DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2022 IN OSAKA”, 30/07/2022 Osaka 176BOX
1. Soma Takao Vs Kazuki Hirata
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Akito, Yukio Sakaguchi & Antonio Honda
4. Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Koroku
5. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Bodyguard Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida
7. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Gamma Vs Yuki Ueno & Makoto Oishi
Next Saturday’s show in Osaka is going through some changes because of covid. Both Hideki Okatani and Toi Kojima are out of action with positive cases so a bunch of matches are getting shuffled around. Both are expected to be back next month as you’ll see in the lineups below.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 31/07/2022 Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Miu Watanabe Vs Shoko Nakajima
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Rika Tatsumi Vs Suzume
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Nao Kakuta Vs Miyu Yamashita
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Hikari Noa
The Tokyo Princess Cup Semi Final matches will be drawn after the Quarter Final stage is finished.
Yuki Arai and Juria Nagano will both be on the show.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2022 IN KORAKUEN ~LET’S SHOUT!~”, 14/08/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Takeshi Masada Debut Match: HARASHIMA Vs Takeshi Masada
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & X (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Soma Takao
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, MAO & Yuki Ishida
4. Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda Vs Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima
5. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Yuji Hino Vs Chris Brookes Vs Shinya Aoki Vs Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yusuke Okada Vs Yukio Naya Vs Hideki Okatani Vs Yuya Koroku
6. Special Single Match: Asuka Vs Saki Akai
7. DDT Extreme Title – Fluorescent Lighttube IPPON Death Match: Akito (c) Vs Joey Janela
8. Road To WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022! Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama
The Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet is back after a two and a half year absence. The match combines the Battle Royal with a Ladder match with the prize hanging above the ring. Usually there are several prizes on offer but for now DDT is saying there will be only one Gauntlet and the winner of the match is whoever retrieves it.
A new masked member of Pheromones showed up on yesterday’s show. There are guesses going around it is Michael Nakazawa because the mystery man pulled down his pants and used them to do the Ultimate Venom Arm. Pheromones are sort of denying it by saying it can’t be him because he should be doing his job in America. So either Nakazawa is getting a Pheromones style gimmick makeover or he is purposely being used as a red herring.
The new debut Takeshi Masada is having his first pro match after only three months of training. It will be the quickest amount of time any trainee has ever made their debut in DDT. The 21 year old from Osaka stands 180cm high and weighs in at 84kg. His athletic background is in both basketball and Shorinji Kempo.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”, 20/08/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Yusuke Okada, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion Vs Toi Kojima, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
2. 3 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & X (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
3. Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match ~ Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Member Vs Bunkyo Ward Assembly Member: Shinichiro Kawamatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Soma Takao Vs Osamu Nishimura, Makoto Oishi & Akito
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
5. Special Mixed Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Saki Akai Vs Chris Brookes & Asuka
6. International Special Hardcore Match: Joey Janela Vs Shunma Katsumata
7. DDT 25th Anniversary Special 6-Man Tag Match: Dick Togo, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yasu Urano
8. DDT Universal Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Yuki Ueno
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo
Now that Tetsuya Endo has recovered 100%, he is ready to give back to the fans for their support by reclaiming the KO-D Openweight Title. It is a match Kazusada Higuchi wanted more than anything else too.
No matter who came out of the DDT Universal Title match yesterday, Yuki Ueno is getting the next shot anyway. Yusuke Okada originally brought him up as the next challenger if he became champion. Masahiro Takanashi kept the belt instead but liked the idea enough to do the same. Takanashi’s reason though is because he is looking for challengers from the younger generation and Ueno may very well be the absolute best out of all of them. If Takanashi beats him then he will start looking outside of DDT for more young challengers.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2022”, 24/07/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Makoto Oishi Return Match: Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Akito & Yuki Ishida
2. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs Antonio Honda, Saki Akai & Ilusion
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Gota Ihashi
4. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Shinya Aoki, Shunma Katsumata & El Unicorn
5. Tetsuya Endo Return Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Chris Brookes Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao
6. DDT Universal Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Yusuke Okada
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: MAO & Asuka (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura
Both Hideki Okatani and Yuya Koroku are pulled from tomorrow’s show because of separate close contact cases. Both of them may have recently been in close contact to people who have tested positive for covid. Chris Brookes replaces Koroku in Tetsuya Endo’s return match. Okatani’s 3 Way Tag match is going through a few changes. Ilusion takes his spot and the match is now a 2 Vs 3 Handicap bout because Brookes was moved over another match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 23/07/2022 Shinjuku FACE
1. 3 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Haruna Neko
2. Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
3. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami
4. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo
5. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2D: Pom Harajuku Vs Suzume
6. Tokyo Princess Cup – Round 2A: Shoko Nakajima Vs Mizuki
The remaining Tokyo Princess Cup 2nd Round matches take place here. Shoko Nakajima and Mizuki are the two names that have become most attached to success in the tournament so we are going to see a rare early elimination in the main event. Suzume versus Pom Harajuku is a first time singles match up between the two.
Miyu Yamashita will be in America during the same weekend as this show.
1. GanPro Sanada Maru! Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Kazuaki Mihara & Kouki Iwasaki
2. ROMANCE DAWN Vs The 37KAMIINA: Shota & Soma Takao Vs Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima
3. GanPro Osaka Summer Team! Special Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari & Magnitude Kishiwada Vs Ken Ohka & Shinichiro Tominaga
Ganbare☆Pro visits Osaka so Yumehito Imanari can team with the region’s strongest pro wrestler Magnitude Kishiwada! He has a little bit of history with Ken Ohka. The last time he was in Ganpro was in 2018 where he faced Ohka one on one. Kishiwada won the match but Ohka convinced him to do an immediate rematch. Kishiwada won that too but Ohka again demanded another rematch to prove he could still fight over and over until he wins. Maybe that kind of fire will reappear here.
The 37KAMIINA are showing up in Ganpro and ROMANCE DAWN are waiting to meet them in the ring.
A challenge was thrown out by Kouki Iwasaki towards Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie. He wants a tag match against them and is bringing in his local buddy Kazuaki Mihara to be his partner.
