DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 450 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ishida with the Sudden Death (6:45).
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno when Iino pinned Honda after the Sexy Lock Up (8:28).
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when KANON pinned Koroku with the Sleepy Hollow (5:57).
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (11:38).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4) ended in a Double Countout (11:36).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (4) defeated Tetsuya Endo (5) with the Harai Goshi (7:05).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (5) with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (16:53).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (4) defeated Yuji Hino (7) with a Modified Samson Clutch (12:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (8) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (7) with the Back Drop (19:05).
The race to the final is complete and two men are left to fight over who will win the 2022 D-Ou Grand Prix. The Block was decided by what is possibly the biggest upset in the entire tournament this year when Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi! The reigning KO-D Openweight Champion was one of two unbeaten wrestlers left in the group and when the path opened up for him to remain the only one at the finish, but Naya decided it would go differently. The Headbutt was the key move in a Higuchi match yet again. The twist however was the move came from Naya to get the advantage. Some Knee Lifts were used afterwards to soften up Higuchi for the Back Drop for the surprise result. Naya’s win means he vaults over the two top heavyweights to reach the final!
So how did it all go wrong for Yuji Hino, the other undefeated wrestler in B Block? Blame CDK for that. Chris Brookes relied on Masahiro Takanashi to help him get a win. The referee was taken out after being used as a shield then Takanashi gave Hino a Low Blow right when he was about to hit the Fuckin’ BOMB on Brookes. Makoto Oishi came to the rescue by grabbing the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt off of Takanashi. However Brookes then pushed Oishi right into Hino, knocking the big guy loopy when he head first came into contact with the title belt. He was still able to kick out of the pin but was too dazed to kick out of a Samson Clutch afterwards. Brookes isn’t happy with this year being the fourth in a row he failed to win the final. If things don’t improve for him in the next 12 months he does not see a point in him being in the next D-Ou GP. Hino isn’t mad because he doesn’t feel like he lost. All he knows is his head and crotch both hurt so he just wants to go home and get into his bed.
The A Block was a much tighter race with five of the six contestants still in the running one way or another. When the dust settled it was Yuki Ueno who was left standing above everyone else in first place uncontested. He took a beating to get there because Daisuke Sasaki attacked him with plenty of chairs in their match. But Ueno had enough with that kind of stuff and stopped Sasaki with a Dropkick. He hit the BME but Sasaki only kicked out at one. He also blocked the Crossface Lock when Sasaki tried to convert it into the Crossover Facelock. However the BME only got a one count so Ueno had to pull out his new finisher, the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher to clear past Sasaki and book his place in the final. Sasaki is so upset over the loss he says 2022 has ended for himself and DAMNATION T.A as well as the first half of 2023. You’ll have to wait until the second half of 2023 to see them get their revenge!
Tetsuya Endo fell at the final hurdle thanks to Naomi Yoshimura. Endo was fighting for first place going into this show and would have made the final had he won, now that we know how Ueno Vs Sasaki went. Instead the Harai Goshi pinned Endo out of nowhere and dashed his chances of advancing. It’s been one of the few bright spots of Yoshimura’s tournament this year and he is currently not in the mood to talk about it. Meanwhile Endo is already thinking of any lessons he learned, figuring out that he has not grown since their last singles match while Yoshimura clearly has.
The two American wrestlers both left their mark in the A Block as wild cards disrupting everyone else’s chances. Both Joey Janela and RSP had slim chances of staying in the Grand Prix but they also had their sights set on each other during the entire tour due to their history together on the American indies. It led to a match where the two tried to destroy each other with the biggest moves they could think of. The biggest came when RSP gave Janela a Death Valley Bomb from the ring apron onto the floor outside. The move took out both men and the match ended in a Double Countout. Due to the new scoring rules implemented this year, a Double Counout means neither wrestlers received any points. Janela takes some enjoyment that the result stopped RSP from getting anywhere near the final. He also now wants to move on to his next target, Jun Akiyama! He thought he would get to fight Akiyama until he found out DDT added an age limit to this year’s D-Ou GP. If that’s not enough, while Janela is here in Japan Akiyama is in America wrestling Eddie Kingston in Janela’s previous workplace AEW! Janela wants Akiyama to come face him when he returns to Japan.
The D-Ou GP final is now set. The A Block winner Yuki Ueno faces the B Block winner Yukio Naya on 4th December. Ueno is in the final for the second year in a row and did not expect to be seeing Naya with him here. Naya’s a big guy but Ueno wants to live up to his promise to carry DDT on his own back. Naya said he is ready to do that too. He just beat Higuchi and now he has to beat Ueno. Should he do that then Naya will make it clear he wants to challenge Higuchi for the KO-D Title inside Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of December!
Even without the tournament there is a lot of news coming out of this show. Naruki Doi made his next appearance for DDT, forming a team with DISASTER BOX that was nicknamed Disaster Muscle. Doi felt like he was being pranked with DISASTER BOX, The 37KAMIINA and even Takeshi Masada all getting him involved in wacky spots. Toru Owashi did his lucha while Kazuki Hirata tried to mimic MAO’s Koppojutsu but was easily brushed aside. He also tried to wear the Hirata GO! glasses but the music immediately caused Doi to kick him. Toi Kojima was the one to step up to Doi but was cut down with the Doi 555 and Bakatare Sliding Kick. After the match HARASHIMA welcomed Doi to DDT and congratulated him on winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, one of the few championships that HARASHIMA has never held. Doi asked the fans if they would like to see him face HARASHIMA some day? He then said he will be back in DDT on the 21st and 29th December. If anyone wants to fight Doi, Owashi & Hirata for the titles then Doi will accept any challengers… except for Shunma Katsumata.
KANON had a poor run in the tournament but that is all behind him now. He rejoined MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita to get a win against Eruption & Yuya Koroku. It was a close match with Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani keeping DAMNATION T.A on their toes. Koroku then took the lead against KANON but a reversal of fortunes saw KANON pin him with the Sleepy Hollow.
There were also two matches on the pre-show. Danshoku Dieno was absent with a fever so it was up to the rest of Pheromones to keep it up with their obscene antics. This is bad news for Akito because their behaviour is getting so bad that Korakuen Hall management may consider stepping in and banning DDT from doing further shows in the building. Yuki Iino & Koju Takeda may have found a kindred spirit because Gorgeous Matsuno was more than ready to compare his fit body with theirs. Antonio Honda used Iino’s backside to charge up Gongitsune but some bad targeting led to both Akito & Takanashi getting knocked out. Yumehito Imanari saw the opening and got his partners to lock up with each other. Doing so had them essentially teabag all of their opponents over and over into submission. Akito was mad with the result because he bungled the numbers advantage and now DDT is at risk of being kicked out of Korakuen. Pheromones need to be subjugated so Akito will bring in the political tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu for the big 29th December show at Tokyo Dome City Hall!
