DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION IN NIIGATA”, 16/04/2023 Niigata Bandaijima Multi-Purpose Plaza 360 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. KANON defeated Rukiya with the Cobra Twist (6:12).
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida defeated Chris Brookes & Kazumi Sumi when Ishida pinned Sumi with the Ensho (8:58).
3. Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Akito ended in a No Contest (10:27).
4. Special Single Match: MAO defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Michinoku Driver II (13:09).
5. Current Blast Bat 6-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima defeated Joey Janela, Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada when Onita pinned Janela with the Current Blast Bat Full Swing (14:40).
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & HARASHIMA defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani when Endo pinned Okatani with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (12:24).
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) defeated Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Machine pinned Koroku with the Vertical Drop Lehman Shock (20:06). *V1 for Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine.
Despite the big draw of the show being an Exploding Death Match, the final bout of the day was instead Super Sasadango Machine defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in his hometown. The unlikely champion team of Sasadango, Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ueno had to defend the belts against BURNING led by Jun Akiyama. It was Sasadango’s idea in order to make his homecoming show a bigger deal. The hometown hero almost experience a big defeat when he took Akiyama’s Knee Strike, then Yusuke Okada’s Diving Headbutt and then Yuya Koroku’s Diving Elbow Drop. But he kicked out at two and blocked Koroku’s Moonsault with his knees. Aoki & Ueno kept the rest of BURNING away so Sasadango could pin Koroku with the Lehman Shock, giving the underdog champions their first successful defence.
Although Sasadango won the match for his team, he still suggested they vacate it so the belts can go to a more deserving champions. While Ueno convinced him not to, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida entered the ring. They announced that Harimao wants the next title shot because KO-D stands for King Of Dosukoi! Sasadango asked if it can wait until next year’s Niigata show. He was turned down by both Ueno and Harimao. The champions ended up accepting the challenge but no date was given for it yet. Sasadango closed out the show by telling the fans he really loves both pro wrestling and Niigata.
For his entire tour of Japan, Joey Janela has been laser focused on one thing. To destroy Atsushi Onita in an exploding death match! This caused Onita to call upon his Dramatic Dream Onita squad to join his battle against Janela. Meanwhile Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada joined Janela’s side to continue DDT’s quest to take the death match trademark from Onita. Four baseball bats were placed around the ring all rigged to explode upon impact. Onita, Masada, Takagi and Janela all took the explosions with the last one providing the match’s climax. Onita & Shunma Katsumata both spat Poison Mist in Janela’s face, causing him to sit onto a chair in the ring. Onita then saw his chance and hit Janela with the last exploding bat, pinning him afterwards.
After the match Onita praised Janela for the fight and suggested they should do another exploding death match, this time one on one in America! After hearing about this, Takagi decided to end his goal of claiming the death match trademark. Instead he will do whatever he can to help make Onita Vs Janela happen in America. Katsumata said they can bring Dramatic Dream Onita to America too!
Makoto Oishi was at ringside with his Sexy Counter to judge if Yuki Iino was still “Not Sexy”. Even Akito tried to tempt Iino into unsealing his Pheromones gimmick by stripping off his own gear. Toru Owashi also wanted to join in but nothing he did registered with the Sexy Counter, making him upset. The antics led to Akito unintentionally getting the match called off when Iino pinned him with the Gedo Clutch. The position revealed too much of Akito to the audience so the referee had to cancel the match. For once it wasn’t Pheromones’ fault!
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 15/04/2023 Shinjuku FACE 246 Fans
0. Dark Match: Kazuma Sumi defeated Rukiya with a Camel Clutch (4:42).
1. MJ Paul & KANON defeated Chris Brookes & Ilusion when KANON submitted Ilusion with the Crucifixion Cobra Twist (8:51).
2. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuni with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (9:15).
3. Yuji Hino & Toru Owashi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Hino pinned Ishida with the Power Bomb (9:40).
4. Falls Count Anywhere Scramble Bunkhouse Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Death Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani when Janela pinned Honda with a Diving Foot Stomp from a Ladder through a Plastic Case and Chair (15:10).
5. Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura when Iino submitted Nakamura with the Body Choke Not Dragon Sleeper (11:47).
6. Elimination 8-Man Tag Match ~BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!~: MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku (25:28).
6a. Jun Akiyama and Shunma Katsumata eliminated each other by Double Ring Out (9:22).
6b. Yuki Ueno eliminated Yusuke Okada by Ring Out (13:20).
6c. Toy Kojima eliminated Yuya Koroku with a Modified Cradle (17:34).
6d. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Toy Kojima with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (19:28).
6e. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Yuki Ueno by Ring Out (22:16).
6f. MAO eliminated Tetsuya Endo by Ring Out (25:28).
Two of DDT’s championships are currently embroiled in the rivlary between BURNING and The 37KAMIINA. The two champs, Tetsuya Endo with the DDT Universal Title & Jun Akiyama with the DDT Extreme Title were on the losing aside against their upcoming challengers in an 8-Man Tag Elimination match. First, Akiyama was taken out of the ring by Shunma Katsumata thanks to some help from Toy Kojima. Katsumata was eliminated by that spot too but it removed BURNING’s most experienced wrestler from the match. BURNING took further hits with Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku getting eliminated next, leaving Endo on his own. He was on the way to scoring a major comeback by eliminating Yuki Ueno & Kojima only for MAO to take victory from the jaws of defeat. MAO dropped Endo to the floor by doing a Package Piledriver on the ring apron and then letting Endo fall out.
Backstage MAO brought up his previous criticisms of Endo and explained why he said them. It’s not that he hates Endo. It’s because MAO’s own growing momentum overseas makes it the perfect time for him to be the Universal Champion again. He needs to be the Universal Champion while all of these companies around the world are starting to pay attention to him. If that doesn’t resonate with Endo then that is Endo’s problem, not MAO’s. Katsumata also butted in to say he is more extreme than Akiyama. Endo’s response to MAO is he will not bend his beliefs as champion no matter what his challenger says.
For the rest of this month Yuki Iino must prove he is “Not Sexy” in order to get his KO-D Openweight Title match on 3rd May. Makoto Oishi was at ringside for his match carrying a Sexy Counter device to judge if Iino was being honest. Iino’s first attempt to prove this was by wearing black trunks similar to the gear he wore earlier in his career, before discovered Pheromones. He had to fight his urges to strip while fighting but was able to pull out the win in the end by giving Keigo Nakamura the Bubba Bomb and then turning it into a Dragon Sleeper. However after the match Iino felt a big headache, showing his resistance is taking a toll on his body. Oishi announced that Iino did not set off the sexy detector but he will stay near him during tomorrow’s show. Danshoku Dieno warned that at Yokohama Budokan all of this stored energy will evolve Iino into a super monster that cannot be controlled!