Tsuyoshi Okada and Tyson Maeguchi will be on the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO PRINCESS CUP”, 31/07/2022 Tokyo Otemachi Mitsui Hall
1. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Miu Watanabe Vs Winner Of Match 2A
2. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Nao Kakuta Vs Miyu Yamashita
3. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Hikari Noa
4. Tokyo Princess Cup – Quarter Final: Rika Tatsumi Vs Winner Of Match 2D
The field of eight is almost completed. The bracket gets mixed up after this point and the semi-final pairings will be decided via lottery at the end of the show.
GANBARE☆PRO “ULTRA SOUL 2022”, 13/08/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. ROMANCE DAWN for the new world: Shota Vs Soma Takao
2. Yoshiko Hasegawa Re-Debut Match: Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI
3. HARUKAZE 5th Anniversary Match: HARUKAZE Vs Makoto
4. Tatsuhito Takaiwa 30th Anniversary Match: Tatsuhito Takaiwa Vs X
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie
A comment made in the past is motivating Imanari to prove his doubter wrong. When he was part of a main event in Korakuen Hall back in October 2020, Shigehiro Irie singled him out as the only person in the match underserving of that spot. Now that Imanari has the Spirit Of Ganbare Title, he wants to defend it against Irie in Korakuen to prove him wrong. Irie was surprised to hear the challenge because they haven’t crossed paths that often since that show almost two years ago. He is impressed with Imanari’s new found confidence but warns when you fight Irie, you will lose both your confidence and your championship!
Tatsuhito Takaiwa is celebrating his 30th year as a pro wrestler. His anniversary match has not been decided yet.
There is another wrestling anniversary being celebrated on the show, although it is a lot shorter than Takaiwa’s. Haruka Kato has been wrestling for over a decade but it is her alter ego HARUKAZE who recently reached the 5 year milestone. She asked Makoto to be her opponent for the special occasion. The reason is because after Kato left Stardom, Makoto was the first person to get her a booking despite having never known her previously. Ever since then Kato credits Makoto for keeping her in pro wrestling.
The re-debuting Yoshiko Hasegawa was born in Saitama on 28th February, 1987. She is 150cm tall and weighs 47kg. She originally wrestled for Actwres girl’Z from 2019 to 2020 until a neck injury took her out of action for almost the entirety of 2021. She officially left Actwres right at the end of last year and made her wrestling reappearance at “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” earlier this month, signing with Ganbare☆Pro.
Shota will be going on an American excursion this September with not concrete plan on when to return. He decided to take a massive gamble and see if he can make it from scratch as a pro wrestler in America until he is all out of options. He has connections over there but right now has nothing guaranteed for him once he makes the trip. Ganpro is giving him a send off match against his own ROMANCE DAWN partner Soma Takao.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”, 20/08/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match ~ Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Member Vs Bunkyo Ward Assembly Member: Shinichiro Kawamatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Soma Takao Vs Osamu Nishimura, Makoto Oishi & Akito
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Umeda & Keisuke Okuda Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani
3. Special Mixed Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Saki Akai Vs Chris Brookes & Asuka
4. International Special Hardcore Match: Joey Janela Vs Shunma Katsumata
5. DDT 25th Anniversary Special 6-Man Tag Match: Dick Togo, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yasu Urano
6. DDT Universal Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X
For one night only Naomi Yoshimura is bringing together a DNA reunion! He asked DDT to give him a match teaming with Kota Umeda and Keisuke Okuda, saying long time fans will understand why. In DNA Yoshimura led a faction called the Naomi Kingdom. Okuda was a member of the unit and Umeda was their biggest rival. DDT agreed to Yoshimura’s request and gathered together a suitable trio of opponents. It’s Yoshimura’s old tag partner HARASHIMA as well as Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani from Eruption!
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 804 Fans
1. Four Beasts Of Fate Gathered In Sekigahara ~Special Tag Match~: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Takaiwa Army: Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa & 5th Black Tiger
3. Ganpro Specialty 6-Man Tag Match Match: Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE Vs Onryo, YuuRI & Lingerie Muto
4. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Eruption: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
5. Special Single Match: Yuna Manase Vs Sayaka Unagi
6. Special Single Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Minoru Suzuki
7. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shota & Soma Takao
8. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Ken Ohka
“SUPER HARDCORE GIRLS BOX OFFICE ~ SUPER HARDCORE GIRLS VS PROMINENCE”, 14/07/2022 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 147 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence ~ Falls Count Anywhere Match: SenoSister Mao Inoue defeated Mochi Natsumi with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (12:07).
2. DDT Offer? Match: Yuki Ueno & Konosuke Takeshita (Sakura Hirota) defeated Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Takeshita (Hirota) pinned Hirata with the German Suplex (14:06).
3. Special TLC Match: DASH Chisako Vs Hideki Okatani ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
4. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence ~ Bring In 1 Item Hardcore Match: Risa Sera & Akane Fujita defeated Elizabeth❤️Toy & Sylvania❤️Catherine when Sera pinned Toy with the Diving Double Knee Drop onto Chairs (17:18).
5. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence ~ Special Hardcore Match: Suzu Suzuki defeated Carousel❤️Shun with the German Suplex (20:18).
The feud between Shunma Katsumata and Suzu Suzuki continues going in unusual directions. Suzuki wanted to get revenge on Katsumata for beating her in the King Of Street Wrestling tournament earlier this year. Katsumata however did not want to deal with her again so he brought his “relative” Carousel❤️Shun to take his place. As the story goes, Carousel❤️Shun is a joshi wrestler who travelled to America three years ago to form the Super Hardcore Girls promotion. The global pandemic kept her from returning to Japan until recently but she jumped at the opportunity to lead SHG against Prominence in a war between two deathmatch joshi groups! The two sides agreed to a crossover show where Suzuki could settle the score with the Katsumata family.
The main event involved tables being broken, jumping off ladders, a lot of toy blocks spread across the ring and plenty more. Shun and Suzuki both use a stapler on each other’s arms until Suzuki found something to pierce Shun’s ear with. Shun should have won the match when she had Suzuki pinned with the Totonoe Splash but other members of Prominence pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the count. That led to a big brawl between the SHG and Prominence wrestlers around ringside. Suzuki recovered and Power Bombed Shun from a ladder through a board with forks sticking out of it. That wasn’t enough and Suzuki then landed the German Suplex onto the toy blocks to get the win. After the match Suzuki demanded that Shun go and get Shunma Katsumata so the actual rematch can happen. Suzuki warned that Katsumata won’t get away with it if he does not show up again. Shun said she was thankful to bring SHG to Japan and will continue to chase after Prominence while leaving the rest to Katsumata.