The other dark match saw Yusuke Okada take all that Yuki Ishida could throw at him. Ishida fought out of a Crab Hold and kicked out of a long distance Diving Headbutt. It was a good effort but Okada beat him with the Sudden Death in the end.
Katsumata feels like there is not enough excitement going around so he came up with an idea to do an Explosion Death Match in the new year. So one will take place in Tsurumi on 7th January where Katsumata will aim to surpass Atsushi Onita and become the Reiwa era’s version of “Evil Ways”. He promised that show will not end until he blows up Onita!
An update was given in regards to LiLiCo’s request to take part in the Anal Explosion opening ceremony for the 29h December show in TDC Hall. Hisaya Imabayashi took part in a show with LiLiCo’s husband Ryohei Odai during the week so he recorded a video discussing the situation with him. Odai does not like the idea but is under the impression that all couples have a rule where they do not need to be concerned for what their partners do with their anuses. So he is ok with LiLiCo and DDT going ahead with the ceremony.
DDT has a Korakuen show on 21st December to celebrate the launch of Dieno’s new book about his views on pro wrestling. Dieno will have a match against Muscle Sakai on the show. There will also be a match between Yuki Iino and Yumehito Imanari just because Dieno wants to see it happen.
Matsuno gave everyone a news update about his planned kidney transplant operation for his partner Junko Tashiro. It was previously announced that the operation was delayed until next Spring because Tashiro is in stable health and has no need to get a transplant right away. The operation is now scheduled for April but may be delayed again if Tashiro remains in good health. It is inevitable that the transplant will need to happen some day and when it does, Matsuno made a vow to return to the ring after it is completed.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO”, 13/11/2022 Kyoto KBS Hall 285 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. RSP, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Joey Janela, Makoto Oishi & Kazuma Sumi when Koroku submitted Sumi with the Chickenwing Arm Lock (4:59).
2. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno by Disqualification when Iino attacked the referee (9:32).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (6) defeated KANON (2) with the Back Drop (8:21).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (7) defeated MAO (2) with the Fuckin’ BOMB (10:15).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Naruki Doi & Akito defeated Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (12:26).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) defeated Naomi Yoshimura (2) with the Sasaki Hurricanrana (9:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) defeated Chris Brookes (2) with a Headbutt (14:12).
8. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Saki Akai Produce Match: Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA defeated Aja Kong, Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata (c) when Sakaguchi pinned Katsumata with the God’s Right Knee (16:18). *Yukio Sakaguchi becomes the 1,555th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (c) with a School Boy (7:59 pm). *Saki Akai becomes the 1,556th champion.
The day belonged to Saki Akai but we’ll start off with the D-Ou Grand Prix matches first. The B Block has become a close race between three wrestlers. Kazusada Higuchi is possibly one win away from reaching the final after he beat Chris Brookes. It may have come at a cost of his right hand though because Brookes attacked it with a metal fitting. The damage was enough to prevent Higuchi from using the Brain Claw but he pulled out a big Headbutt to put Brookes down for the three count. Higuchi felt his opponent’s passion in the match and felt he couldn’t lose to him. Brookes accepts he is out of the running but will do his best to beat Yuji Hino in his final block match.
Over in the A Block Daisuke Sasaki used a lot of foul play against Naomi Yoshimura by attacking his legs with chairs and getting MJ Paul to interfere. If that wasn’t enough, Sasaki used the Pedigree late in the match. That was the move Sasaki used to give Yoshimura a cervical sprain back in 2019. Thankfully the move did not end the same way today but Sasaki was able to pin Yoshimura with the Hurricanrana afterwards. The defeat ends any hope Yoshimura has of catching up with the field and he now cannot reach the final. Sasaki however is now neck and neck in first place with a former ally.
Hino finds himself tied with Higuchi in first place of the B Block. MAO tried to throw everything he could at him but couldn’t win. Not even the Alien Plancha and Michinoku Driver II could put the big man away. Hino still praised him for being an interesting wrestler. He said MAO’s Plancha was a higher jump than TAKA Michinoku’s and MAO’s version of the Michinoku Driver was more effective. For those reasons Hino is looking forward to fighting him again.
While Hino and Higuchi are fighting over the top spot, Yukio Naya is catching up with them. His win against KANON brings him only one point behind the leaders and a golden chance to leapfrog over them into the final. KANON ends his tournament run with only one win but still enjoyed being able to do whatever he wanted on his own.
With the Grand Prix out of the way, let’s get to the headline match. The show was Akai’s homecoming in Kyoto and she got to team with Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA against Aja Kong & The 37KAMIINA. The match was special for Shunma Katsumata too because of his longtime association with Kong going back to when he as a child got to meet and take pictures with her. Kong gave Akai a beating but Akai still fought back, hitting a big dive onto Yuki Ueno & Katsumata. Kong tried to attack Sakaguchi with a steel can but his Katsumata by accident. Sakaguchi then hit Katsumata with the God’s Right Knee, pinning him to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title.
Sakaguchi couldn’t even catch his breath when Akai rolled him up with a School Boy after the match to win the Iron Man Title from him! Before Sakaguchi could complain, Akai said he once told her not to show any openings to be attacked in the ring at any time. She is really happy she got to do a show in Kyoto again and be able to win a championship there too. After she finished her speech to close out the show, Hideki Okatani rolled her over with a School Boy but she kicked out at two, remaining as champion. She later said her goal with the belt is to achieve the most title defences with it.
Naruki Doi made his second DDT appearance today, winning a trios match with Tetsuya Endo & Akito on his team. He was impressed by the opposing team made up of young wrestlers but next he would like to have matches against both Endo and Akito!
Since Kyoto is home to game masters Nintendo, Danshoku Dieno declared he & Yuki Iino were going to become Pheromones Masters today. The result of this was Iino stripping out of his wrestling gear and “evolving” while Pokémon game music played over the speakers. This plan backfired when he ran the ropes in as little clothing as possible and ran into Yukinori Matsui, crotch to face. That was enough to get Iino disqualified.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN OSAKA”, 12/11/2022 Osaka Edion Arena #2 320 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi when Okada submitted Sumi with a Crab Hold (7:33).
1. MJ Paul & KANON defeated Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada when KANON submitted Masada with a Ground X Hold (7:45).