A Street Fight means every wrestler involved has to wear regular clothing for the match. Sanshiro Takagi thought differently and took part wearing an inflatable alien costume! He spent most of the match fighting with Yukio Sakaguchi in the crowd as well as outside the room. At one point Sakaguchi crashed a bicycle into Takagi! Hideki Okatani used a stapler on both Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada. Janela also got his face smashed with a chair from Antonio Honda’s Bionic Elbow. Masada fought back by diving onto the two Eruption wrestlers outside the ring. Janela laid Honda onto a row of chairs in the ring, placed a plastic case on top of him and then did a Double Stomp from the top of a ladder onto him for the finish. Janela celebrated his victory by shouting threats aimed at Atsushi Onita over tomorrow’s exploding death match.
Kazuki Hirata claimed he felt moved after watching Yuni’s match with Yuki Ueno last week. He didn’t want to be treated like a villain today so he promised to give Yuni a clean and exciting match. Then as the match progressed, Hirata knocked out the referee and summoned two masked men to help him assault Yuni! The teenager fought off the masked men by hitting a Moonsault onto them and Hirata out of the ring. Back in the ring he gave Hirata the RKO but an Inside Cradle gave Hirata the win out of nowhere. Hirata called it a landslide victory and he swore to stand in Yuni’s way as a villain from now on! Yuni demanded a rematch so he can fight Hirata one on one, fair and square.
Another loss for Ilusion is making him think about the future. He thinks something has to change for him and it may have to be something that changes behind the scenes. His next match will be on 3rd May as part of the pre-show series against Pheromones. He warns he will show up at Yokohama Budokan both different and stronger in order to beat them.
Today’s dark match turned out to be Kazuma Sumi’s first singles win! He beat Rukiya by submitting him with a Camel Clutch. He described his joy over winning as amazing. Now he is looking forward to beating the other wrestlers in his generation and do his best to aim higher after that.
Former DDT wrestler Diego was in attendance for the show as a guest of Shunma Katsumata and greeted the fans before the opening match.
KANON will have a match to celebrate his 4th Anniversary in wrestling on 7th June.
Not even halfway through my holiday and look at all the stuff I already missed! I’m splitting the news post in half, starting with all the DDT updates.
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 15/04/2023 Shinjuku FACE
0. Dark Match: Kazuma Sumi Vs Rukiya
1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Chris Brookes & Ilusion
2. Yuji Hino & Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
3. Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
4. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni
5. Elimination 8-Man Tag Match ~BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!~: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima
6. Falls Count Anywhere Scramble Bunkhouse Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Death Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani
A deal was made between Pheromones and Yuji Hino in order to get Yuki Iino a KO-D Openweight Title match. Iino must seal away his “Sexy” persona from now until May. If he lives up to that promise then he will get a title match on 3rd May. However he will still have to be Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino for that match. Makoto Oishi has sworn to be at ringside for all of Iino’s matches until then to make sure he is still living up to his side of the deal.
DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION IN NIIGATA”, 16/04/2023 Niigata Bandaijima Multi-Purpose Plaza
1. KANON Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Chris Brookes & Kazumi Sumi
3. Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
4. Special Single Match: MAO Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
7. Current Blast Bat 6-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima Vs Joey Janela, Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada
I think you have to go back years to find the last time Tetsuya Endo & HARASHIMA teamed together.
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN FUKUOKA”, 22/04/2023 Fukuoka Kasuga General Sports Center
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito & Takeshi Masada
2. Fukuoka Specialty Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Azul Dragon & Keigo Nakamura
3. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Yusuke Okada, Rayne Leverkusen & Kazuma Sumi
5. Ω Vs Harimao!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
6. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
The visiting Rayne Leverkusen gets a few warm up matches before she goes one on one against Saki Akai.
DDT “YAMADA FISHERIES PRESENTS 4.23 SHIBUSHI FISH MEAT DECISIVE BATTLE @ UNAGI STATION”, 23/04/2023 Kagoshima Shibushi City Unagi Station
1. Yusuke Okada & Rukiya Vs Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Shunma Katsumata, Rayne Leverkusen & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: MAO & Toy Kojima Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
4. Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
5. Shibushi Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shiro Koshinaka, Toru Owashi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
6. Fish Vs Meat Full-Scale Battle! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shishamo Power, Unagi Mask & Super Unagi Mask Vs Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
The reason why Iino has to seal away his Pheromones gimmick is because Hino refuses to defend the title against that version of him. Their tag match here will let Iino show just how much he wants the belt without the need for his alter ego. Or maybe he falls for temptation and the whole journey blows up in everyone’s faces before it ever reaches the Yokohama Budokan.
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 29/04/2023 Osaka 176BOX
1. Hideki Okatani Vs Rukiya
2. Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Keigo Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yuji Hino & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ishida
4. Osaka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Saki Akai & Tsutenkakka Vs Toru Owashi, Rayne Leverkusen & Kazuki Hirata
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Naruki Doi, Yuni & Takeshi Masada
6. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Shunma Katsumata & Kazusada Higuchi
7. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Koroku Vs MAO & Yuki Ueno
An odd looking trio of Naruki Doi, Yuni & Takeshi Masada are getting together to face DAMNATION T.A with a returning Minoru Fujita also included.
The new rookie Rukiya is already getting a homecoming match. It only took him 20 days to get here!
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN HAMAMATSU”, 30/04/2023 Shizuoka Create Hamamatsu Hall
1. Yusuke Okada Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Keigo Nakamura
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Mari Manji Vs Antonio Honda, Takeshi Masada & Rayne Leverkusen
4. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno
5. Ω Vs Pheromones!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno
6. Hamamatsu Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida
The last stop before Yokohama sees Hino and Iino in the ring one more time.
DDT “MEGA MAX BUMP 2023 IN YOKOHAMA”, 03/05/2023 Yokohama Budokan
0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs D GENERATIONS Army Best Of 3 Singles Matches: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Yuki Ishida, Ilusion & Rukiya
1. Keigo Nakamura & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Toy Kojima & Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Soma Takao, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
3. Dance Vs Kickboxing Mixed Martial Arts Challenge: Kazuki Hirata Vs Hikaru Machida
4. Chiitan☆ Debut Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chiitan☆, Toru Owashi & Akito Vs Chris Brookes, Masahito Takanashi & Antonio Honda
5. International Special Single Match: Saki Akai Vs Rayne Leverkusen
6. International Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Yuni Vs Nick Wayne & Takeshi Masada
7. Road To King Of DDT 2023 Special 8-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Kotaro Suzuki & Hideki Okatani Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi, Naruki Doi & KANON
8. DDT Extreme Title – TLC (Toys, Ladders & Chairs) Match: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
9. DDT Universal Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs MAO
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuji Hino (c) Vs Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino
The full card for the Yokohama Budokan show is here. The main event will become invalid if Iino breaks his promise and becomes “Sexy” again. Whether that means it becomes just a non-title match or gets cancelled completely hasn’t been explained yet.