Prominence can confidently declare victory over SHG with a 2-1 result from today’s show. The other win came from Risa Sera & Akane Fujita defeating the relatives of Toi Kojima & Takahiro Katori in a match where everyone was allowed to bring one weapon each. Elizabeth❤️Toy brought out an ear piercing device but Fujita took it off her and used it against her. Sylvania❤️Catherine brought out a stuff toy wrapped in barb wire but Toy got hit with it by accident. Sera then whacked Toy over the head with a bamboo stick, placed chairs on top of her and hit a Diving Double Knee Drop from the top rope for the finish. Unlike Suzuki, Sera enjoyed today’s show and said she would like to do fight against SHG again.
There was a different crossover match away from the feuding promotions. Hideki Okatani likes to dip his toe into Hardcore wrestling every now and then so he was put into a TLC Match against DASH Chisako from Sendai Girl’s! Okatani took some big bumps throughout the match including a Power Bomb over the top rope onto a bridging ladder outside the ring! Chisako made a big mistake though when she missed a Diving Double Stomp from the ladder onto some chairs. Okatani quickly turned the tables and hit a Diving Elbow onto chairs from the same ladder. The two kept on fighting until the very end when time ran out and the match was ruled a 15 minute draw.
There was a sudden change of plans in the match DDT put together. Yuki Ueno was meant to team with Sakura Hirota but when it was time for her entrance, Konosuke Takeshita’s music played instead and out came “Konosuke Takeshita”! Now “Takeshita” looked a little shorter than usual but once the shirt was off and the physique was on show, there was no doubt over who it was. There was one uncharacteristic moments when “Takeshita” struck Akito from behind with a kancho attack. Kazuki Hirata dodged the same move but was eventually caught in the German Suplex with “Takeshita” getting some assistance with the bridge from Ueno. Afterwards backstage “Takeshita” talked about getting a last minute flight from America to get here today after wrestling in AEW last night. Makes perfect sense.
SHG’s only win on the show came from SenoSister Mao Inoue beating Mochi Natsumi in a Falls Count Anywhere match. They fought outside to the parking lot then on the way back to the ring, Inoue’s costume was suddenly replaced with wrestling gear similar looking to what Natsumi was wearing. Inoue ended up pinning Natsumi with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch on the entrance ramp.
“SUPER HARDCORE GIRLS BOX OFFICE ~ SUPER HARDCORE GIRLS VS PROMINENCE”, 14/07/2022 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence ~ Falls Count Anywhere Match: SenoSister Mao Inoue Vs Mochi Natsumi
2. DDT Offer? Match: Yuki Ueno & Sakura Hirota Vs Akito & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special TLC Match: DASH Chisako Vs Hideki Okatani
4. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence ~ Bring In 1 Item Hardcore Match: Elizabeth❤️Toy & Sylvania❤️Catherine Vs Risa Sera & Akane Fujite
5. Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence ~ Special Hardcore Match: Carousel❤️Shun Vs Suzu Suzuki
Shunma Katsumata has been tweeting messages to Suzu Suzuki on behalf of Carousel❤️Shun, warning Suzuki she won’t win no matter how hard she studies for the “exam”.
GANBARE☆PRO “BAKURETSU TOSHI BURST CITY 2022”, 17/07/2022 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MON☆STAR
1. GanPro Summer Festival! MakoHaruka Vs YuriMoeka Full-Scale Battle: Makoto & HARUKAZE Vs Moeka Haruhi & YuuRI
2. GanPro Summer Festival! Lari Pro Army Vs Knee Pro Army Full-Scale Battle: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shota
3. GanPro Summer Festival! GanPro Survival 8-Man Tag Match ~Ohka Army Vs Imanari Army Full-Scale Battle~: Ken Ohka, Kouki Iwasaki, Mizuki Watase & Sayaka Obihiro Vs Yumehito Imanari, Soma Takao, Tyson Maguchi & Yuna Manase
The GanPro Survival Tag Match is fought as a regular 2 Vs 2 tag match. Whenever a wrestler is eliminated, they are replaced with the next wrestler on their team. This continues until a team is reduced to one wrestler left and cannot field a complete tag team. An extra rule is being added to the upcoming version of this match. Over the top rope eliminations will count but the match cannot be won that way. The final elimination needs to be done through normal means (pinfall, submission, DQ, etc).
Lariat Pro Wrestling returns but there is resistance coming from Knee Pro Wrestling. It’s time to decide which is better, Lariats or Knee Strikes!
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN HANDMADE IN JAPAN FES 2022”, 23/07/2022 Tokyo Big Sight West Hall 1 & 2
1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Toi Kojima Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yukio Naya & Yuya Koroku
A good time is always had when DDT holds a Falls Count Anywhere Match at the HandMade In Japan Festival.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2022 IN OSAKA”, 30/07/2022 Osaka 176BOX
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
2. Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Akito & Yuya Koroku
4. Tetsuya Endo Vs Hideki Okatani
5. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs MAO & Toi Kojima
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Bodyguard Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida
7. Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Gamma Vs Yuki Ueno & Makoto Oishi
Gamma is the special guest for this show. The former DRAGONGATE star will be retiring from pro wrestling on 14th August.