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Produce Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Aja Kong & HARASHIMA ended in a No Contest (10:49).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (4) defeated Chris Brookes (2) with the Back Drop (5:24).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (3) defeated Joey Janela (4) with a Modified Samson Clutch (11:38).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) defeated RSP (4) with the Burning Star Press (10:26).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shunma Katsumata defeated Keiko Takeshita (c) by Forfeit (7:04 pm). *Shunma Katsumata becomes the 1,554th champion.
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (c) when Hirata pinned Oishi with Miracle One Shot Cradle (15:22). *Ω fails in V1. Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata become the 48th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (5) defeated MAO (2) with a Rotating Foot Hold (11:41).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (2) defeated Yuki Ueno (4) with the Osaka Pride (22:57).
Naomi Yoshimura continues his unbeaten streak against his former Nautilus tag partner Yuki Ueno in singles matches. And not a moment too soon because this may kickstart Yoshimura’s recovery in the D-Ou Grand Prix. He blocked both the WR and also Ueno’s new Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher. A Power Bomb, Lariat and the Osaka Pride only got a nearfall so Yoshimura had to hit the Osaka Pride a second time to earn the win. Yoshimura called this match his scariest one of the tournament but he proved he still a survivor of the D-Ou GP. He still has a chance to top the group as long as he wins his remaining matches. Ueno is frustrated he still cannot beat his generation rival. He believes he is the strongest to carry DDT on his back and will win the D-Ou no matter what.
As the days are counting down, a few of the wrestlers are getting desperate to win in order to remain in the running for the final. MAO is one example, jumping Kazusada Higuchi before the bell to start their match. He tried using the Koppojutsu skills he used to beat Higuchi in last year’s tournament, including the Clothespin. However this time Higuchi was ready for that move and had counters for it. The Brain Claw was also well scouted so Higuchi thought outside the box and pinned MAO with a Rotating Foot Hold. The result shows that MAO is not the only wrestler with tricks up his sleeve, Higuchi has been hiding stuff too. MAO is now unable to reach the final but he will keep fighting just in case the group winner pulls out of the final due to kidney stones or appendicitis. Hey it could happen!
RSP has been counting on his size to smash his way through the A Block. Today he ended up being overpowered by Tetsuya Endo! Agility played a major part as well because Endo flipped his way out of the GTF and then used an Overhead Kick to stun his opponent. The moment of strength came when Endo gave RSP the Torture Rack Bomb! RSP had enough fight left in him to kick out but the Burning Star Press put him away afterward. The performance shows that Endo’s ankle injury isn’t much of a problem anymore. He told the Osaka fans to keep an eye on him because once he wins the Grand Prix, he is going after all of the singles championships in DDT!
The build up to Daisuke Sasaki Vs Joey Janela promised a dirty fight and we got one. They fought outside the ring, attacked each other with chairs and Sasaki even Superplexed Janela out of the ring onto a bunch of ringside attendants! The chair usage went beyond what was acceptable and Yukinori Matsui tried to stop it. The unintentional distraction led to Sasaki giving Janela a Low Blow and then Janela giving a Low Blow back to Sasaki. However Sasaki found an opening to give one more Low Blow and then rolled up Janela in a Samson Clutch for the win. It revives Sasaki’s chances in the tournament but Janela is still in the chase for the final too.
Chris Brookes wasted no time in trying to finish off Yukio Naya by immediately doing the Praying Mantis Bomb to him before their match even began. Naya kicked out of the pin and remained on the defensive while Brookes continued his attack. The table turned when Naya hit a Knee Lift. He later hit a Choke Slam and pinned Brookes with the Back Drop. The win gives Naya a lot of confidence because of how experienced his opponent is. He now sees himself as the eye of the typhoon in the B Block. Brookes was taken aback because he didn’t realise just how strong Naya has become.
Outside of the tournament it was still an eventful show for DDT today. Naruki Doi made his first appearance on a regular DDT show and came out of it as a new champion! He teamed with DISASTER BOX members Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata to beat Ω for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. It almost didn’t look that way with Ω being a united force. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi used double team moves to great effect and Yuji Hino got rid of Owashi with the Funkin’ BOMB. Oishi gave Hirata the Miracle Ecstasy but Hirata somehow kicked out and used the Miracle One Shot Cradle to get the win out of nowhere. Owashi called the win a once in a hundred year miracle. Hirata corrected him and said it is once in a thousand years. Now that he holds a DDT championship that means he’s going to be here more often. Doi introduced himself to the fans after the match and said DDT was the first promotion to contact him after he turned freelance, so here he is. There are a lot of challengers he would like to face but one is on his mind. He heard there was once a DDT wrestler who looked a lot like him called Daichi Kakimoto…
Aja Kong got to experience the Pheromones madness. Both Sanshiro Takagi and Hisaya Imabayashi were absent from the show so the ring announcer Ken Kato was given the power to call off the match if things went out of control. He’s a big fan of Kong so he was really looking forward to seeing her fight. His dream was ruined by Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino. They used their seesaw attack with the wooden plank on HARASHIMA until Kong attacked them with the steel can. Pheromones got their own back by coming up with ways to stick their rear ends against Kong’s face until Kato called off the match. He also used his jacket to wipe Kong’s face after the match. Dieno & Iino probably needed it more because their backsides were now covered in Kong’s facepaint!
During the show Keiko Takeshita, Konosuke’s mother, came down to the ring and gave everyone an update on what life has been like ever since she became the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. Every day people attack her to try and become champion but she always fights them off. She also had to defend the belt against a motorbike one time. Shunma Katsumata came down with a bag full of 551 pork buns as a gift for Keiko. He explained he will be wrestling in America this January and wants to go as the Iron Man Champion to increase his popularity. He also really likes Keiko so it would mean a lot if she gave him the title. Keiko was touched by Katsumata’s plea and agreed. With Matsui looking over, the title was officially transferred over from Keiko to Katsumata. Suddenly, Kazuma Sumi rolled over Katsumata with a School Boy. Keiko kicked Matsui to stop the pin count and then gave Sumi the Okanmaker to prevent a title change from happening. She’s not going to let anybody take the title away from Katsumata while she is here!
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN SHINGASHI EXCITING FESTIVAL”, 06/11/2022 Saitama Tobu Tojo Line Shingashi Station West Exit ??? Fans
1. Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated HARASHIMA, Makoto Oishi and Nabe Yakan when Katsumata pinned Oishi with the Sauna Trance Splash through a Table (36:01).
A local festival got to witness the chaos of a DDT Falls Count Anywhere match. Comedian and part-time wrestler Nabe Yakan came along for the ride but probably wished he didn’t after HARASHIMA used a Gorilla Press to throw him onto some chairs. A ladder came into play where Makoto Oishi and Shunma Katsumata fought on top of. Oishi Headbutted Katsumata off the ladder onto the same bunch of chairs. Katsumata recovered and placed Oishi on top of a table. He then Splashed him through the table after jumping off the ladder to get the win.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA DAY 1”, 03/11/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall 235 Fans
1. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Soma Takao, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Okada pinned Kojima with the Sudden Death (9:11).
