King Of DDT Final, Ring Removal Death Match, Super Japan Unlocks More WCW Lore

May 29, 2026

DDT “KING OF DDT 2026 FINAL!!”, 31/05/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuki Ishida Vs Rukiya & Hinata Kasai
1. King Of DDT – Semi Final: Minoru Suzuki Vs Shinya Aoki
2. King Of DDT – Semi Final: MAO Vs Danshoku Dieno
3. Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Jun Akiyama, Naomi Yoshimura & Junta Miyawaki
4. Special Tag Match ~ Kaisei Takechi Return Match: Yuki Ueno & Kaisei Takechi Vs Kazuki Hirata & To-y
5. FANTÔMES DRAMATIC Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: Chris Brookes, HARASHIMA & Antonio Honda Vs KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi
7. King Of DDT – Final: X Vs X

The match order for this weekend’s King Of DDT final has been determined. The final of course will be the main event and the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match is put in the semi-headliner spot.

DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION PART 2 ~SASADANGO-GUN VS YANO-GUN 5-ON-5 ELIMINATION TAG BATTLE~”, 08/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
2. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
3. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
4. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X
5. Sasadango-gun Vs Yano-gun: X Vs X

Sasadango-gun: Super Sasadango Machine, MAO, Kazuki Hirata, Akito

Yano-gun: Toru Yano, El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma

Something fishy is going on with the latest additions to the DDT Vs New Japan show. Both Yuki Ueno and Aaron Wolf will be there but as guests for an autograph session rather than participants in the five match series. I mean what are the chances that something will happen during the show that will draw both wrestlers into the ring for some action?

DDT “YOKOHAMA NIGHT SPLASH 2026”, 13/06/2026
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Ilusion Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul Vs Junta Miyawaki, KANON & Yuki Ishida
3. Special 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato Vs Yuki Ueni, Naomi Yoshimura & Rukiya Vs Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Akito

There will be some time for Hideki Okatani and Junta Miyawaki to wrestle each other before they fight for the DDT Extreme Title next month.

DDT “THAT’S RIGHT! LET’S GO TO BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2026”, 17/06/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Special Single Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Special Single Match: Shunma Katsumata Vs Junta Miyawaki
3. Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO)

DDT are expecting the appearance of Jun Akiyama on a Beer Garden show to result in more chaos than usual.

DDT “LET’S GO! BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING 2026”, 18/06/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage

1. Yuki Ueno Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Crocodile Death Match BEYOND: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion Vs MAO, Yukio Naya & Viento Maligno (w/ KIMIHIRO)
3. Ring Removal Death Match: HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuni & Kazuma Sumi

Okay so whenever Michinoku Pro does their Great Space War what usually happens is the ring gets deconstructed as the match progresses. There’s also been a couple of times when Big Japan have done a death match where the ring is stripped bare of all its padding so the ring is pretty much close to dismantled anyway. I think this is going to be the first time DDT is trying out the gimmick for a match and it’s going to be during a time when a lot people will be drunk. What could go wrong?

SUPER JAPAN “BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING”, 06/07/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. Unpaid Rumble RETURNS!: X Vs X
2. Special Single Match: Ken Ohka Vs Hayabusa
3. Special Single Match: Yuji Nagata Vs CIMA

Welcome to 2026 where a Japanese company can book a rematch from a virtually unknown WCW bout that was held in Oakland 29 years ago. CIMA got to team up with Yuji Nagata at the last Super Japan show so now he wants to face him one on one for the first time since they met in WCW almost three decades ago.

The goal of Ken Ohka ever since he launched Ganbare☆Pro was to do his part in turning pro wrestling into a major sport. That includes livening up the wrestling scene whatever way he can. He currently thinks a lot of the other indies are not doing the same so he threw out a challenge to Hayabusa from ZERO1 to help create a spark.