Tetsuya Endo’s first singles match during his comeback is against Hideki Okatani.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2022 IN KORAKUEN ~LET’S SHOUT!~”, 14/08/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Single Match: Asuka Vs Saki Akai
One week before they join Jun Akiyama and Chris Brookes for the Mixed Tag Match, Saki Akai and Asuka face off one on one.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022”, 20/08/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Shinichiro Kawamatsu Debut Match ~ Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Member Vs Bunkyo Ward Assembly Member: Shinichiro Kawamatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Soma Takao Vs Osamu Nishimura, Makoto Oishi & Akito
2. Special Mixed Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Saki Akai Vs Chris Brookes & Asuka
3. International Special Hardcore Match: Joey Janela Vs Shunma Katsumata
4. DDT 25th Anniversary Special 6-Man Tag Match: Dick Togo, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yasu Urano
5. DDT Universal Title: Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs X
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X
Daisuke Sasaki is calling in the big guns to combat Konosuke Takeshita on his return. He’s bringing his master Dick Togo back to DDT! Sasaki’s history with his maestro is usually hostile so there haven’t been many times when they teamed together. But “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” is a big show and Sasaki is offering the olive branch to Togo. It will also be KANON’s first time in the ring with him too. We’ll see if wrestling with DAMNATION T.A is any different from wrestling with House Of Torture. In response to this, Takeshita chose MAO & Yasu Urano as his partners. Urano was picked because he knows both Sasaki & Togo inside out!
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 804 Fans
1. Four Beasts Of Fate Gathered In Sekigahara ~Special Tag Match~: Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Ishii pinned Kodaka with the Isamiashi Zan (13:42).
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Takaiwa Army: Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa & 5th Black Tiger when Maeguchi pinned Tiger with the Tyson Splash (14:00).
3. Ganpro Specialty 6-Man Tag Match Match: Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE defeated Onryo, YuuRI & Lingerie Muto when HARUKAZE pinned YuuRI with the Flame Spear (9:13).
4. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Eruption: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when Watase pinned Sakaguchi with an Elbow Butt (15:22).
5. Special Single Match: Sayaka Unagi defeated Yuna Manase with the Jomon Toppa (12:59).
6. Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Shuichiro Katsumura with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (21:45).
7. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Shota & Soma Takao defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Shota pinned Brookes with the Gannosuke Clutch (23:09).
8. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) defeated Ken Ohka with the Lariat (19:25). *V1 for Yumehito Imanari.
Today Ganbare☆Pro reached Ota Ward Gymnasium to hold the biggest event in its nine year history. The two men most important to the promotion faced off in the main event. On the one side is Ganpro’s founder Ken Ohka, the man who created the company in the hopes of making his own major sports league. His opponent is the first person to stand by him during Ganpro’s creation. Yumehito Imanari was just a member of DDT’s video team who wrestled on a part time basis. Today he was headlining Ota Ward Gym as the defending Spirit Of Ganbare Champion. The two fought each other knowing it was the most important match of their lives. Ohka relied on the Flame Spear but it was Imanari’s use of the Lariat that ended the match with his arm raised in the air and a successful first title defence.
After the match Imanari said when he became a pro wrestler he embarrassed himself a lot. But it is that shame that led him to the treasure he has now. He said Ganpro is necessary in the wrestling world because there is nowhere else where you can put your life on the line in such a muddy atmosphere. If you ever have a hard time, look at Ganpro! Ohka didn’t cry when he lost. He laughed instead. He doesn’t understand why because it should be the opposite. At 45 years of age he believes he still has room to grow. He wants to work hard with the younger wrestlers and continue his work to make pro wrestling into a major sport. The attendance of 804 fans today is considered a success and is going to inspire Ganpro when they decide on their next big goal.
The other important matches on the show were built around matches where Ganpro wrestlers fought outsiders. The tag team battle between ROMANCE DAWN and CDK was Ganpro’s top tag team taking on the notorious duo found in DDT and ChocoPro. CDK did some cheating throughout the match. Early on Chris Brookes taped Soma Takao to a dolly and rolled him away from ringside, leaving Shota fighting in a 2 on 1 disadvantage. Takao was able to get freed and return to the ring. Brookes also grabbed HARUKAZE and Gorilla Pressed her out of the ring onto everyone below. Later Masahiro Takanashi pulled the referee out of the ring to break up Shota’s Frog Splash on Brookes. Shota was then hit over the head with the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt but he kicked out of the pin. ROMANCE DAWN was able to get the win out of nowhere when Shota countered the Praying Mantis Bomb into the Gannosuke Clutch, pinning Brookes for the victory. Shota said he is ready to go for a rematch while Takao was happy to win in his hometown with his friend. Brookes is making demands for a singles match. He wants to go one on one. But not against Shota, he is demanding a match against HARUKAZE! Takanashi backs up the idea and suggested they do a tag match if HARUKAZE has a tag partner.
Fans were allowed to cheer which meant everyone got to shout “Kaze Ni Nare!” during Minoru Suzuki’s entrance. But when it was time for his match to begin, the cheers and chants were for Ganpro’s own Shuichiro Katsumura. The match was filled with strikes and submission holds with a little bit of chair usage from Suzuki. He broke out of the Ninja Choke and dropped Katsumura with the Gotch-Style Piledriver to win the match. In a rare act of sportsmanship, Suzuki shook Katsumura’s hand and left to ring to give his opponent the spotlight. He even later admitted to enjoying the match! Katsumura said getting the match he always wanted is no big deal and he will continue to wrestle for Ganpro.
Emotions ran high for Yuna Manase’s match against Sayaka Unagi. The two have history together that recently mutated into Unagi holding a grudge. Their only previous singles match happened early in Unagi’s career and the loss to Manase has haunted her ever since. She showed erratic behavior at a press conference for the match by biting Manase’s chest. She did the same here when the match began. The match continued to heat up with Manase throwing Lariats. But Unagi broke through her defences and got the three count after hitting the Jomon Toppa. After the match Unagi confessed that she does not hate Ganpro and she does not believe Manase is on her last run. She learned about the fun and freedom of pro wrestling from Manase so she’s not going to let her quit so easily. They also now have a 1-1 record against each other. Unagi believes she will one day become the top wrestler in Stardom and the world of pro wrestling. When she does she will look for Manase so they can have the rubber match.
Ganpro’s previous experiences with Eruption have ended with the DDT unit bullying them. Yukio Sakaguchi in particular has been a pain in the back for Mizuki Watase to deal with. It ended up causing Watase to shave his own head after he dropped the fall to Sakaguchi in a Ganpro Vs Eruption match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. Today was Watase’s shot at redemption when he teamed with Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga against the same trio of Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani. He finally got his day in the sun when he pinned Sakaguchi with an Elbow Butt to the face. Once Sakaguchi got over the shock of defeat, he gave Watase a congratulatory pat to the body and left him to celebrate with his team.