2. HARASHIMA Produce Match ~ Blindfold Breastfold Tag Death Match: Antonio Honda & Shunma Katsumata defeated HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata when Katsumata stripped off HARASHIMA’s bra (10:40).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (4) defeated KANON (0) with a Dragon Sleeper (8:16).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (2) defeated MAO (2) with the Back Drop (11:49).
5. RSP, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when RSP pinned Ishida with the GTF (12:19).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (2) defeated Joey Janela (0) with the BME (10:01).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (3) Vs Daisuke Sasaki (1) ended in a Time Limit Draw (30:00).
The big DAMNATION clash ended without a winner. Daisuke Sasaki worked on Tetsuya Endo’s injured ankle, weakening Endo’s aerial moves when he tried to use them later in the match. The match featured an unexpected surprise halfway through when Mad Paulie, not MJ Paul, came down to the ring while both wrestlers were down on their backs. A referee bump led to Paulie attacking Endo at first. But when Sasaki brought in a chair, Paulie stopped him from using it. Endo then gave Sasaki a Low Blow from behind. Paulie remained a neutral party from that point and the match continued. Endo gave Sasaki som Exploder Suplexes and the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb but Sasaki kept kicking out of the pins, even getting a 1 count. Endo’s ankle damage prevented him from hitting the Burning Star Press and Sasaki was able to get him into the Crossface Lock. Endo bit his hand to free himself and the two were left scrambling for the win until the time expired. After the match Endo said it’s been exactly two years since his Ota Ward Gymnasium match with Sasaki and “Charisma” is the same as he was back then. Sasaki didn’t have much to say other then ask Paulie how did he get back here from Planet Pauline? Endo said even though today ended in a draw, he is still going to win the D-Ou Grand Prix and collect all of DDT’s championships. He also wants any prize money he wins to be transferred to him as soon as possible. When he left the ring, Sasaki called BURNING a bunch of crap and Endo should be in DAMNATION T.A alongside him instead.
The DDT Universal Champion beats the DDT Extreme Champion! It was a match that left Yuki Ueno with a bloody nose from Joey Janela’s big attacks. Janela’s attempt to take things to the extreme included using an Avalanche Falcon Arrow along with trying to land moves onto the ring apron. Ueno fought back by dropping Janela onto the apron with a Facebuster. The Dropkick was the big difference maker as happens often with Ueno’s matches recently. That move left Janela in position to take the BME for Ueno to take the win. Ueno repeated his goal is to carry DDT on his back and winning the Grand Prix will help make that happen. He said Janela can pull out a lot of power at a moment’s notice and he couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Since Janela did not bring in any weapons, Ueno wonders if he was trying to prove he can win without going death match or hardcore? Janela is mad over losing his first match in DDT. He wants to go back to GCW with the D-Ou trophy as the “King Of Extreme” but now has to rethink his strategy.
Yukio Naya gets his first win of the tournament by beating MAO. The two fought out of the ring and spent a brief amount of time causing trouble in the lobby before coming back. MAO tried going for flash pins and almost won with a Hurricanrana. Naya stopped his momentum with a Knee Lift and got the win with a Back Drop. Naya is glad to win this match because MAO is an unpredictable opponent. His next opponent is Chris Brookes, a wrestler who specialises in Cradles and Roll Ups. Naya knows he needs to have a proper countermeasure ready to go against that. MAO figured that Naya studied him hard before today’s match and gives him credit for being so prepared. He got to see the Real Japan of Yukio Naya.
The B Block is currently led by Yuji Hino after today’s win over KANON. Although the two wrestlers come from different promotions, they are both connected by the having the same teacher TAKA Michinoku (Hino was K-DOJO and KANON was JTO). KANON got to lock in the Cobra Twist and apply it deep enough to take Hino down to the canvas. Hino couldn’t power out of the move so had to use the rope break to free himself. Hino then unexpectedly put KANON in a Dragon Sleeper and squeezed it tight enough to get his opponent to submit. Hino told his “brother-in-law” after the match that he can never beat him this way, but his Cobra Twist is still pretty good so they should have another match.
Blindfolds and bras were the name of the game for one of the non-tournament bouts. There was a match where everyone wore bras and were blindfolded. The goal was to win either by normal means or by stripping off their one of their opponents’ bras. There were a lot of missed attacks and accidental moves hitting the wrong people. Kazuki Hirata still somehow found a way to put on his Hirata GO! glasses and dance. HARASHIMA got his hands on Antonio Honda’s bra but was thrown down to the mat. Shunma Katsumata heard the slam and climbed the ropes. He went for the Totonou Splash but overshot HARASHIMA and missed. The two were able to detect each other and kept fighting until HARASHIMA’s bra was pulled off, giving Katsumata’s team the win.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND”, 01/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 411 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Akito) ended in a No Contest (7:49).
1. Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida defeated Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi when Ishida pinned Sumi with a Spinebuster (9:03).
2. Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul ended in a No Contest (7:39).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: RSP (2) defeated Naomi Yoshimura (0) with the GTF (8:14).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: MAO (2) defeated Chris Brookes (0) by Countout (11:53).
5. Jun Akiyama Produce Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada when Akiyama pinned Masada with the Exploder Suplex (11:38).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (2) defeated Yukio Naya (0) with the World’s Best German Suplex (13:04).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) defeated KANON (0) with the Brain Claw Slam (18:33).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (2) defeated Yuki Ueno (0) with the Burning Star Press (15:41).
A minor ankle injury did over the last week does not seem to be much of a bother for Tetsuya Endo. His start to the D-Ou Grand Prix could not have gone any better. A big win over Yuki Ueno in today’s main event sent the message loud and clear. Endo is determined to win the Grand Prix and after that every DDT singles championship will be in his sights, even the DDT Universal Title held by Ueno! Endo’s next match in his block is another difficult one. He and Daisuke Sasaki have so much history together. Endo is feeling pain in his left ankle and admits he is not at his best, but he will be fine whenever he gets into the ring.
Maybe it’s not a good idea to spend so much time taunting Kazusada Higuchi. Sure, KANON got away with it once or twice heading into today’s match but here is where it all came back to bite him. KANON did show a good fight by getting a nearfall with the Sleepy Hollow. He also grounded Higuchi into the Cobra Twist but getting grabbed with a Brain Claw turned things around. Higuchi smashed him with a few Lariats and pinned him with the Brain Claw Slam. After the match Higuchi brought up KANON’s claim that he would be laughing over his corpse today. That didn’t happen and even if KANON could beat him, he would never die. Instead Higuchi is aiming for the top by winning the DDT Grand Slam! He already won King Of DDT and holds the KO-D Openweight Title. Now he just needs to win the D-Ou Grand Prix.