SUPER JAPAN “A PRO WRESTLING SHOW WITHOUT A NAME” Results

May 27, 2026

SUPER JAPAN “A PRO WRESTLING SHOW WITHOUT A NAME”, 27/05/2026
Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Shota defeated Miles Karu with the Frog Splash (7:23).
2. Special Single Match: Pero Pero Oyakata defeated Da Pump Matsumoto with the Ultimate Pero Pero Driver (7:58).
3. Marika Kobashi & Matsuzawa-san defeated Non Toraga & Riara when Kobashi pinned Riara with the Sliding Guillotine (9:56).
4. Ken Ohka & Mac Matsushita defeated Thanomsak Toba & Hyo Ogawa when Ohka pinned Ogawa with the Spear Of Flame (9:21).
5. Special Tag Match: Satoshi Kojima & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa defeated Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when Kojima pinned Kei with the Lariat (14:07).
6. Special Tag Match: “Blue Hebi Justice” Yuji Jagata & CIMA defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Poison Sawada JULIE when CIMA pinned Takagi with the Meteora (12:16).

On the day when New Japan changed ownership and created a shift in power across the pro wrestling scene, Super Japan went ahead and held their latest show with Yuji Nagata getting caught up in DDT hijinks. At the start of the show Nagata joined Sanshiro Takagi and advisor Masayuki Uchida to celebrate the fan voted continuation of Super Japan with a toast of energy drinks. However when they all drank it, Poison Sawada JULIE came out and revealed he swapped out Nagata’s drink with an extract of snake magic! Nagata collapsed in the ring and was taken back to the locker room to get help while Takagi suddenly wrapped up Uchida in tape and kidnapped him under JULIE’s orders!

It was all going according to plan for JULIE. He formed a new alliance with Takagi after being enemies with him in DDT for years and now had Nagata under his control. CIMA had to fight all three of them by himself in the main event with Nagata having fully transformed into a Snake Magic version called “Blue Hebi Justice” Yuji Jagata. Uchida was able to free himself backstage and used a mirror to reflect a spell back at JULIE. He also fed Nagata an antitode that gradually returned him back to normal. Nagata used the powers of his Salute pose to fight off JULIE’s magic while CIMA pinned Takagi with the Meteora to win the match. CIMA then brought up the match he had with Nagata in WCW 29 years ago. He was only 19 years old and 2 months into his career back then. He was dominated into defeat and has wanted a rematch ever since so he challenged Nagata to a singles match on 6th July! Nagata said he has no reason to refuse so he will give CIMA his all at the next Super Japan show.

In a moment that came and went in a blink of an eye, Kota Ibushi was seen standing at the entrance way waiting for Takagi after the main event. He reached out to Takagi and helped him walk to the back. Ibushi has not been seen on a DDT related event since his falling out with the company back in October 2024.

Having a pro wrestling career that spans across 35 years means you get to see a lot of different things happen. Satoshi Kojima used that sort of knowledge to help him fight off The Brahman Brothers. It helped that Munenori Sawa sacrificed himself by jumping in the way of an Ink Mist spot. By that point Kojima knew the plan was to fight as if he was a Brahman Brother himself. He suddenly started spewing out orange ink and used it to blind his opponents before beating them with the Lariat. Sawa was impressed to see first hand how Kojima can handle anything that gets thrown his way. Kojima though said he has no memory of what happened during the match. The Brahman Brothers were also amazed by Kojima and talked about wanting to team up with him next time just like they did with Nagata before.

Ken Ohka wants to do his bit to liven up Super Japan and came up with a big idea for a match to do on a future show. However neither Takagi nor Uchida were around after his match to hear about it. He had to wait until after the show to find Uchida and tell him he wanted to fight Hayabusa! Uchida agreed to book the match for 7th July.


MONDAY MAGIC “UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026” Results

April 6, 2026

MONDAY MAGIC “UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026”, 09/03/2026
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Semi Final: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Hayabusa with the Perfect Neck Lock (14:52).
2. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Semi Final: Sanshiro Takagi defeated The Great Sasuke with the Stunner (14:47).
3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Shino Suzuki with the Skull Kick (7:44).
4. UNIVERSE MIX MAGIC 8-Man Tag Match: Kaito Kiyomiya, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Takeshi Masada & Yumehito Imanari defeated Masato Tanaka, Isami Kodaka, Taro Nohashi & Great Mummy when Imanari pinned Mummy with the Lariat (9:15).
5. 10-WOMAN MAGIC RUMBLE: YUNA defeated Senka Akatsuki by Ring Out (26:41).
*Order Of Elimination: Megaton, Manami, Sora Ayame, YuuRI, The Great Sayaka, Yuki Mashiro, Seri Yamaoka, Momoka Hanazono, Senka Akatsuki.
6. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Final: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Perfect Neck Lock (17:33).