MAO had a lot of harsh words to say about Endo after last weekend’s show. MAO complained about Endo’s lack of effort to break out into the international scene. He only wrestled the matches in America DDT already booked for him during his recent trip there. Meanwhile MAO went out of his way to get more bookings, including a recent appearance on AEW Dark Elevation with other members of The 37KAMIINA. The point MAO is making is how can Endo call himself the DDT Universal Champion when his attitude and behaviour towards wrestling overseas has no universal appeal at all?
According to Shunma Katsumata, the DDT Extreme Title hasn’t been that extreme during Jun Akiyama’s title reign. His solution is to fight Akiyama in a TLC Match. However in this case the T in TLC stands for Toys. The Ladders and Chairs will still be there, don’t worry about that. But you know how much wrestling fans love their tables.
When Nick Wayne touches down in Japan he will be thrown into the mix with the present and future of DDT. Takeshi Masada is teaming with Wayne to take on Yuki Ueno & Yuni.
After what happened between Chiitan☆ and Chris Brookes the last time the mascot showed up here, it only makes sense they are opponents for Chiitan’s debut match.
The Dance Vs Kickboxing MMA fight between Kazuki Hirata and Hikaru Machida will be contested under 15 rounds all lasting two minutes long.
The rest of Pheromones will be in the dark match taking part in a Best of 3 singles challenge against Yuki Ishida, Ilusion & Rukiya. That class of rookies are now called the D GENERATIONS Army.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2023”, 09/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 531 Fans
0. Dark Match: MJ Paul & KANON defeated Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi when KANON submitted Sumi with the Crucifix Cobra Twist (7:02).
1. Rukiya Debut Match: Yuya Koroku defeated Rukiya with the Chickenwing Arm Lock (7:34).
2. Akito, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Toy Kojima defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi when Kawamatsu pinned Ihashi with the Shitamatchi Rocket (8:39).
3. Harimao Vs Eruption!: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Double Arm Suplex (10:27).
4. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Yuni with the BME (9:08).
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada defeated Naruki Doi, Chris Brookes, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada when Endo pinned Masada with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (12:18).
6. WORLD HINO CLASSIC ~Finals~: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Yuji Hino, “brother” YASSHI & Makoto Oishi by TKO when Iino used the Cross Ass Sexy Lock Ass on YASSHI (9:25).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura when Katsumata pinned Nakamura after the Oretachi no Mad Max (20:11). *V5 for ShunMao.
The spotlight was shining brightly on Keigo Nakamura. With HARASHIMA on his side, the young wrestler was looking to make up for his poor record in the D GENERATIONS CUP by winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles. The champions ShunMao were fresh back from America where they got to wrestle in AEW and were ready for the challenge. Nakamura used his own version of the Somato on Shunma Katsumata but the tables turned when Katsumata caught Nakamura’s Diving Headbutt with a Stunner. ShunMao then kept HARASHIMA out of action long enough to pin Nakamura with the Oretachi no Mad Max.
Afterwards Katsumata said he expected this to be an easy defence but Nakamura has left him feeling tired. He then turned his attention to Jun Akiyama and criticised the DDT Extreme Champion for not acting extreme at all. Akiyama entered the ring in a huff but was stopped by Katsumata’s next line. He wants their Extreme Title match on 3rd May to be a TLC Match. In this case TLC stands for Toys, Ladders & Chairs! Akiyama accepted the idea. Meanwhile Tetsuya Endo confronted MAO and raised his DDT Universal Title over his next challenger’s head. This caused MAO to let loose on Endo backstage, criticising him for his recent performances in America and his lack of effort to get more bookings over there. How can Endo proudly call himself the Universal Champion when he is anything but universal?
The final of the World Hino Classic was Yuki Iino’s final step towards earning a KO-D Openweight Title shot. Pheromones needed to get past Ω with “brother” YASSHI added to the opposing side. Makoto Oishi counted on Yuji Hino’s fellow high school wrestling club partner to be the difference maker but YASSHI had never experienced anything like Pheromones before! When Danshoku Dieno & Yumehito Imanari started showing off their new “magic trick” involving Iino wearing only a bathrobe, Hino was nowhere to be seen and YASSHI was left on his own to take the humiliating defeat.
Hino reappeared after the match after Pheromones demanded that Iino finally get the title match he’s been asking for on 3rd May. Hino said this entire WHC thing was Oishi’s idea. He admits that Iino is a strong wrestler but he has no interest in getting stuck into the Pheromones experience. He only wants serious challengers. Dieno spoke with Iino and they agreed to offer a deal. From now until after the title match on 3rd May, the Yuki “Sexy” Iino will be sealed so the match can go ahead without any incident to worry about. Iino started to cry and he promised Hino “I am not sexy!” After hearing this, Hino accepted the deal. However Oishi does not trust Pheromones to live up to their side of the deal so until 3rd May he will be in attendance for all of their matches to judge if Yuki “Not Sexy” Iino will stick to his promise.
Endo claimed he was only just finally getting over his jetlag today. Good timing because he lead BURNING to victory against a team of all sorts. He kicked out of Joey Janela’s Avalanche Brainbuster and went on to pin Takeshi Masada with the Torture Rack Bomb. Most of the wrestlers in the match like Kotaro Suzuki, Yusuke Okada, Naruki Doi and Chris Brookes are making preparations for the King Of DDT tournament. Endo and Akiyama are facing each other in the first round. Akiyama thinks it is a conspiracy because it’s so rare for wrestlers in the same unit to fight each other in a tournament’s opening round. Janela is not in the tournament but his focus for this tour is to defeat Atsushi Onita in an exploding death match!
The re-debut of Yuni as a high school pro wrestler saw him take on Yuki Ueno one on one. Yuni did a Moonsault to the outside, a Swan Dive Dropkick and the RKO as some of his big moves. Ueno was able to brush them aside, laid out Yuni with a Dropkick and pin him with the BME. Ueno is impressed with the new generation of wrestlers like Yuni and Ilusion. His advice to them are there’s no detours in life so he wants them to explore many places in wrestling. Yuni is happy with how the match went despite how tough and painful it was. His next match is against Kazuki Hirata and he’s looking forward to beating him.