Friends and tag team partners Yuji Hino and Yukio Naya had to face each other in their opening block match. Naya is putting a lot of effort into convincing everyone he has taken a step up and is ready to win the tournament. He came out to new music and new ring gear to cap off a new version of himself. Unfortunately for Naya, Hino is still one of the strongest wrestlers around. There was the surprise of Naya kicking out of the Fuckin’ BOMB but he was done for once Hino hit the World’s Best German Suplex. Hino was happy to see how much his friend has grown and admitted the German Suplex was a last minute move he needed to win. Naya is not letting the loss get to him because he knows he can still reach the final if he wins his remaining matches.
In non-tournament action, the veteran team of Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA welcomed the challenge of Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada in a battle between the generations. The youngsters gave Akiyama a Double Brainbuster and Masada followed it up with a Triangle Kick for a nearfall. Akiyama cut him off with Running Knee Strikes then shrugged off Masada’s Elbow Strikes to hit some more Knee Strikes. The Exploder Suplex then put an end to the match. Akiyama praised Masada for showing guts and wonders if he will be in the D-Ou GP next year if he continues showing progress. Koroku however might be getting pushed around to easily if Akiyama is being honest.
Back to the Grand Prix where MAO attempted to avenge last year’s tournament loss to Chris Brookes. Last time MAO was counted out in embarrassing fashion and it has haunted him ever since. Both were fighting for the countout win, oddly enough. It led to them fighting up in the balcony before racing back to avoid the 20 count. MAO got ahead and leapt over the barrier, landing on one end of a wooden plank leaning over it. It caused a see-saw effect where the other end hit Brookes right between the legs! MAO made it back to the ring in time to win by countout. He said what we just saw is his ability to win by imperfect means. He only had to put in a 65% performance and he was able to win this way. MAO faces Naya next and he thinks he will have to go 100% just to match Naya’s improved performances.
The debuting RSP put a dampener on Naomi Yoshimura’s start to the tournament. Yoshimura is Kenta Kobashi’s pick to win the tournament but couldn’t find anything to put his American opponent away. Instead RSP got the win with his GTF finisher. RSP explained afterwards that even though Yoshimura’s attacks hurt, he is used to pain and could withstand all of it. Yoshimura is frustrated to lose yet can’t help but love fighting against big and powerful foreign wrestlers.
Some of the undercard matches went out of control a little bit. Joey Janela and Daisuke Sasaki are upcoming opponents so were put in a preview tag team match. Sasaki had good ol’ reliable MJ Paul with him while Janela found himself in an odd couple with Yukio Sakaguchi. Things went off the rails from the get go when Sasaki and Janela fought outside the ring. Chairs were brought into the brawl and Janela accidentally hit Sakaguchi with one. Sakaguchi stormed off in anger, leaving Janela by himself to fight off Sasaki & MJ Paul. Janela was able to give Sasaki a Low Blow and a chair shot before the match was called off by the referee. Janela said Sasaki crossed a line and swore revenge. He later asked interviewers why isn’t Jun Akiyama in the tournament? Janela has fought many old wrestlers from the ages of 50 to 75 so he wants to add Akiyama to the list!
A mixture of DDT talent among the different stables were put together for the opener. Yusuke Okada from BURING, Hideki Okatani from Eruption & Yuki Ishida from Harimao defeated Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima from The 37KAMIINA along with the unaffiliated rookie Kazuma Sumi. Ishida pulled out a Sitout Spinebuster on Sumi to get the win.
So much for the Pheromones Subjugation Squad. Akito’s first day in charge of keeping Danshoku Dieno and his buddies under control ended in complete failure. Or did it? Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata were rendered powerless to stop them until Akito revealed he had a secret plan. It was Akito stripping himself down to his underwear for some reason. Hisaya Imabayashi called off the match and told Akito there was no point taking his clothes off because there was already too much stripping going on. However that meant Pheromones didn’t win the match so in Akito’s mind his plan kind of worked!
Kenta Kobashi led the D-Ou opening ceremony where all of the entrants were introduced to the fans. He said he was looking forward to seeing exciting fights that would be worthy of the tournament and asked the fans to show their passionate support for the wrestlers.
The day began with Sanshiro Takagi promising to announce an important piece of news about DDT. First, footage was shown of Yuki Iino spending his one day as CyberFight President as promised. After that, Takagi came out and announced DDT has begun a business partnership with Sun Music to open up more entertainment opportunities for their wrestlers. Takagi then introduced everyone to Hiroyuki Oka, the vice president of Sun Music. The goal is to give DDT wrestlers more exposure in the entertainment industry while also bringing in comedians, singers and other talent who are interested in pro wrestling. Oka got in the spirit of things by complimenting the wrestlers in the dark match for all having beautiful butts… It was a Pheromones match, what did you expect?
DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-”, 26/10/2022 Shinjuku FACE 440 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Soma Takao, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Yusuke Okada, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Naya pinned Sumi with a Knee Lift (10:03).
2. HARASHIMA & Akito defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Akito pinned Iino with a Backslide Pin (7:11).
3. Ω Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata after the Fuckin’ BOMB from Hino (7:30).
4. CDK Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Brookes pinned Takanashi after the Hair Of The Dog (14:25).
5. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Sasaki submitted Ishida with the Crossface Lock (14:23).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR (19:41).
The show served as a preview for the opening day of the D-Ou Grand Prix taking place next week. Yuki Ueno scored the win in the main event, giving him momentum for the tournament opener against Tetsuya Endo. Ueno had him well scouted in the end, using a Missile Dropkick to cut off Endo’s Swan Dive Forearm aimed for Toi Kojima. Ueno then gave Yuya Koroku the WR for the victory. Afterwards Ueno said he has a responsibility to carry DDT on his back because he is entering the D-Ou GP as the DDT Universal Champion. Even if he wasn’t a champion he’s been thinking that way ever since last year’s tournament. Kojima said he will support Ueno and MAO in the tournament. He also wants to grow so he can enter the Grand Prix next year.
Kazusada Higuchi versus KANON is another match that was previewed here. KANON used their tag match to get under Higuchi’s skin. After the match KANON told Higuchi to smile more and have some fun because on 1st November KANON is going to laugh over his corpse! Higuchi’s response is he will have the last laugh. Naomi Yoshimura also warned Daisuke Sasaki that he will crush him in the tournament. Sasaki isn’t looking forward to working hard but understands there is no such thing as an easy tournament match.
