAD BLANKEY team then attacked the DDT team until Mochizuki ran out to make the save. HARASHIMA then suggested to make the match an 8-Man Tag Team bout with Mochizuki joining him, KUDO & Shigehiro Irie. The match was made and Mochizuki was about to win in quick fashion after giving Ryu the Twister. However, the other MAD BLANKEY wrestlers pulled the ref out of the ring during the pin and got themselves disqualified in the process.

As both teams brawled after the match, Tozawa finally showed up and insulted both DDT. He also said they should stop hosting anymore DDG shows. Sanshiro Takagi came out and HARSHIMA suggested to restart the main event this time as a 10-Man Tag Team match with Takagi and Tozawa now involved. The restart saw the DDT+Mochi team bring the fight back to MAD BLANKEY with Irie trading Lariats with Cyber Kong, HARASHIMA & KUDO sandwiching Mondai Ryu with Middle Kicks, Mochi kicking the crap out of Tozawa and Takagi carrying both Tozawa and Ryu over his shoulders at the same time for a Spicolli Driver. The match ended when HARASHIMA dumped Kzy on his head with a Reverse Frankensteiner and then flattened him with the Somato.

As the show came to an end, HARASHIMA thanked the crowd for coming to see the first DDG show in four years. Takagi and Mochizuki again talked about forming a team together and becoming the strongest pair of wrestlers who were born on January, 1970. Michael Nakazawa and Stalker Ishikawa then made a reappearance to remind people their match was still going on.

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Posted by JamieOD

Dramatic Dream Gate Card Ready!

May 10, 2012

DDT/DRAGON GATE “DDG COMES BACK”, 05/06/2012
Higashinari Citizens Center

0. Special Dark Match: Michael Nakazawa Vs Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa (Special Guest Referee: Gorgeous Matsuno)
1. Danshoku Rumble: Danshoku Dino Vs Antonio Honda Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Don Fujii Vs Ryo “Jimmy” Saito Vs Rich Swann
2. HARASHIMA, KUDO & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akira Tozawa, Cyber Kong & Kzy
3. Masa Takanashi & Ken Ohka Vs Super Shisa & Shisa Boy
4. Kota Ibushi Vs BxB Hulk
5. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma Vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Kotoka
6. Kenny Omega & Keisuke Ishii Vs Shingo Takagi & YAMATO

Two worlds collided today when wrestlers from both DDT and Dragon Gate held a press conference for the joint “DDG COMES BACK” taking place in June.

Shingo Takagi & YAMATO said that they wanted to fight Kenny Omega because of his exciting style. Keisuke Ishii said he understands that his opponents do not know who he is but he will delight the DDT fans by scoring the win for his team. He also admitted to being a Dragon Gate fan.

BxB Hulk wasn’t too excited to hear he would be facing Kota Ibushi. Hulk wondered out loud if Ibushi was the same guy he fought back in 2007 and that he doesn’t know him much since them because he keeps getting injured. He then told Ibushi to be careful so he wouldn’t injure himself again. Ibushi pointed out that he won the match back in ’07. He will look forward to seeing how much both of them have improved since that match.

Super Shisa complimented Masa Takanashi for his ability to use the Yoshitonic/Takatonic finisher. However, he is insulted that Takanashi named the move after himself as if he was the one who invented it. He’ll show Takanashi what the original is like! Ken Ohka told the Shisa team that he will show them the greatness of a true lion. He then named his team with Takasnashi the Dropout Roses. This is in reference to both Ohka and Takanashi dropping out of the Ultimo Dragon Gym when they originally tried to get into wrestling (Ohka trained in the 7th class from 2000, Masa trained in the 9th class from 2002).

With the show taking place in Osaka, Shigehiro Irie is motivated to win the match in front of his home crowd. He also doesn’t want to lose to Cyber Kong. KUDO thinks that he, Irie and HARASHIMA are the strongest trio DDT can create to take on MAD BLANKEY. Akira Tozawa thinks otherwise.

Stalker Ichikawa had no idea the press conference took place today. In fact, Stalker had no idea the show existed and that he has a dark match against Michael Nakazawa. He only found out when he was called to the table! Special guest referee Gorgeous Matsuno said the match will take place under his rules, “Gorgeous Rules”.

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Posted by JamieOD

Dramatic Dream Gate Returns, Dino & Ibushi Get Title Shot

April 26, 2012

DDT/DRAGON GATE “DDG COMES BACK”, 13/05/2012
Higashinari Citizens Center

0. Special Dark Match: Michael Nakazawa Vs Stalker Ichikawa

For the first time in four years, DDT and Dragon Gate will get together again for their Dramatic Dream Gate joint show. This will be the third DDG show to take place and the first to happen outside of Tokyo. Notable moments that took place in the previous events include Danshoku Dino and Masaaki Mochizuki swapping bodies before their match, a dream face off between Kota Ibushi and BxB Hulk, Stalker Ichikawa and Gorgeous Matsuno building up a ridiculous rivalry where neither of them could get the upper hand, and CIMA getting way more of Dino and Akira Tozawa than he bargained for.

DDT “DOTONBORI STORY 12”, 13/05/2012
Osaka Minami Move On Arena

1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Tetsuya Endo
2. 4 Way Match: Michael Nakazawa Vs DJ Nira Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Takao Soma & X Vs Shoichi Uchida, Hideki Shiota & Kiai Ryuuken Ecchan
4. KUDO Vs Keita Yano
5. Masa Takanashi & HARASHIMA Vs Shigehiro Irie & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
6. Hikaru Sato Vs Keisuke Ishii
7. KO-D Tag Team Title: Yasu Urano & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Danshoku Dino & Kota Ibushi

So soon after Kota Ibushi returns to the ring, he & Danshoku Dino will get a shot at the KO-D Tag Team Titles that they had to forfeit when Ibushi was put on the shelf last September.

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Sanshiro Teams With CIMA & TAKA In Dragon Gate

March 1, 2012

DRAGON GATE “TRUTH GATE”, 3/1/2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,850 Fans

CIMA, TAKA Michinoku & Sanshiro Takagi defeated Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk & Cyber Kong when CIMA pinned Kong with a Dos Caras Clutch (20:08).

Today’s appearance in Dragon Gate turned out to be a successful one for Sanshiro Takagi. The DDT president teamed up with K-DOJO president TAKA Michinoku and Dragon Gate’s Open The Dream Gate ace CIMA to face the newly renamed MAD BLANKEY unit of Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk & Cyber Kong. Despite the victory, CIMA’s grudge with the former Blood Warriors is far from over. Takagi told CIMA after the match that he can come back to Dragon Gate anytime CIMA needs his help.

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Posted by JamieOD

Sanshiro Shows Up In Dragon Gate

February 9, 2012

Sanshiro Takagi made a very unexpected appearance for Dragon Gate in Korakuen Hall today just as the dust was settling from a game changing main event. Right after the evil Blood Warriors unit defeated JUNCTION THREE in a Losers Must Disband battle, CIMA stepped up to his former stable and introduced two friends that have come to help him fight his enemies. They were Sanshiro Takagi and TAKA Michinoku. Takagi will compete with CIMA & TAKA to face Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk & Cyber Kong when Dragon Gate returns to Korakuen on 1st March. This marks the first DDT participation in Dragon Gate since the two cross-promoted “DRAMATIC DREAM GATE” shows back in 2007 and 2008.

Hopefully more information will come to light soon.

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Posted by JamieOD

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