The Eruption Vs Harimao match kicked off with Yuki Ishida attacking Hideki Okatani. The decision wasn’t a good one because Ishida ended up getting overwhelmed by the numbers game. Yukio Sakaguchi and Ryota Nakatsu pretty much cancelled each other out. Kazusada Higuchi used his power to shift the momentum in Harimao’s direction but that was stopped by Saki Akai diving onto everybody outside the ring. The match went back over to Okatani against Ishida and Okatani finished on top with the Double Arm Suplex. After the match Sakaguchi called Harimao a good team and he’s interested in fighting them again.
The politician Shinichiro Kawamatsu scored his first ever victory in pro wrestling by pinning Gota Ihashi with the Shitamachi Rocket. That is his own name for the Spear. The momentum was on his side from the get go when he overpowered Toru Owashi with a Shoulder Block exchange. Kazuki Hirata wanted to try out a brand new move called the Shining Sleeper but Toy Kojima easily stopped him. Ihashi missed a Moonsault on Kawamatsu and that set up the finish. Akito congratulated the politician for his victory and told backstage reporters that Kawamatsu will continue to wrestle on a steady basis. However Kawamatsu reminded him there is an election coming up so his schedule is going to get very busy.
The debut of Rukiya showed off the rookie in an all blue attire including his hair being dyed in the same colour. He used Elbow Strikes, Body Slams, Bulldog Headlocks and a Back Drop on Yuya Koroku. But once Koroku got hold of Rukiya’s arm and twisted it into a Chicken Wing Lock, it was all over for the newcomer. Rukiya said he wants to grow into a big wrestler who can still use high flying moves, like Tetsuya Endo.
Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi tried to jump DAMNATION T.A before the bell but their plan failed big time. It led to KANON attacking Honda with one of the ring tools on the outside. A missed attack from MJ Paul led to Sumi coming in for a hot tag but a dive attack was caught by KANON and turned into a Crucifix Cobra Twist for the submission victory.
Dieno & Imanari interrupted Hisaya Imabayashi’s opening news announcements wanting to know what else Pheromones will be doing on 3rd May. Akito entered the ring and told them the remaining members will be put into a Best of 3 singles match challenge against Yuki Ishida, Ilusion and Rukiya.
I’m about to go on holiday so if there’s not posts here for the next two weeks it’s because of that. The Tokyo Joshi Pro talent that had their flight cancelled earlier in the week eventually made it home but it sounds like they had a real frustrating experience getting their. Then there’s the news coming out of last night where The 37KAMIINA, Maki Itoh and Mizuki were on the AEW Dark Elevation taping that took place before Dynamite. Then when Dynamite was over Konosuke Takeshita and Miyu Yamashita were on the ROH taping that was held right after it. I’ll write about all of that in next month’s Around The World article.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2023”, 09/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: MJ Paul & KANON Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi
1. Rukiya Debut Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Rukiya
2. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi Vs Akito, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Toy Kojima
3. Harimao Vs Eruption!: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
4. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuni
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs Naruki Doi, Chris Brookes, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada
6. WORLD HINO CLASSIC ~Finals~: Yuji Hino, “brother” YASSHI & Makoto Oishi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
For the next step in his career, Yuni wants to wrestle in Osaka and Tokyo as much as possible. The reasons are he is from Osaka and has made a lot of friends in Tokyo too. He ultimately wants to grow into a heavyweight but still be able to do high flying just like Tetsuya Endo.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STAND ALONE ’23”, 15/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Yuki Aino, Haruna Neko & Haru Kazashiro Vs Suzume, Arisu Endo & Runa Okubo
3. Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara & Toga Vs Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa, Raku & Shino Suzuki
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI (Special Referee: Shiori Aoki)
6. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Vert Vixen
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Nao Kakuta
What’s this? Max The Impaler is returning to Japan wanting to regain the Princess Tag Team Titles that they lost last month. However they are going on their own because Heidi Howitzer has other matters in the Wasteland to deal with. What can Max do? They demanded to team with one person in particular… Pom Harajuku?!? Max’s obsession with Pom has now turned them from enemies into the unlikeliest of tag teams!
All four current members of The Up Up Girls are teaming together as a foursome for the first time.
Rookies Haru Kazashiro and Runa Okubo will be on opposite teams for the first time ever. All of their previous matches since their debuts had them teaming together.
DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION IN NIIGATA”, 16/04/2023 Niigata Bandaijima Multi-Purpose Plaza
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Current Blast Bat 6-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima Vs Joey Janela, Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada
The main event will consist of four baseball bats all rigged to explode at the touch of a button at ringside. The explosions are being advertised to be three times as powerful as usual.
GANBARE☆PRO “BLOODY SUNDAY 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Moeka Haruhi Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Grappling Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Takuya Wada & Tsuyoshi Okada
3. Secret Captain’s Fall Elimination 6-Man Tag Match: Hartley Jackson, Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE Vs Ken Ohka, Soma Takao & YuuRI
4. Mizuki Watase & Shota Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shinichiro Tominaga
Mizuki Watase is also back from America and ready to face the challenge of Keisuke Ishii. I still haven’t found out what new skills Watase learned over in the US.
The Grappling Tag Match can only be won by submission or ref stoppage. Strikes are prohibited and rope breaks will not count towards breaking up holds.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “CLIMB OVER ’23”, 22/04/2023 Osaka Edion Arena #2
1. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku
Max & Pom are getting a Princess Tag Titles shot! The two of them are going to be The Magical Sugar Rabbits’ first challengers.
GANBARE☆PRO “SHOTA DEBUT 15TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCE SHOW 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. Gauntlet Mixed Tag Match: Mizuki Watase & HARUKAZE Vs Yumehito Imanari & Miss Mongol Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Moeka Haruhi Vs Soma Takao & YuuRI Vs Kabuto Mitomi & Echika Miyabi
2. Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Tyson Maeguchi
3. Shota Debut 15th Anniversary Special Single Match: Shota Vs Isami Kodaka
Something new for Ganbare☆Pro is a Gauntlet Tag Match. Shota has invited a lot of wrestlers close to him to take part in it.
GANBARE☆PRO “THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 2023”, 22/04/2023 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. 3 Way Match: Shota Vs Munetatsu Nakamura Vs KOJIO
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Sento Minzoku!: Ken Ohka & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Isami Kodaka & Minoru Fujita
3. Mizuki Watase, Yumehito Imanari & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Keisuke Ishii, Tyson Maeguchi & Takuya Wada
The last GanPro show before they go to Korakuen Hall features a Sento Minzoku invasion. Isami Kodaka is already involved thanks to Shota inviting him over but Minoru Fujita is tagging along with him.
A monster wrestler from the UMA Corps named KOJIO is making its GanPro debut. It very recently emerged in ChocoPro but has also been sighted in wrestling rings across America, Singapore and Thailand over the last year.