The advertised 3 Vs 2 Handicap Match turned into a 6-Man Tag Match on short notice. Munenori Sawa wasn’t around so in his place was Lingerie Muto as an active participant in the match! Ganbare Tamagawa thought he was going to get a hero’s welcome for his first Ganpro appearance in years. He even created a new move for the occassion called the Ganbare☆Pro Elbow. Instead he got booed. YuuRI on the other hand got loads of streamers thrown at her, leaving her in tears of joy because she debuted during the pandemic and never experienced an audience response like this. The ring was also filled with ecto dust whenever Onryo did something with Nobuhiro Shimatani. In the end, HARUKAZE was the one to win the match when she pinned YuuRI with the Flame Spear.
After nine months wrestling for Ganpro, Tyson Maeguchi finally gets his first direct win! The opportunity came when Tatsuhito Takaiwa accidentally hit 5th Black Tiger with a Lariat. Kouki Iwasaki then gave Tiger a Vertical Drop Brainbuster and left him for Maeguchi to finish off. Maeguchi did so with a Diving Body Press taught to him by Kota Ibushi. He now believes this is the end of Taison Maeguchi: the weak pro wrestler. From this day forth he is Taison Maeguchi: the strong pro wrestler! Next up he would like to aim for a championship. Takaiwa said this is not the end of him or his Takaiwa Army because he is still looking to understand the Ganbare Spirit.
The show opened with a barnburner between four wrestlers linked together through a time before Ganpro even existed. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie, Isami Kodaka and Shuji Ishikawa smashed each other to pieces until somebody reached their breaking point. That came when Kodaka hit Ishii with the Isamiashi Zan. Even when the match was over tempers were flaring. Kodaka said he is the top wrestler of BASARA and Ishikawa is the top wrestler of All Japan. He thinks Ishii and Ganpro haven’t grown at all in the decade that passed since Union Pro closed down. Ishikawa was in a happier mood and congratulated Kodaka on his 20th anniversary in wrestling. He explained he can’t be at Kodaka’s 20th Anniversary show because he has a booking with AJPW on the same day.
The new Ganbare☆Joshi signing is Yoshiko Hasegawa! The former Actwres girl’Z wrestler left the business at the end of last year after dealing with a neck injury. However after a year and seven months since her last match, she will re-debut for Ganpro on 13th August. She calls it her re-debut because she is starting again from scratch. Part of the reason is because Ganpro does mixed gender matches and she wants to take part in them to get stronger. She is also currently still getting treatment on her neck but assures everyone she will be ready to wrestle again on 13th August.
DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 FINAL!!”, 03/07/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 703 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani defeated Toru Owashi, Soma Takao & Toi Kojima when Okatani pinned Kojima with the Double Arm Suplex (7:55).
0. Dark Match: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida when KANON pinned Ishida with the Sleepy Hollow (6:51).
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Akito, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata by TKO when Iino used the Pheromone Judgement on Akito (7:16).
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yuki Ueno with the Osaka Pride (10:46).
3. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Jun Akiyama with the Brain Claw Slam (14:28).
4. Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Masahiro Takanashi & HARASHIMA when Okada pinned Takanashi with the Sudden Death (10:09).
5. Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Andrew “The Giant” Everett defeated MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Everett pinned Katsumata with the Choke Slam Spanish Fly (14:59).
6. KO-D Openweight Title – King Of DDT 2022 – Final: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Naomi Yoshimura with the Brain Claw Slam (18:55). *Kazusada Higuchi becomes the 79th KO-D Openweight Champion!
There is a word that has been following around Kazusada Higuchi, particularly recently. “Kuronin” (苦労人). It’s a word that describes a person who works hard because they struggle so much in their life. For Higuchi that struggle was his failure to win the KO-D Openweight Title throughout his 8 year career. Five chances that spread across from his super rookie days in DNA up to his current standing in Eruption all ended in failure. Today he finally reached the top and claimed the belt by winning King Of DDT! The vacant KO-D Title was on the line in the final when Higuchi faced a red hot Naomi Yoshimura. The two heavyweights had an even battle of strength with Yoshimura using a Choke Slam to counter Higuchi’s Brain Claw. Lariats were thrown back and forth. Yoshimura’s key moves the Harai Goshi and Osaka Pride were both blocked so he reverted to his original finisher, the Throwaway Power Bomb. Higuchi grabbed him in the Brain Claw once more and this time hit the Brain Claw Slam, pinning him for the victory.
Higuchi is now the champion and he needed to have his belt. Suddenly, Jun Akiyama entered the ring and volunteered to wrap the title around Higuchi’s waist. It was over a year ago when Akiyama established his authority in DDT by ordering a rebellious Higuchi to wrap the belt around his waist after beating him in a title match. To see Akiyama now present the title to Higuchi shows how much respect has been earned. Sanshiro Takagi then brought out the DDT flag that Higuchi carried to the ring at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. He told Higuchi he is now entrusting the flag to him as a symbol of DDT’s strength for him to lead the company with. Higuchi thanked the other members of Eruption as well as Akiyama for their support. He went through a lot to reach this point and is now putting a lot of thought into who he wants his first challenger to be. He wants to defend the title against Tetsuya Endo! He will wait for him at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 20th August.
Endo himself confirmed his return to the ring by announcing 24th July as his comeback date. He apologised to the fans causing worry with his absence while he recovered from his concussion. He was also sorry for showing a side at Saitama Super Arena that no champion should ever show. He received permission from his doctor to resume his in-ring training again last week and no longer feels any discomfort from moving around. He and DDT agreed to set 24th July as the target for his return. He is half excited, half anxious over it but will push himself hard over the next 3 weeks to regain any trust he lost from the fans. In his backstage comments, Endo said he lost to Katsuhiko Nakajima because he could not withstand his slap even if it was an accidental knockout. Everything that happens in the ring is reality and Endo accepts that reality. He will move on with his wrestling life on 24th July.