The winner of the first ever Universe Cup tournament belongs to NOAH! It was a tough road for Naomichi Marufuji to walk through because he first had to fight Hayabusa in the semi final. After taking big blows from dives and Falcon Arrows, Marufuji dodged the Firebird Splash and relied on using Tiger King knee strikes to wear down Hayabusa until he was weak enough to be submitted with the Perfect Cradle. Sanshiro Takagi fought past The Great Sasuke in a rematch many years in the making (Sasuke blamed the slightly different ring size on his defeat) to reach Marufuji in the final. In the battle between the CyberFight Vice Presidents, Takagi was taken to the brink with Marufuji ordering a delay in countouts so Takagi could bring out the Dramatic Dream bike for them to fight with. Marufuji won that duel and Takagi barely made it back to the ring in time just to get put in the Perfect Neck Lock for Marufuji to win the match.

Takagi got injured during the match so only Hayabusa and Sasuke joined Marufuji for his trophy presentation. Marufuji praised all of the wrestlers and promotions involved for doing their best to liven up pro wrestling. Sasuke believes the Universe Cup will continue on for many years which will somehow help Michinoku Pro become invincible! On cue his company’s theme song began to play until Marufuji stopped it so Hayabusa could have the last word. Hayabusa told everyone that the fun is just beginning.

The rest of the show featured random and unexpected wrestlers showing up since that is the whole point of Monday Magic. Multiple promotions were represented including DDT, Ganbare☆Pro and BASARA. There was an 8-Man Tag Match featuring DDT’s Takeshi Masada, GanPro’s Yumehito Imanari and BASARA’s Isami Kodaka. GanPro also had a participant in the women’s Magic Rumble match. YuuRI took part in it but was among the first half of eliminated wrestlers.

Tokyo Joshi Pro also showed up at a Monday Magic event for the first time. TJPW presented a singles match where Miyu Yamashita beat Shino Suzuki. Because they were in front of a new audience, Yamashita was more fired up than usual while Suzuki was able to overcome her anxiety when the fans started calling her name during the match.


MONDAY MAGIC “UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026” Results

March 9, 2026

MONDAY MAGIC “UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026”, 09/03/2026
Shinjuku FACE
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Takeru Inoue & Sentaro Motoshima defeated Yuki Toki & Nobuhiko Kimura when Inoue submitted Toki with a Crab Hold (8:56).
2. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Great Mummy with the Stunner (8:23).
3. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Kuroshio TOKYO Japan with the Perfect Neck Lock (9:12).
4. Takumi Iroha, Utami Hayashishita & Miyuki Takase Vs Mayu Iwatani, Mika Iwata & Mio Momono ended in a Time Limit Draw (20:00).
5. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: The Great Sasuke defeated Isami Kodaka with La Magistral Cradle (12:24).
6. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Hayabusa defeated Yumehito Imanari with the Firebird Splash (14:06).

The first round of the inaugural UNIVERSE CUP took place, pitting eight wrestlers from eight different promotions against each other. The common ground linking almost all of the promotions together is that they are a part of the Wrestle Universe streaming service. Add in the randomness of Monday Magic and the result is a bunch of unexpected surprises in store both in and out of the tournament.

Hayabusa from ZERO1 defeated Yumehito Imanari from Ganbare☆Pro in the main event. Imanari was crushed over the loss because he was originally part of Wrestle Universe from the very beginning when it was called DDT Universe. Hayabusa will meet Naomichi Marufuji from NOAH in the semi-final. Marufuji had to deal with Kuroshio TOKYO Japan’s antics today. Even thought Kuroshio lost, he doesn’t want to go away. The Uptown wrestler asked Marufuji backstage if he can come over to NOAH? Marufuji simply told him no.