GANBARE☆PRO “RUN LOLA RUN 2023”, 29/04/2023 Osaka 176BOX
1. Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Marika Kobashi
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs The 37KAMIINA: Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura Vs Yuki Ueno & MAO
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Mizuki Watase, Ken Ohka & Hartley Jackson Vs Shuichiro Katsumura, Shinichiro Tominaga & Tyson Maeguchi
The 37KAMIINA are sending Yuki Ueno & MAO over to visit GanPro. Keisuke Ishii & Munetatsu Nakamura will be waiting for them.
The working relationship with P.P.P. Tokyo brings Marika Kobashi back to GanPro for another appearance.
Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Soma Takao will both be on the show.
A few things I want to mention before going into the updates. First, I was a guest on Alan4L’s ProWres Paradise over at PWTorch this week. The show is behind their VIP subscription and it is the latest episode in Alan’s “30 4L 30” series that is dedicated to talking about significant wrestling careers over the last 30 years. What if I told you our subject was the life and times of Kota Ibushi? We cover everything from his DDT days right up to his comeback in GCW last weekend with some extra trivia in between. I even try to clear up some misconceptions about his life that people have wondered about the last few years (mainly I really doubt he comes from a rich family). So for any PWTorch subscribers reading this, you can go listen to the episode here.
(Also fun little note, while we were recording this the news of WWE’s business merger with UFC broke online. However we did not find out about it until after we finished recording. Talking about Ibushi for 150 minutes needed the absolute focus he deserves, you know.)
Second, I will be going on holiday to Canada soon and will be away for two weeks. There will be a news post on Thursday before I go. I’m bringing my laptop so if I comfortably have the time to posts results, news and other stuff I will do so. Otherwise things might be kept to the Twitter account while I’m busy going on a loop around all the different Toronto sports teams. I have tickets for the the Impact PPV happening there too so I get to add Canada to the list of countries I’ve seen wrestling in.
And lastly, speaking of travelling. It looks like most of the DDT wrestlers have returned safely to Japan. Daisuke Sasaki took a detour to Texas though where he wrestled and hung out with Sam Adonis & Hernandez. I’ll find out more for the next DDT Around The World article. The Tokyo Joshi Pro roster though had their flight cancelled and their tweets suggest they are waiting a long time at the airport for the next plane ride home.
Now onto the news.
DDT “APRIL FOOL 2023”, 09/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi
2. Rukiya Debut Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Rukiya
3. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi Vs Akito, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Toy Kojima
4. Harimao Vs Eruption!: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
5. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Yuni
6. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada Vs Naruki Doi, Chris Brookes, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada
7. WORLD HINO CLASSIC ~Finals~: Yuji Hino, “brother” YASSHI & Makoto Oishi Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
An unusual training practice was held by HARASHIMA for Keigo Nakamura during the week. A pot of boiling water was in the room and HARASHIMA left a shirt to soak inside it. He instructed Nakamura to put the boiling hot shirt on as fast as he can. If he succeeded then he will be prepared to handle ShunMao’s sauna heat. Nakamura understood and was able to put the shirt on despite scalding himself. He then told HARASHIMA it was his turn to do it next but HARASHIMA said he came here to train, not put on a shirt! They went on to complete their practice session as normal.
Gota Ihashi replaces the injured Yukio Naya in Match #3. If I were DISASTER BOX I’d be asking if there’s another replacement available.
The trainee Rukiya Ikeda has decided on his official ring name. He will officially be simply known as Rukiya when he has his debut match.
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 15/04/2023 Shinjuku FACE
1. Special Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni
2. Elimination 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Toy Kojima
3. Falls Count Anywhere Scramble Bunkhouse Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Death Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani
A busy weekend awaits for Joey Janela when he comes back to Japan. His first match back in the country for DDT will be a Scramble Bunkhouse Street Fight. The match is happening to prepare Janela, Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Masada for the Current Blast Death Match they are having against Atsushi Onita the following day. Since the first match is going to be a Street Fight, every wrestler has been told to go find an outfit different from their wrestling gear to fight in.
A lot of BURNING versus The 37KAMIINA matches to look forward to this month. It kicks off with a big Elimination Tag Match between the two groups.
Yuni’s wrestling career hasn’t been around for long but in the days before he became El Unicorn he already developed a rivalry with Kazuki Hirata. That rivalry is now being brought back for the next chapter of Yuni’s career.
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN FUKUOKA”, 22/04/2023 Fukuoka Kasuga General Sports Center
1. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata & Toy Kojima
More clashes between the two units. These are being done to promote the upcoming DDT Universal and DDT Extreme Title matches. Yuki Ueno will be missing this show due to the stage show he’s a part of.
Azul Dragon and Rayne Leverkusen will both be on the show.
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN OSAKA”, 29/04/2023 Osaka 176BOX
1. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Koroku Vs MAO & Yuki Ueno
Dragon and Leverkusen will also be on this show along with Naruki Doi and an Osaka masked wrestler called Tsutenkakka. He is named after the local Tsutenkaku Tower and is apparantely authorised by the tower’s management to fight on behalf of the landmark. He was part of the No Fee Rumble DDT held back in February.
DDT “MAX BUMP 2023 TOUR IN HAMAMATSU”, 30/04/2023 Shizuoka Create Hamamatsu Hall
1. Hamamatsu Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida
Leverkusen will be on the show along with Mari Manji from Yanagase Pro Wrestling. She was originally from PURE-J.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR IN SPRING ’23”, 08/04/2023 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Mahiro Kiryu, Wakana Uehara & Toga Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
2. Hikari Noa Vs Shinno Suzuki
3. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Raku Vs HIMAWARI
4. Yuki Kamifuku & Haruna Neko Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami
6. Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Nao Kakuta & Pom Harajuku
This will be the show where mostly everyone comes back from America. We already know that Miyu Yamashita is now on her excursion and Maki Itoh still has a few more bookings to do over there. Yuka Sakazaki is also missing this show due to overseas commitments. So that means she’s probably showing up at the AEW Rampage & Battle Of The Belts taping on Friday.
Haru Kazashiro recently turned 15 so this will be her first match as a high school student.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STAND ALONE ’23”, 15/04/2023 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI (Special Referee: Shiori Aoki)
2. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Vert Vixen
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Mizuki (c) Vs Nao Kakuta
Vert Vixen’s tour with Tokyo Joshi Pro will be highlighted with an International Princess Title match against Rika Tatsumi.