DDT’s latest foreign attraction has arrived but has the company been sold a bill of goods? Andrew “The Giant” Everett built hype to his DDT debut by claiming to be 223cm tall while weighing 190.5kg. When he finally showed up, people became skeptical because he looked to be around 175cm tall. Not even Chris Brookes kneeling down next to him could make “The Giant” look any taller. Everett also struggled to give MAO a Choke Slam. However as the match started speeding up, Everett’s aerial skills begun to be highlighted. A Shooting Star Press to MAO out of the ring wowed everyone. He then placed Shunma Katsumata up on the top rope and delivered the Choke Slam Spanish Fly to get the win. MAO is now a believer. He thinks Everett will become a tourist attraction in Japan once he stabs a spike onto his head and turns him into a second Sky Tree. Backstage, Everett mocked ShunMao for being small opponents and said he wants to fight the biggest guy in DDT… Yoshihiko?!?
The tricky wrestling style of Masahiro Takanashi has its benefits but the weakness is what happens once his opponents finally catch up to him. That was what happened today. Some wacky redirections from Takanashi caused Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku to bundle up together so HARASHIMA could hit a Swan Dive Body Press to the both of them. However Okada got his breath back and avoided the Takatonic. Instead he got to do the Intercept DDT and Diving Headbutt on Takanashi. Some cradle attempts were used from Takanashi but it couldn’t stop Okada’s momentum. In the end Okada got Takanashi’s shoulders on the mat for three with the Sudden Death. After the match Okada challenged him for the DDT Universal Title. He had to miss “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” and King Of DDT. He also couldn’t do anything but watch the rest of BURNING to their thing during that period. It’s driving him crazy so he wants the title match. Takanashi accepted the challenge and the match will take place on 24th July. Takanashi also said he is the one about to travel the world so the Universal Title rightfully belongs to himself.
Higuchi and Yoshimura bought went through important opponents in their King Of DDT semi-final bouts. As mentioned already, Higuchi’s history with Akiyama is one with plenty of disrespect and trust issues. Even putting that aside you are always in a fight for your life against Akiyama. Higuchi was almost counted out when he was given an Exploder Suplex on the floor. He was also almost pinned with exposed Knee Strikes from Akiyama. Higuchi almost got his big win earlier in the match with an Avalanche Brain Claw Slam but he took too long to go for the pin. Akiyama also tried a rate top rope attack but his Flying Knee Strike was countered in mid-air with a Lariat. Higuchi got to apply the Brain Claw again and turned it into the Brain Claw Slam to advance to the final.
Yoshimura continues to be unbeaten against Yuki Ueno in singles matches but don’t let that fool you into thinking it was an easy match. Some well timed Dropkicks kept giving Ueno an advantage but he could just not get his big moves to count when it mattered. Yoshimura blocked the BME and avoided the WR. Ueno however couldn’t stop the Throwaway Power Bomb and was done for when he was given the Osaka Pride. Ueno is obviously disappointed he lost but the experience made him excited to spread the word of how fun and strong DDT is.
Akito’s desire to regain the DDT Extreme Title is taking him through Pheromones hell. Before their match today began, Danshoku Dieno warned that he was lifting a banned torture technique that was handed down from generation to generation since the Edo Period. This was Pheromones way of judging Akito for the Extreme Title shot on 16th July. The torture move was eventually shown to be Akito getting his head sandwiched between Yuki Iino’s backside and Dieno’s crotch. Any rescue attempt from Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata was cut off by Yumehito Imanari. Akito was stuck in the hold for such a long time that the match was eventually stopped for his safety and Pheromones were declared the winners. After the match Dieno said Akito was not going to fight Iino on his own for the Extreme Title. The match will be a 3 Vs 1 Handicap match where Akito has to fight all of Pheromones by himself! Dieno reminded everyone the rule of the Extreme Title is the champion gets to pick the stipulation so Akito has to accept it.
A new referee named Yusho Nakata (son of the late NOAH executive and ring announcer Ryu Nakata) debuted on this show by working the opener and the dark match. That meant the poor guy had to deal with DAMNATION T.A. He tried to show control by warning Daisuke Sasaki over illegal usage of the ropes. But when Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya looked to be on the road to victory Nakata was pulled down and held back by MJ Paul. That gave KANON the chance to regroup and give Yuki Ishida a Modified Brainbuster that is now called the Sleepy Hollow for the win.
The dark match saw the other three members of Eruption beat the trio of Toru Owashi, Soma Takao & Toi Kojima. There was an exchange between Saki Akai and Takao where Akai tried applying a Triangle Choke only to get slammed out of it. Kojima almost pinned Hideki Okatani with the Full Nelson Buster but Yukio Sakaguchi broke the count. Eruption took control with Sakaguchi & Akai giving Kojima a Sandwich PK. Kojima had enough strength to kick out of Okatani’s Northern Lights Suplex but the follow up Double Arm Suplex couldn’t be beaten.
Konosuke Takeshita is temporarily returning to Japan in August. He sent a video announcing he will be part of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” on the 20th.
Also revealed for the show was news of Shinichiro Kawamatsu’s debut match. He will team with Sanshiro Takagi & Soma Takao in a 6-Man Tag Match. Their opponents are Makoto Oishi, Akito and another pro wrestling politician Osamu Nishimura! Takagi wants to answer the question of who will win a fight between Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and the Bunkyo City Council! Kawamatsu thought he wouldn’t be bringing politics into the ring for his match but he looks forward for the chance to wrestle Councilor Nishimura.
At the beginning of the show several wrestlers promoted a bunch of upcoming events. Katsumata promoted the upcoming Super Hardcore Girls Vs Prominence event taking place on 14th July.
Akiyama will be holding his 30th Anniversary show on 18th September. Two special guests were announced for it today. They are Yuji Nagata and Yoshinobu Kanemaru from New Japan! Akiyama has a deep history with both wrestlers so it was important for them to be involved in the show.
Ken Ohka was at the show promoting Ganbare☆Pro’s biggest show in their history “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA” at Ota Ward Gym on 10th July. He was joined by Yuki Aino & Raku who both promoted Tokyo Joshi Pro’s event in the same venue, “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22” on the 9th.
Last but not least, Atsushi Onita returns to DDT on 4th September for a Current Blast Death Match in Nagoya.
DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 2ND ROUND”, 19/06/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 430 Fans
0. Dark Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Dieno pinned Hirata with a Cradle (7:27).
1. DAMNATION T.A Vs Eruption!: MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani ended in a Double Countout (11:01).
2. THE KICKBOXING MATCH 2022: Hikaru Machida & Gota Ihashi defeated Shinya Aoki & Toi Kojima when Ihashi pinned Kojima with the Moonsault Press (R3 1:42).
3. MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida when Katsumata pinned Ishida after the Oretachi no MADMAX (13:33).
4. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Brain Claw Slam (4:41).
5. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Jun Akiyama defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino with the Sexy Paradise Lock (11:34).
6. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Yuki Ueno defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the WR (12:49).
7. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 2: Naomi Yoshimura defeated HARASHIMA with the Osaka Pride (19:24).
The King Of DDT moved over to Korakuen Hall for the 2nd Round. The top four matches of the show were all Quarter Final bouts. Naomi Yoshimura grabbed everyone’s attention by defeating his current tag partner and “big brother” figure HARASHIMA in the main event. It was an impressive result because everything about the match looked like HARASHIMA was going to take it. He hit the Somato but Yoshimura was too close to the ropes so he could easily reach for the rope break despite taking the full blow. HARASHIMA went for the Swan Dive Somato to finish the job but Yoshimura sprang up to his feet and caught him in mid air with the Harai Goshi! He followed up with the Throwaway Power Bomb but HARASHIMA was still fighting. HARASHIMA went for one more Somato but Yoshimura caught him again and swung him into the Osaka Pride. That was the end of it and Yoshimura pinned him for the three count!
Yuki Ueno had his own difficult mountain to climb over. Daisuke Sasaki has been a big thorn in his side based on their previous matches together. Just like in “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021” last August, Sasaki busted Ueno open and focused on making him bleed further. Ueno’s 1st Round opponent KANON also pulled the ref out of the ring when Ueno had Sasaki pinned with the Frog Splash. However he avoided La Mistica and kicked out of the flash Hurricanrana, holding onto Sasaki’s arm the whole time so he could suddenly pull him into the WR. It ended up being a big win for Ueno, one that puts his failure to beat Sasaki last year to rest.
The dreaded hose Yuki Iino used in the opening round made its return this time attached to a portable vacuum cleaner. He tried using it on Jun Akiyama but Makoto Oishi tried stopping him. Oishi got the hose shoved into his mouth while the other end was stuck up Iino’s backside for his troubles. Akiyama grabbed the vacuum afterwards, stuck it up to Iino’s lips and switched it on to suck the life out of his opponent. Iino somehow kicked out after taking a Knee Smash and the Exploder Suplex. Akiyama then thought outside the box and placed Iino in the Paradise Lock, giving one side of Korakuen a full display of Iino’s butt in all of its glory. Akiyama then shoved both ends of the hose into Iino’s mouth and butt until Iino gave up to the Paradise Lock.
There was even more trickery in the first Quarter Final match of the show. Kazusada Higuchi waited for his opponent Masahiro Takanashi only to see Baliyan Akki and Antonio Honda walk out both disguised as him. The real Takanashi entered the ring from the other side to ambush Higuchi. The plan didn’t offer Takanashi much because Higuchi soon picked him up into the Canadian Backbreaker. That was when Plan B happened and the bell suddenly rang. DJ Nira was at the timekeeper’s desk and rang the bell early to distract Higuchi. Takanashi tried to take advantage and set up the Takatonic. However Higuchi blocked the move, grabbed Takanashi and delivered the Brain Claw Slam for the win.
At the end of the show the four remaining wrestlers in King Of DDT took part in the lottery to pair up for the next round. Whoever chose the same colour balls will face each other in the semi final. The result is Ueno Vs Yoshimura and Higuchi and Akiyama. Yoshimura later said he would have preferred to face Ueno in the final so he cannot lose to him now. Ueno has never beaten Yoshimura one on one so this is the next step for him to become the strongest wrestler in DDT. Akiyama is happy to talk about anything other than the match he had today. He thinks Higuchi has never stopped thinking about him so it is time they settle their problems in the ring. Higuchi said he needs to beat Akiyama if he is to become the new KO-D Openweight Champion.
It was slightly unusual to see wrestlers from BURNING and The 37KAMIINA teaming together. Shunma Katsumata thought all four of them were on the same page so he rushed ahead to attack Yuji Hino. He was the only one though and he simply bounced off Hino’s big chest. Luckily for him MAO was there to help him fight off Yukio Naya. MAO also gave Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku and extra hand to Suplex Hino. Chris Brookes set the match up for Yuki Ishida to take control but the rookie was overwhelmed with NeppoWER!! MAO & Katsumata gave him with a version of the MADMAX to end the match.
The biggest combat sporting event to happen in Japan for years was taking place a few minutes away from Korakuen Hall while DDT was running this show. As the Tokyo Dome was hosting THE MATCH in front of over 56,000 people, DDT tried to capitalize on this with their own mega fighting bout called THE KICKBOXING MATCH to an audience of 430. The match itself was a tag team bout held under kickboxing rules. Shinya Aoki wished he was at the Tokyo Dome instead, until he got to see the round girl Sanae Takebayashi do her job. He changed his tone pretty quickly after that. Toi Kojima took the match more seriously and looked to be the better fighter against Gota Ihashi. Aoki met his match against Hikaru Machida and the two fought out of the ring over to the special ring announcer Miyata Mitsuru. Both of them decided to attack him instead before going back to the ring to continue the match. In the 3rd Round, Machida used the Irai Punch on Kojima to knock him out. But rather than end the match there, Machida got Ihashi to do a Moonsault and pick up the win that way. Afterwards it was announced that Ihashi’s prize for winning is qualification to fight at an upcoming KNOCK OUT event produced by Mitsuru. He was against the idea at first but was convinced into accepting the invitation. Unfortunately Ihashi later found out Mitsuru couldn’t find a suitable opponent matching his size so the plan may be scrapped for now.
The opening match between Eruption and DAMNATION T.A went out of control when the four wrestlers involved wouldn’t stop fighting each other. Yukio Sakaguchi and MJ Paul squared off with each other while Hideki Okatani and KANON provoked each other into a fight. All of them continued fighting outside the ring until they were counted out.