How on earth can I describe the Hair Of The Dog that CDK used to beat MAO & Shunma Katsumata? First Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi positioned Katsumata on top of MAO and twisted them into doing a Yoshitonic. Then Takanashi rolled both of them over with a sideways Gedo Clutch and Brookes bridged himself on top of MAO. The result was Takanashi & Brookes pinning Katsumata with MAO unable to break the pin because he was underneath everything. Brookes Vs MAO us coming up in the Grand Prix and MAO is still haunted by last year’s match when he lost to Brookes by Countout.
Kazuki Hirata had a secret plan to try and beat Ω. He used a Paradise Lock on Makoto Oishi, incapacitating him for the rest of the match. Toru Owashi then challenged Yuji Hino to a chop off and suddenly covered Hino in his own t-shirt so his arms were trapped and unusable. Hirata found his courage to fight Hino in this state but found out his attacks were still harmless. Hino eventually freed himself and dropped Hirata with the Fuckin’ BOMB. He then lifted up Oishi who was still stuck in the Paradise Lock and placed him on top of Hirata for the pin. They have another match coming up for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Oishi wants to know who this “Second Doi” person is?
Akito is getting ready to take the captaincy role of the Pheromones Subjugation Squad on 1st November. It turns out HARASHIMA is also now a member of DDT’s disciplinary committee, but that is a role different from what Akito and Sanshiro Takagi are attached to. Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still did their lewd antics today with HARASHIMA getting the brunt of it. But Akito was able to get a Backslide Pin on Iino to get the win. He warned Pheromones that on 1st November he will do what Takagi couldn’t and subdue all of them in one shot!
The opening match had Yukio Naya pin the newbie Kazuma Sumi with a Knee Lift. The result gives Naya momentum for his opening GP match against Hino. The two are friends but both are willing to kill each other if they have to.
Cara Noir returns to DDT on 29th December. He will also be on the 3rd January show.
DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Showdown FINAL ~ Dissolution Contra 1 Day President! 2 Vs 5 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito when Dieno pinned Takagi after a Chairshot from Hisaya Imabayashi (7:39). *Yuki “Sexy” Iino gets to be CyberFight President for 1 day.
1. Kazuma Sumi Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Kazuma Sumi with a Crab Hold (8:48).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when KANON pinned Kojima with the Sleepy Hollow (12:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Soma Takao & Hikaru Machida defeated HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada when Machida pinned Masada with the Iai Punch (10:56).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida when Koroku submitted Ishida with the Triangle Lancer (10:39).
5. Road To D-Ou GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes defeated Tetsuya Endo, MAO & Yukio Naya when Brookes pinned Naya with a Roll Up (15:22).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda with the WR (15:24). *V2 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Brain Claw Slam (16:12). *V4 for Kazusada Higuchi.
A fourth successful KO-D Openweight Title defence is in the books for Kazusada Higuchi and it was his most emotional one yet. Yukio Sakaguchi spent the build up to the match pulling the “big brother” card and reminding everyone that he is Higuchi’s senpai. It was all mind games to see if Higuchi has really moved on from Eruption or not. It added more danger to Sakaguchi’s kicks and choke holds. The attacks left Higuchi bleeding from the bridge of his nose. But Higuchi hit back with the Brain Claw Slam and several Horizontal Chops. Sakaguchi was spent by the end of it while Higuchi yelled at him to stand back up. Both of them knew the match was finished and a tearful Higuchi gave his “big brother” another Brain Claw Slam to get the win.
The aftermatch saw Sakaguchi praising Higuchi for being merciless and also as strong as ever. He told Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida that they are part of a good unit in Harimao and they should trust Higuchi as their leader. It also made Sakaguchi tell Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani that Eruption need to fire up even stronger from now on because they cannot lose. Higuchi thanked Sakaguchi & Akai for what they taught him in Eruption. He then gave Okatani a gift. It is Higuchi’s entrance gown he wore when he was part of Eruption. When they left, Higuchi said the D-Ou Grand Prix is a physically and mentally tough challenge but he is going to face it and break through. The next KO-D Title defence won’t be until 29th December.
Old allies from the DNA days turned into fresh rivals for the DDT Universal Title. The champion Yuki Ueno not only had to worry about fighting Koju Takeda but the rest of Pheromones too. However The 37KAMIINA were there to support Ueno and get Pheromones out of the way, although it took some dives from Takeda and Ueno to help clear out the interference. When it went back into a 1 on 1 match, Ueno pinned Takeda with the WR to defend the title. He told Takeda afterwards he is glad their match has gone from Kitasenju Theatre 1010 to Korakuen Hall. Ueno doesn’t want to face anyone from Pheromones again but he can’t help but feel jealous at them. Now he will move on to the D-Ou Grand Prix where he hopes to do one better than last year and win the tournament.
A lot of the D-Ou field used today’s matches to get ready and call their shots for the tournament next month. Chris Brookes declared after the trios match he was going to win the D-Ou GP. Yoshimura then cut off the music to say he would win it instead. Yuji Hino called the two of them idiots because he will win. Then Tetsuya Endo questioned all of their opinions and decided he was going to be the winner. MAO kept cutting in during this so everyone just heard the two of them talk over each other. Yukio Naya had enough and shoved them over to say he will win. They played his music to end the segment, which annoyed Brookes because Brookes beat Naya to win the match.
The wrestling politicians team came back. Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu teamed with Ishida to take on three members of BURNING. Kawamatsu was thrown right in there with Jun Akiyama which has to be both an exciting and terrifying experience for a long time wrestling fan. Maybe the same can be said for Yusuke Okada getting to fight Nishimura. But it was the two youngest wrestlers of the match who determined which side won. Yuya Koroku timed Ishida’s momentum well and drew him into a Triangle Lancer to get the submission victory. Okada criticized Kawamatsu’s performance in the post-match interview backstage. He said the politician should put more energy into his performance. Elsewhere Kawamatsu said he fell into the same trap as his last match. Whenever he gets into the ring, his mind goes blank and his body stiffens up. If he gets another chance to do a match he promises to devote himself into showing everyone a more solid performance.
A brand new challenge was presented to Takeshi Masada. How would he fare taking on a kickboxer like Hikaru Machida? The match also presented a big challenge for Machida because HARASHIMA was Masada’s tag partner. Masada held his own against both Machida & Soma Takao until Machida started getting the combos in. They took their toll on the rookie and he was done for once the Iai Punch found its target. HARASHIMA would like to team with Masada again but they need a better tag name. The suggestions they got were Pantaloon Tag and Harashimasada but HARASHIMA thinks both of them sound too dorky.