BASARA “BASARA 215 ~KOO~”, 15/04/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Basara Strange Style Jacket Match: FUMA Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
2. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Takumi Tsukamoto
A surprise Union MAX Title change last week has thrown BASARA for a loop. Isami Kodaka wants to get his title back as soon as possible but he isn’t getting an automatic rematch. Takumi Tsukamoto also lost his CCW Canadian Heavyweight Title on the same show so he doesn’t have a claim for the No. 1 Contendership. The two agreed to fight each other and the winner will get a future title shot.
Both FUMA and Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi are claiming to be the No. 1 ranked fighter in the Basara Strange Style Jacket matches. They will face each other to decide who really is No. 1.
Minoru Fujita will be on the show having his first match in BASARA since December.
BASARA “BASARA 216 ~KOO~”, 18/04/2023 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. IRON FIST Tag Titles: Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino (c) Vs Lil’ Kraken & Leo Isaka
2. Union MAX Title: Banana Senga (c) Vs SAGAT
The person who is facing Banana Senga for the MAX Title is SAGAT! Both men won singles championships last week, Senga getting the MAX Title and SAGAT getting the CCW Title. Only the MAX Title is on the line here.
Lil’ Kraken & Leo Isaka decided to team with each other because they are both wrestlers from Tochigi. They are immediately facing Aijin Tag for the IRON FIST Tag Titles.
DDT “YAMADA FISHERIES PRESENTS 4.23 SHIBUSHI FISH MEAT DECISIVE BATTLE @ UNAGI STATION”, 23/04/2023 Kagoshima Shibushi City Unagi Station
1. Shibushi Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shiro Koshinaka, Toru Owashi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku
2. Fish Vs Meat Full-Scale Battle! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shishamo Power, Unagi Mask & Super Unagi Mask Vs Jun Akiyama, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
Jun Akiyama replaces the injured Yukio Naya in the Fish Vs Meat tag match.
Yuki Ueno will not be at the show because he has a role in a stage play that day.
DDT “DDT GOES YOKOHAMA! ~BLOW UP HOLLYWOOD!!~”, 01/04/2023 Yokohama Radiant Hall 196 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yusuke Okada defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuma Sumi when Okada submitted Sumi with a Crab Hold (6:14).
2. O-40 Title: Makoto Oishi (c) defeated Antonio Honda with the Fujiyama Knee Lock (8:44). *V1 for Makoto Oishi.
3. Kotaro Suzuki & Soma Takao defeated Keigo Nakamura & Yuki Ishida when Takao pinned Ishida with the Official Endless Waltz (11:24).
4. Special Single Match I: Invisible Man defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Dragonrana (12:02).
5. Special Single Match II ~ Hardcore Match: Masashi Takeda defeated MJ Paul with the Reverse U-Crash Kai (12:15).
6. Special Single Match III: Yuji Hino defeated Akito with the King Kong Sleeper (10:04).
7. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Hikaru Sato defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi when HARASHIMA pinned Takanashi with the Somato (14:15).
8. King Of DDT 2023 Qualifying Battle: Hideki Okatani defeated Toy Kojima and Yuya Koroku.
8a. Hideki Okatani defeated Toy Kojima with the Double Arm Suplex (10:09).
8b. Hideki Okatani defeated Yuya Koroku with the Double Arm Suplex (12:00).
While half of the DDT roster was enjoying their visit to Los Angeles, the other half ran a show by themselves in Yokohama. The main event was a Qualifiying Battle for the final spot in the King Of DDT tournament. Hideki Okatani, Toy Kojima and Yuya Koroku would face each other in alternating singles matches until one of them won two falls in a row. A lottery at the start of the show determined Okatani and Kojima as the first match. Okatani ended up achieving a clean sweep by beating Kojima and then Koroku, both with the Double Arm Suplex. For Okatani he still feels like he is at the starting point with everyone else in the tournament. He promised Kojima and Koroku that he will carry their feelings on his back going into King Of DDT where he will crush everyone in his way!
The semi-main event was put together to be a nostalgic tag match. For one night only Shuten-dōji were reunited. Yukio Sakaguchi teamed up with Masahiro Takanashi and they had KUDO standing in their corner. HARASHIMA brought Hikaru Sato back to DDT so they could team up against them. All of them celebrated with drinks in the ring after the match.
The Hardcore match between Masashi Takeda and MJ Paul featured chairs, tables, a chain, a ladder, skewers and also a pair of scissors. Yukinori Matsui stopped Takeda from using the scissors and Takeda wouldn’t stop complaining about it afterward.
With so much newsworthy things happening around the wrestling world this weekend, Kazuki Hirata tried to get attention by wrestling The Invisible Man. In a hard fought fight Hirata kicked out of the Rainmaker but was pinned with a Dragonrana. Hirata described The Invisible Man moving like a Heavyweight but he is pretty sure he is really a Junior Heavyweight.
The last time Kotaro Suzuki and Soma Takao teamed together was at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017” but that was in a 4 Way Tag. Takao enjoyed getting to tag with Suzuki for a regular tag team match because he is such a big influence to him.
Makoto Oishi is determined to make the O-40 Title a belt that every wrestler over the age of 40 around the world will want to fight for. He was nervous going into his first defence against Antonio Honda but isn’t going to lose the title that easily.
So WrestleMania Week is not over yet by a long shot. The actual shows behind the namesake haven’t even taken place by the time I am posting this. But all of the DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro related wrestling shows are now finished by this point. The wrestlers will be spending the rest of the weekend as convention guests and as tourists enjoying the sights and sounds of Los Angeles.
The vacation hasn’t been entirely relaxing though. The hotel all of the DDT wrestlers were staying at had to be evacuated in the early hours of Friday morning because of a burst pipe flooding the building. It caused all of the DDT wrestlers to lose a lot of sleep before the GCW show. Funny thing is when Sanshiro Takagi explained what happened on Twitter a lot of Japanese fans didn’t believe him. It was already 1st April in Japan because of the time difference so some fans thought Takagi was pulling an April Fool’s Joke!
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Videos
Video starts at 53:28 for the match AEW “DARK”, 28/03/2023 Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida, USA
1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Cole Karter
IMPACT “IMPACT WRESTLING”, 30/03/2023 St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Killer Kelly
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 31/03/2023 Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Video starts at 21:10 for the match ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023: ZERO HOUR”, 31/03/2023 Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
0. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Willie Mack
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Results
ROH “ROH ON HONORCLUB”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 30/03/2023) Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Miyu Yamashita defeated Shazza McKenzie with the Skull Kick (4:45).
First Impact, now ROH. Is Yamashita keeps going at this rate she might show up at an MLW taping if she’s not careful. She kicked Shazza McKenzie’s head off to win her ROH debut.
PANDEMONIUM PRO “BEST DAMN THING”, 29/03/2023 Don Quixote, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe defeated Maki Itoh & Kidd Bandit (?:??).