In the dark match Yumehito Imanari kept Toru Owashi off his game by purposefully filming him while they wrestled. Danshoku Dieno also put Kazuki Hirata into a disadvantage by taking the Hirata GO! glasses and stuffing them into his tights. That later backfired when Dieno put Hirata in position for the Danshoku Driver. When Hirata’s head was pulled into Dieno’s tights, his music began playing. Hirata then pulled his head out revealing he landed perfectly into the GO! Glasses and is now wearing them! However Imanari gave Hirata a DDT into Dieno’s backside and Dieno then sat on top of him for the pin.
Shinichiro Kawamatsu, the active member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly who recently held the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title appeared halfway through the show to give an important announcement. He is going to do make his official pro wrestling debut at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” on 20th August! He wanted to show his gratitude to DDT for winning the Iron Man Title and Sanshiro Takagi made the suggestion for him to wrestle an actual match. Kawamatsu agreed to it, feeling regret for relying on his bodyguard and doing nothing but submit during his last appearance. He owes it to all pro wrestling fans to give it a proper shot and is finding time to train inbetween his political duties. He would like Hirata to be his opponent because he lost the Iron Man Title to him by submission. He thinks Hirata owes him a debt that should be repaid.
The international wrestler teased for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2022” is Joey Janela! He will make his DDT debut one week earlier on 14th August but his first match announced is at the Ota Ward Gymnasium show. “The Bad Boy” will take on Shunma Katsumata in a Hardcore Match! Katsumata began calling himself “The Happy Boy” in response to this news.
The Beer Garden show is back for 2022 at a new venue. This year’s edition will be held outdoors at the Ueno Park Amphitheater. For the moment the show is being marketed as a “Non-Alcoholic” show but that may change if the pandemic laws change closer to the show.
The 37KAMIINA announced they will be guests on the TV chat show “The World Unknown To Matsuko” airing on 21st June.
DDT “DDT FREE -JUNE- KING OF DDT 2022 1ST ROUND”, 16/06/2022 Shinjuku FACE 444 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
-. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Tetsuya Endo by Forfeit.
0. Dark Match: Masahiro Takanashi & Toi Kojima Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: HARASHIMA defeated Hideki Okatani with the Somato (9:06).
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: Naomi Yoshimura defeated Chris Brookes with the Harai Goshi (7:24).
3. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: Yuki Ueno defeated KANON with the BME (15:09).
4. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuji Hino with a School Boy (8:45).
5. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: Yuki “Sexy” Iino defeated MAO with the Asu-shisha (14:59).
6. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: Jun Akiyama defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (10:46).
7. King Of DDT 2022 – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya with the Brain Claw Slam (18:45).
A new chapter for DDT begins with the King Of DDT opening round going ahead. The newly vacated KO-D Openweight Title goes to the winner so everybody entering the tournament had even more motivation to go out and win. Yukio Naya showed such spirit in the main event. Even though he lost to Kazusada Higuchi, he gave him a fight tougher than anybody expected. Higuchi hit the Doctor Bomb but Naya kicked out at two. It took the Brain Claw Slam of big proportions for Higuchi to win in the end. Higuchi praised his opponent for his strong showing today and promised to carry his spirit along with Tetsuya Endo’s to the final. Higuchi told the fans he will stand at the top of DDT with the KO-D Title and wait for Endo! His 2nd Round opponent Masahiro Takanashi was also amazed with the match.
It was a battle of the Knee Strikes between Jun Akiyama and Yukio Sakaguchi. Both wrestlers inherited their own versions of the move from influential people, Akiyama from Jumbo Tsuruta and Sakaguchi from his father Seiji Sakaguchi. Akiyama took it one step further by pulling down his knee pad so he could fire off some unprotected strikes to his opponent. Sakaguchi kept fighting and kicked out of the Exploder Suplex. But when the Wrist-Clutch Exploder that was it for him. Sakaguchi admitted it was the first time in a long time he felt fear inside the ring.
MAO went overboard with protection for his match against Yuki Iino. He entered the ring wearing a full on hazard suit. He needed it because Iino armed himself with a hose and successfully stuck one end of it into MAO’s mouth while holding him in a Figure Four position. He then stuck the other end into his own back side, causing MAO to give up the match. Iino faces Akiyama in the next round and Akiyama is not happy about it at all.
Things went 50-50 for DAMNATION T.A in the 1st Round. Daisuke Sasaki used a Low Blow to defeat the much larger Yuji Hino but KANON lost clean to Yuki Ueno. Sasaki said he is the one Ueno fears the most. He is probably crying in the locker room thinking about him! Ueno could tell in the ring that KANON is learning from Sasaki. He wants to go beyond KANON, Sasaki and even more so he can become champion.
DISASTER BOX on the other hand had a good first day and are on a collision course with each other. Naomi Yoshimura put away Chris Brookes after some ringside brawling and cheap attempts from Brookes to win. Brookes tied the laces of Yoshimura’s boot to a railing hoping to get him counted out. Yoshimura got a crew member to cut the laces and he proceeded to wrestle the rest of the match in one boot. Takanashi then tried to interfere so Brookes could attack Yoshimura with the DDT Universal Title. Instead Yoshimura blocked Brookes and slammed him with the Harai Goshi to earn the victory.
HARASHIMA didn’t have to worry about any cheating of that kind in his match. Instead he took on Hideki Okatani who was amped up to try and take him down. It was a good effort but the inevitable happened and HARASHIMA won with the Somato. Now HARASHIMA and Yoshimura face each other in Round 2. HARASHIMA wants to know how much stronger Yoshimura has become since their D-Ou Grand Prix 2020 match (that took place at the end of 2019). Yoshimura expects his tag partner to be merciless against him because he is the symbol of DDT.
At the start of the show Makoto Oishi announced he is ready to return to wrestling on the 24th July Korakuen Hall show! He had been out of action for a year with a fractured lumbar vertebrae. Oishi felt jealous of seeing the DDT wrestlers fighting on the big stage at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022” and wants to carry the company on his back as much as anyone else.