The Great Sasuke and Isami Kodaka went wild for their 1st Round match. The Michinoku Pro legend gave Kodaka a Piledriver onto the entrance ramp and also slammed him onto a pile of chairs at ringside. Kodaka almost got him back with a Brainbuster but Sasuke pinned the BASARA wrestler with La Magistral Cradle for the victory. Kodaka hopes he can come back to Monday Magic and maybe get some NOAH bookings too. Sanshiro Takagi had an adventure of his own when he had to fight not just one mummy, but two! While he fought The Great Mummy in the ring, NOSAWA Rongai brought down a second Great Mummy to add some confusion to the mix. Luckily for Takagi, Mecha Mummy showed up to help him and Takagi went on to win the match for DDT. NOSAWA swears he will get revenge on Takagi by sending his mummy wrestlers over to invade Super Japan!

MONDAY MAGIC “UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026”, 06/04/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Semi Final: Sanshiro Takagi Vs The Great Sasuke
2. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Semi Final: Hayabusa Vs Naomichi Marufuji
3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: X Vs X
4. 10-WOMAN MAGIC RUMBLE: X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X Vs X
3. The 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Final: X Vs X

There’s been one CyberFight promotion that has stayed away from Monday Magic but that’s all going to change next month. Tokyo Joshi Pro will finally have some involvement in the show, although it is going to be for a match they are putting together by themselves. There will also be a small Royal Rumble style match for the joshi wrestlers so maybe TJPW will start to mix in with the rest of the scene after all.


Universe Cup

February 10, 2026

Looks like I now have to start talking about MONDAY MAGIC a bit more often. This thing started off in 2023 as an idea by NOSAWA Rongai to host live weekly NOAH shows on ABEMA built around mystery lineups and surprise matches. After the debut season, the series was then added to Wrestle Universe and last year it was quietly spun off into becoming its own brand, although it is still NOAH adjacent. I personally like the idea of treating Monday Magic as its own thing but you’d still be right to label it a NOAH show.

During the most recent season titled “RISING SUN”, it was announced that two upcoming spin-off episodes called “UNIVERSE MAGIC” will host the first ever Universe Cup tournament. It will be an eight man tournament featuring a representative from many different wrestling promotions that can be seen on Wrestle Universe. The wrestlers taking part are:

Naomichi Marufuji (Pro Wrestling NOAH)
Sanshiro Takagi (DDT Pro Wrestling)
The Great Sasuke (Michinoku Pro Wrestling)
Hayabusa (ZERO1 Pro Wrestling)
Isami Kodaka (Pro Wrestling BASARA)
Yumehito Imanari (Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling)
Kuroshio TOKYO Japan (Pro Wrestling Uptown)
Great Mummy (MONDAY MAGIC)

MONDAY MAGIC “UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026”, 09/03/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Great Mummy
2. UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan
3. UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Isami Kodaka Vs The Great Sasuke
4. UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Hayabusa Vs Yumehito Imanari

Alright I get to talk about the new Hayabusa! Actually Bahu did a great job explaining the whole situation with him and ZERO1 recently so I recommend you give his video a watch. The inclusion of ZERO1 to this tournament comes from their repaired relationship with NOAH after the Go Shiozaki fiasco (I knew something was up with him a while back) and that led to Hayabusa recently appearing on Monday Magic so his addition has not come out of nowhere.

One of NOSAWA’s running jokes in Monday Magic is to often book one of the wrestlers to disguise themselves as Great Mummy, a throwback to the mummy gimmicks that were a regular presence around Japan’s sleazier indies decades ago. It’s only fitting that Sanshiro Takagi was chosen to be Great Mummy’s opponent in the first round.

MONDAY MAGIC “UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026”, 06/04/2026
Shinjuku FACE

1. UNIVERSE CUP – Semi Final: X Vs X
2. UNIVERSE CUP – Semi Final: X Vs X
3. UNIVERSE CUP – Final: X Vs X

The match announcement video included an image of a playoff bracket that makes it look like the winners of Matches #1 and #3 will meet in one semi final and the winners of Matches #2 and #4 will face off in the other. However I’m feeling suspicious about something. To put it kindly, NOSAWA is a trickster at heart. Don’t be surprised if he suddenly throws in a swerve or two that could completely change the face of the Universe Cup going into the final rounds.