What on earth happened here? The night started off well for Maki Itoh with her getting backup dancers for her entrance. But her tag partner Kidd Bandit ended up betraying her, costing them the match against Steph De Lander & Heather Monroe. Bandit’s only explanation to Itoh after the match was “There can be only one” and then they walked out on her. Itoh’s response to that was yelling “I hate everyone!”
AEW “RAMPAGE”, 29/03/2023 (Aired 31/03/2023) Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
1. Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Melo) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the GTH (9:43).
Konosuke Takeshita’s week began with a match against one of AEW’s chosen pillars at Rampage. Victory was in his grasp until Tay Melo grabbed his leg in the corner for a distraction. That allowed Sammy Guevara to strike Takeshita from behind with a Jumping Knee and then hit the GTH to steal the win.
Yoshihiko took a detour to St. Louis on the way to LA so it could attend the AEW show. It was granted a visitor’s pass and got to enjoy catering while watching the matches. It also hung out with some of the staff like Bryce Remsburg. Since Yoshihiko brought along the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title it made sense to stay near a ref the whole time.
WRESTLECON “THE MARK HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL SUPERSHOW”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. TJPW 10-Woman Tag Showcase: Mizuki, Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino defeated Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta, Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa & Raku when Mizuki pinned Raku with the Diving Foot Stomp (14:21).
While Yamashita and Itoh were busy around the indies, the rest of the TJPW roster went to visit WrestleCon. 10 of them got together to put on a 10-Woman Tag match for the fans. Mizuki led a team consisting of Kyoraku Kyomei, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Aino to beat Rika Tatsumi, Nao Kakuta & The Up Up Girls.
DDT “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Chris Brookes & Yoshihiko (c) when MAO pinned Yoshihiko after the Oretachi no Mad Max (17:29). *MAO becomes the 1,567th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Chris Brookes defeated MAO (c) with the Praying Mantis Bomb (8:24 pm). *Chris Brookes becomes the 1,568th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Chris Brookes (c) with 3 Canadian Destroyers in a row (8:25 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,569th champion.
2. Pheromones Vs Takagi Army All Out Battle In HOLLYWOOD: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa ended in a No Contest (11:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Takeshi Masada defeated Andrew “The Giant” Everett & Nick Wayne when Higuchi pinned Everett with the Brain Claw Slam (11:33).
4. Saki Akai defeated Vert Vixen with the Quetzalcoatl (6:09)
5. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Joey Janela with the Burning Star Press (15:28).
6. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Eddie Kingston defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Akiyama pinned KANON with the Exploder Suplex (10:35).
7. Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuki Ueno with the Zahi (15:16).
IMPACT/NJPW “MULTIVERSE UNITED”, 30/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 4 Way Match: Deonna Purrazzo defeated Masha Slamovich, Gisele Shaw and Miyu Yamashita when Purrazzo pinned Shaw with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (9:20).
Yamashita got off to a good start in Impact last week when she beat Killer Kelly in her debut. Her next challenge saw her get caught in the race for the future of the Knockouts World Title. If she had won the 4 Way match she would have qualified for a title match at Impact’s next PPV in April. Instead she was left out of the result because Deonna Purrazzo pinned Gisele Shaw to win that opportunity.
1. Mizuki Watase defeated Gregory Sharpe and Eli Everfly (?:??).
I can’t find much info about this match other than Mizuki Watase won using a new move. This is all according to Watase himself. He also had the Spirit Of Ganbare Title with him. Doesn’t sound like it was defended though.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE IN LOS ANGELES”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA 665 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta defeated Suzume & Arisu Endo when Noa pinned Endo after the 5G (11:38).
2. Janai Kai defeated Yuki Kamifuku with the Tornado Kick (4:57).
3. Hyper Misao & Trish Adora defeated Yuki Aino & Raku when Misao pinned Raku with the I Am A Hero (9:03).
4. Max The Impaler & Heidi Howitzer defeated Shoko Nakajima & Miu Watanabe when Max pinned Nakajima after the Master Blaster (11:56).
5. International Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) defeated Billie Starkz with the Missile Hip (8:56). *V1 for Rika Tatsumi.
6. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki defeated Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh (c) when Mizuki pinned Itoh with the Diving Foot Stomp (15:51). *121000000 fails in V1. The Magical Sugar Rabbits becomes the 13th Princess Tag Team Champions!
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 551 Fans
1. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers, Dyln McKay & Jack Cartwheel defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada when Cartwheel pinned Masada with the Jack Arrow (10:42).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Saki Akai with a Wrist-Clutch Inside Cradle (7:20).
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Oliver pinned Bailey after the Combined Springboard Cutter (16:18).
4. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Starboy Charlie with the Brain Claw Slam (11:40).
5. Yuki Ueno defeated Joey Janela with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (10:21).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Homicide & Tony Deppen when Endo pinned Deppen with the Burning Star Press (12:18).
7. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders defeated Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase when Warner pinned Katsumata with a DDT (15:19).
8. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno ended in a No Contest (13:37).
9. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Cole Radrick defeated Yoshihiko (c) with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse onto a Chair (14:49). *Cole Radrick becomes the 1,570th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Cole Radrick with a Cradle (5:47 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,571st champion.
ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023”, 31/03/2023 Galen Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
0. Konosuke Takeshita defeated Willie Mack with the Zahi (9:36).
1. ROH Women’s World Title: Athena (c) defeated Yuka Sakazaki with the O-Face (11:38). *V7 for Athena.
Before she headed over to the ROH PPV, Yuka Sakazaki regained the Princess Tag Team Titles at the TJPW show. Her hopes of ending the night as a double champion by also winning the ROH Women’s World Title did not come to fruition. Athena kicked out of the Magical Girl Splash and the Magical Merry-Go-Round. She then relied on her mean streak to push the referee into Sakazaki’s way when she climbed the ropes for another Splash. The distraction gave Athena time to climb up the turnbuckles beside Sakazaki and then catch her in the O-Face to retain her title. It was announced later in the night that Athena’s next defence will be against Miyu Yamashita on next week’s ROH show.
Takeshita showed up on Zero Hour for a bonus pre-show match against Willie Mack. Not to take anything away from it but news was broken by Fightful during the day that Takeshita had a different match planned for the PPV itself. His opponent? It was going to be Will Ospreay… Yep. We could have gotten Takeshita Vs Ospreay if it wasn’t for the latter’s injury… God damn it. Well at least now that is out in the open it could still happen down the road somewhere.
PRESTIGE “NERVOUS BREAKDOWN”, 31/03/2023 Globe Theatre, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Taya Valkyrie defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Road To Valhalla (7:34).