The two members of DAMNATION T.A entering the D-Ou GP are also looking in good shape going into it. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON were victorious along with Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul against a combined foursome of Eruption and The 37KAMIINA members. Sasaki and Shunma Katsumata had a close exchange but KANON got the win by pinning Toi Kojima. After the match Sasaki said he hates the D-Ou GP but will make sure he still wins it. He will see KANON in the final. KANON replied that the D-Ou GP will be covered in DAMNATION T.A’s colours. However things looked to get tense between the two so Fujita and Paul stepped in to keep things cool between everyone.
The debut of Kazuma Sumi gave Kazuki Hirata the opportunity to wrestle a mostly serious match without his wacky antics getting in the way. Sumi made it clear he is going to be a fast moving high flyer. Hirata stopped mid-match and asked Sumi what his goal is going to be. Sumi said he wants to win the match. Hirata asked for the answer to be bigger and louder. Sumi shouted he is going to be at the top of DDT! Hirata wanted an even bigger and louder answer. Sumi shouted he will become the KO-D Champion! Hirata shook his hand and then kicked him to continue the match. He got the rookie to submit to the Crab Hold, as is tradition in pro wrestling. Kojima said Sumi has a good mindset but there are a lot of young wrestlers now in DDT that Sumi has to compete with. Sumi said a week ago he fell into a slump and couldn’t sleep but his debut match was fun and he has Hirata to thank for that.
Perhaps the match with the greatest consequence today took place on the pre-show. The dark match featured Sanshiro Takagi leading a team of wrestlers against Pheromones in a 5 Vs 2 battle. It was kind of 5 Vs 3 because Yumehito Imanari was there at ringside to help his mates out. Still, Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still had to fight Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito all at once. Takagi had Dieno beat with the Himawari Bomb and called Hisaya Imabayashi into the ring. He gave the DDT GM a chair and told him to finish Dieno off once and for all. Imabayashi hesitated until he finally swung the chair… at Takagi! Dieno jumped on top of Takagi to get the three count, meaning Yuki Iino now gets to be President of CyberFight for a day!
Imabayashi explained his actions after the match. He was not betraying Takagi to join Pheromones. Instead he was taking a stand towards Takagi for his abuse of power. A 5 Vs 2 Handicap match was unfair from the beginning. Takagi has too much on his plate as CyberFight president to keep worrying about Pheromones. DDT has a very important project coming up next year that Takagi needs to put his full attention on. Imabayashi won’t be able to feel at peace when he leaves DDT if Takagi doesn’t move on. Takagi understands and announced he his “graduating” from his feud with Pheromones. However he appointed Akito to take his place and keep the feud going. Akito complained that he always fights Pheromones anyway but he accepts the decision.
Midway through the show Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata were brought into the ring to be announced as the opponents for Reiwa AA Cannon on 29th December. Anou was carrying the ICEx∞ Title from Ice Ribbon with her. She said she will prove she is more attractive and strong than either Saki Akai or Yuki Arai. Kawahata said she lost to Akai the last time she was in DDT so she wants to mess up the faces of both Akai & Arai on 29th December. Later Akai said she had singles matches against Anou and Kawahata before. She wonders if anything has changed with Kawahata since their previous match. She also thinks it will be great experience for Arai to fight wrestlers from other promotions and see what they all have to offer.
The big project for next year seems to be DDT’s return to America! First, Takagi announced “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” will take place on 30th March, 2023 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles! The show will be part of The Collective, a series of events spearheaded by GCW held during WrestleMania week. If that wasn’t enough, Joey Janela sent in a video announcing “GCW VS DDT” will take place in the same venue on 31st March! It will be the first time in 4 years DDT will be holding shows in America. Takagi said he’s been wanting to do it every year since the New York show in 2019 but the pandemic kept putting them back at square one. The Yen is weak against the Dollar right now so Takagi is aiming to make a lot of money while DDT is in the USA.
Soma Takao is now the store manager of the Dropkick Bar. So if you ever want to drink with Takao, he’ll be waiting for you at the Dropkick Bar!
DDT “GET ALIVE 2022”, 12/10/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 419 Fans
1. 4 Way Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul Vs Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Naya pinned Koroku with the Choke Slam (6:02).
2. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match! ~ Settling A Grudge! Complete Settlement! No DQ Hardcore Match: Toru Owashi defeated Kazuki Hirata with La Magistral Cradle (0:12).
2a. Rematch: Kazuki Hirata defeated Toru Owashi with La Magistral Cradle (0:14).
2b. Another Rematch: Toru Owashi defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Nodowa Otoshi (5:31).
3. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match! Yuki Ishida 1st Anniversary Match ~ Playfulness Series Act 4: Yuki Ishida defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno after the Throwaway Himawari Bomb from Sanshiro Takagi (7:33).
4. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Takeshi Masada by TKO with the Purgatory (7:48).
5. Makoto Oishi 20th Anniversary Match ~ Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA No Touch Rule: Makoto Oishi, MEN’S Teioh & Shiori Asahi defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Oishi pinned Katsumata with the Luminous Press (10:48).
6. Get Alive 4 Major Single Match!: Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Toi Kojima with the Shining Driver (4:57).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino defeated HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Endo pinned Takanashi with a Backslide Pin (11:48).
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki & KANON when Higuchi pinned KANON with the Brain Claw Slam (19:41). *V2 for Harimao.
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Shinya Aoki by TKO with a Headbutt (10:57). *V3 for Kazusada Higuchi. Shinya Aoki cashes in the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere NFT.
The life of a double champion is not easy. You never know when you will find yourself having to do two straight title defences one after the other. That is what happened to Kazusada Higuchi today. The original main event was Harimao defending the KO-D Tag Team Titles against DAMNATION T.A. Higuchi went into the match nursing an injured right hand. The injury was caused by Daisuke Sasaki & KANON in the weeks leading up to this match so the clear plan for the challengers was to target the right arm. But no matter what they did to it, Higuchi fought through the pain. He stopped Sasaki’s chair attack by Headbutting the chair into him. Then when KANON applied the Cobra Twist, Higuchi caused a rope break by biting onto the rope because his arms were both held back. Higuchi then smashed into KANON with the Buchikamashi and got the win with the Brain Claw Slam.
Naomi Yoshimura took the microphone to give a victory speech for his team when suddenly Shinya Aoki entered the ring. He dropped a tablet in front of Higuchi, the one containing the Right To Challenge NFT. He was cashing in his KO-D Openweight Title shot and it will take place right away!