It’s rare to see a day where Yamashita loses twice in a row but there’s going to be times in this tour where we all have to remember she isn’t the big fish in a small pond over here. Taya Valkyrie is on a hot run too that might be approaching its peak with her AEW appearances so the result shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
GCW “JOEY JANELA’S SPRING BREAK 7”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh Vs Effy & Allie Katch when Itoh pinned Effy with the I.S.D (16:07).
The one and only time Maki Death Kill were teaming up was as chaotic as it sounds. Itoh & Nick Gage each had a pizza cutter and used them against Bussy, leaving Effy & Allie Katch both bleeding. Steel chairs were also brought into the match and Gage threw one in Effy’s face. Itoh then pinned Effy with the Flying DDT while Gage also pinned Katch with a One-Winged Angel. Their celebration was short lived when Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander ambushed them with chairs after the match. They did that because they had no match booked on the show. The segment then morphed into De Lander getting an impromptu GCW World Title match against Masha Slamovich.
Yoshihiko made an unexpected appearance during the show accompanied by a masked handler and even cut a promo. Or at least it nodded when asked if it wants to stick around in GCW. Suddenly Charles Mason and his bodyguard Parrow attacked Yoshihiko because Mason is sick of this kind of nonsense going on. Mason even pulled out a knife and threatened to slash Yoshihiko’s throat open! The handler came to Yoshihiko’s rescue but was overwhelmed and unmasked to reveal he was Jimmy Lloyd. Mason held LLoyd down so Parrow could finish the job until Yoshihiko fought back and slammed Parrow with a German Suplex! Mason had to flee the ring out of fear.
GCW “EMO FIGHT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
1. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Mike Bailey defeated Miedo Extremo & Ciclope and Dyln McKay & Marcus Mathers when MAO & Bailey pinned McKay with the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:47).
Moonlight Express must have been feeling depressed over losing the match after all because they showed up for the main event of GCW’s emo themed show. They fought Los Macizos (where the hell were they earlier?) and Wasted Youth in the early hours of the morning. There was also a bit of a sing song during the match. It might have been done to see if Los Macizos really were emo.
DDT/GCW “GCW VS DDT”, 31/03/2023 Ukrainian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California, USA 551 Fans
1. Gringo Loco, Marcus Mathers, Dyln McKay & Jack Cartwheel defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & Takeshi Masada when Cartwheel pinned Masada with the Jack Arrow (10:42).
2. Dark Sheik defeated Saki Akai with a Wrist-Clutch Inside Cradle (7:20).
3. Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne defeated MAO & Mike Bailey when Oliver pinned Bailey after the Combined Springboard Cutter (16:18).
4. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Starboy Charlie with the Brain Claw Slam (11:40).
5. Yuki Ueno defeated Joey Janela with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (10:21).
6. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Homicide & Tony Deppen when Endo pinned Deppen with the Burning Star Press (12:18).
7. Matthew Justice, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders defeated Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase when Warner pinned Katsumata with a DDT (15:19).
8. Effy & Allie Katch Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno ended in a No Contest (13:37).
9. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Cole Radrick defeated Yoshihiko (c) with the Lil Sebastian’s Curse onto a Chair (14:49). *Cole Radrick becomes the 1,570th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko defeated Cole Radrick with a Cradle (5:47 pm). *Yoshihiko becomes the 1,571st champion.
An unlikely main event of the GCW Vs DDT show had Cole Radrick winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title from Yoshihiko in a brawl that went all around ringside. Radrick’s hard earned win was then rendered meaningless when Yoshihiko kicked him between the legs after the match. Yoshihiko then rolled Radrick up in a Small Package to reclaim the championship.
Counting through the match results, GCW ended the show with more wins than DDT. But if you ask Effy, everyone was a winner today! Why? Because Pheromones got to show that they are the sexiest and now they can also be part of Bussy too! The proof of that could be seen in their match. It had to be called off when Danshoku Dieno, Allie Katch and Yuki Iino caught the referee in a human centipede over in the corner of the ring.
The trio of Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & Mizuki Watase were all ready to fight The Second Gear Crew in a brawl. Katsumata appeared in his Super Hardcore Katsumata form while Watase psyched himself up by bringing the Spirit Of Ganbare Title belt with him to the ring. That Ganbare spirit allowed him to absorb chairshots to the head for a while. Lego, plastic boxes, staplers, doors and more were used as weapons. The ring was left in a mess by the time 1 Called Manders threw his own partner Matthew Justice onto everyone outside the ring. That allowed Mance Warner to pin Katsumata with the DDT for the victory.
Jun Akiyama enjoyed his weekend with GCW and said he would work with them again if given the chance. Homicide showed him a similar amount of respect as Eddie Kingston did previously. Tetsuya Endo used the Burning Star Press to pin Tony Deppen and thinks he has proved he is good enough to take on the world.
Both of Joey Janela’s matches on the DDT shows this week were rematches from the D-Ou Grand Prix. Both of them ended in defeat. Yuki Ueno beat him for the second time in a row using his new Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher. It makes Ueno want to spread DDT’s name as well as his own even further than Konosuke Takeshita did.
The card had a few changes for reasons that were not disclosed. Kazusada Higuchi was meant to face Blake Christian but instead got Starboy Charlie and his dungarees. Higuchi won the new match and was impressed with Charlie’s performance. It made Higuchi feel like he received the spirit of a young American and he will now carry it along with his own Yamato Spirit.
The Moonlight Express reunion was spoiled by The East West Express. It was a banner day for the young GCW team because Jordan Oliver & Nick Wayne later went on to win the GCW Tag Team Titles later in the night. MAO & Mike Bailey still had fun teaming together for the first time in 3 years. Speedball must have been exhausted from his schedule by this point.
For many years the Quetzalcoatl has been a reliable move for Saki Akai. But today the move was countered by Dark Sheik in a way Akai has never seen before. When Akai was in position to pull off her finisher, Sheik dropped down while grabbing Akai’s wrist, slid through her legs to get behind her and then rolled her up in a Cradle for the flash three count. Akai took the loss but doesn’t want to it end like that. She hopes Sheik will come over to Japan so they can continue their fight.
Another changes to the card happened for the opening match. The GCW team led by Gringo Loco replaced Alec Price and Los Macizos with Jack Cartwheel and the tag team called Wasted Youth. They all gave Takeshi Masada a beating with big high flying moves until he was pinned with Cartwheel’s Jack Arrow finisher. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON blamed both Masada & Sanshiro Takagi backstage for having DDT lose to GCW. When they left the room Takagi then blamed Masada for taking the fall after all of this build up for him finally earning a spot on the Hollywood shows.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 