The match began with Aoki aiming his kicks at Higuchi’s injured arm. He fought for submission holds to the arm over and over but Higuchi kept fighting out of them. In a change of tactics, Aoki then went for a Topé Suicida and then back in the ring applied a Manjigatame. Higuchi found a way to power out of the move and counter it into the Brain Claw Slam. He then struck Aoki with a big Headbutt to the face, causing the referee to stop the match via knockout. Higuchi survived the cash in, proved NFTs really are worthless and remains the KO-D Champion!
An exhausted Higuchi was flat on his back in the ring when Yukio Sakaguchi approached him. Sakaguchi told him to get up because they will be fighting each other for the championship on 23rd October. Higuchi got back up to his feet and thanked Sakaguchi for firing him up. He also thanked DAMNATION T.A and Aoki for challenging him in different ways because no matter what obstacles are in his way he will break through them!
Two days ago Tetsuya Endo defeated Masahiro Takanashi in a singles match. However Endo was not satisfied by the result because he thinks Takanashi left a better lasting impression on the Osaka crowd. So today Endo wanted to get revenge by stealing the spotlight from Takanashi. The set up had Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuji Hino all give Takanashi, Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA an Exploder Suplex all at the same time. With the the match now down to Endo against Takanashi, the back and forth ended with Endo doing the splits while pinning his opponent with a Backslide. Using a flashy looking pin against the wrestler who likes to use flashy looking pins is one way to get one over on him.
Avert your eyes all you want, you will still get blinded by Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda! He pulled off an easy victory against Toi Kojima to help him prepare for his upcoming DDT Universal Title match against Yuki Ueno. Takeda called the champion into the ring after the match. He said Ueno hasn’t changed a bit while Takeda has evolved into the “Shining Ball” you see before you. Ueno corrected him because in the years that passed since they teamed together, Ueno is now a champion while Takeda remained as a pervert.
There was some confusion over what the Men’s Club Vs The 37KAMIINA was meant to celebrate. It was supposed to mark Makoto Oishi’s 20th anniversary in pro wrestling. However MEN’S Teioh pointed out his own 30th anniversary passed by last month. Shiori Asahi suggested they add them together so the occasion can be turned into a 50th year anniversary. Men’s Club argued about it while they wrestled but eventually made it all to the same page. Oishi & Asahi took out Ueno with the Cactus Flower while Teioh gave MAO the Miracle Ecstasy. He did the same move to Shunma Katsumata and Oishi followed up with the Luminous Press to win the match. Oishi told Ueno and MAO to take what they learned today and use it for the D-Ou Grand Prix. Teioh then announced that the one day revival of Men’s Club has finished and he would like to join The 37KAMIINA instead! Backstage he told Oishi that he originally wanted Men’s Club to win all of the different multi-man championships in DDT but Oishi already won the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles with Ω. Oishi promised Asahi if Teioh does join The 37KAMIINA, they will fight to take him back to Men’s Club. Or maybe they replace him with Ueno, they like that idea too.
Sakaguchi’s preparation for his KO-D Title shot was straight to the point. Kick the crap out of Takeshi Masada. The young Masada tried to go strike for strike but ended up getting knocked out with the Purgatory Right High Kick. If both Higuchi and Sakaguchi are both aiming to win their matches by knockout, their title match on 23rd October is going to become a slugfest!
Yuki Ishida’s one year anniversary saw him get caught in the crossfire between Pheromones and Sanshiro Takagi. Before that happened Ishida showed how determined he was to win by wearing multiple trunks as a defence mechanism against Danshoku Dieno. They were all eventually stripped off anyway so Ishida was reduced to wrestling in nothing but a red loincloth. Dieno’s next attacks all missed their mark and he kept knocking out referees. Daisuke Kiso and Yukinori Matsui were both taken out of action. A third referee Yuto Nakata was then stopped by Takagi and the boss decided to sort it out himself. He entered the ring wearing a ref shirt but refused to complete a 3 Count for the Danshoku Driver. Instead he gave Dieno the Himawari Bomb, dragged Ishida on top of him and then fast counted to three. Takagi congratulated Ishida for his first singles win and then promised to end Pheromones on 23rd October. Dieno said if Pheromones must split if they lose their match on the 23rd then Takagi’s team should put something on the line too. He wants Takagi to use his powers to the fullest so if Pheromones win, Yuki Iino gets to become the president of CyberFight for one day! Takagi said Dieno lost his mind and Pheromones have no chance of winning a 2 Vs 5 match so he agreed to the stipulation. Yumehito Imanari warned everyone backstage that when Iino becomes president, the employee ID cards will be replaced with O-back trunks.
For years Toru Owashi had to deal with Kazuki Hirata and his dancing nonsense. They have been tag team partners for what feels like an eternity but the time had come for the two to face off. A match of this magnitude deserved a fitting stipulation so weapons were left around the ring for what would surely be a violent No DQ Hardcore Match. Owashi gave Hirata a Big Boot and pinned him with La Magistral Cradle in 12 seconds. GM Hisaya Imabayashi was furious. All of this build up for that?!? He told Hirata he should quit wrestling but then broke down into tears. He is leaving DDT at the end of the year and wants to see Hirata live up to his potential. He pleaded with Owasahi to allow the match to restart and it went ahead. This time Hirata pinned Owashi in 14 seconds with La Magistral Cradle. Imabayashi got mad again and demanded another restart. It did and the third time was the charm. Owashi and Hirata fought their hardest for 5 minutes. Owashi blocked the Mad Splash with his knees. Hirata kept kicking out of Owashi’s moves until he was finally stopped with the Nodowa Otoshi.
The supposed grudge between Owashi & Hirata was now finally over and done with. Owashi now had an offer for Hirata. He wants the two of them to challenge for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles in Osaka on 12th October. Hirata asked if HARASHIMA would be the other partner? Owashi told him it is somebody else and HARASHIMA already gave his approval to the idea. A video message then played from Naruki Doi! The now former DRAGONGATE wrestler is choosing DDT as his first freelance booking because he heard DDT has a trios championship and he wants to win it. Owashi, Hirata and Doi are combining together as a “Dream Triangle DDT” to win the titles!
The opening match was a 4 Way Tag featuring teams from BURNING, DAMNATION T.A and Pheromones. However it was the unaffiliated team of Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani who became the winners. Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul didn’t know what to make of Pheromones. Yusuke Okada used Pheromones own tricks against them. Naya got the pin in the end by Choke Slamming Yuya Koroku.
The mystery tag team appearing at the Tokyo Dome City Hall show on 29th December was revealed to be Reiwa AA Cannon from Tokyo Joshi Pro! While Saki Akai being on a DDT show is nothing out of the ordinary, this will be Yuki Arai’s first DDT match since becoming a pro wrestler. She previously won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and took part in a Battle Royal back in 2018 but that was when she was just an idol.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 