“NEW YEAR’S WRESTLING 2021 ~TOSHIKOSHI! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 655 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka Vs Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rule: Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka when Fujita pinned Ito with the Modified Samson Clutch (0:52).
2. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa when Hashimoto submitted Aoki with the STF (9:06).
3. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Sekifuda & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) when Takeshita pinned Kei with a Cradle (5:17).
4. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie defeated Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Jun Kasai when MAO pinned Akito with the Cannonball 450 (8:50).
5. MUSASHI, Daisuke Kanehira, Takafumi & Tatsuya Hanami defeated Takuho Kato, Kosuke Sato, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida when MUSASHI submitted Ishida with the Modified Sasorikatame (13:40).
6. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & Minoru Fujita when Mashimo pinned Fujita with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (11:41).
7. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen Vs MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
7a. Overtime – 1 Count Fall Rule: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen defeated MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie when Kamen pinned MAO with a Crushed La Magistral Cradle (0:44).
8. 3 Way Tag Match: Stan Kobayashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Jaki Numazawa & Antonio Honda Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kankuro Hoshino when Kobayashi pinned Hona with the Bakachinga Anal Elbow (14:21).
9. Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen when HARASHIMA pinned Kamen with the Somato (16:19).
The annual New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament switched over to a trios format for the end of 2021. Each team consisted of a DDT wrestler, a Big Japan wrestler and a “Dream Slot” wrestler from another company or batch of freelancers.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1
I’ll Do It!! Vs Three Brothers Kawaii
Fans didn’t have to wait long for the reveal of Chris Brookes & Takuya Nomura’s mystery partner. It was Minoru Fujita! Their combined cuteness went to a 10 minute stalemate against the rugged trio of Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka. In the final seconds Fujita hit Ito with the SAYONARA but time ran out before the pin. Sudden death overtime meant One Count Fall rules to win. Koshinaka misfired the Hip Attack and hit Ito by accident, allowing Fujita to get the 1 Count to win.
Ikemen’s Vs LEFTOVERS
Next up the team of Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa all walked out dressed and posing like Masahiro Chono. They continued the Chono tribute by locking in a Triple STF to HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo. They got a taste of their own medicine at the end when Hashimoto locked Aoki into his own version of the STF to win. He then encouraged his own team to do Chono’s pose.
Deadlifters Vs I Dream Of Twins, Lizards And Naomi
Things got weirder because next up was The Brahman Brothers entering the ring with Naomi Yoshimura & Kota Sekifuda behind them carrying stuffed toy lizards. Konosuke Takeshita and Yuji Okabayashi brought out chairs looking ready for a fight until they had powder thrown in their faces. Kuishinbo Kamen tried to help but couldn’t do much. Takeshita was given a Low Blow but found a way in his doubled over state to block a Sunset Flip and press down to get the three count.
Ugo Association Vs Team Saiyuki
Before this match began Shigehiro Irie and MAO shook hands to show that their problems are in the past and they can work together. Jun Kasai announced he created a new move and it is punching MAO a lot. MAO took a beating from Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Kasai but toughed it out so Yasufumi Nakanoue & Irie could come for the rescue. Akito then got singled out and fell to the trademark moves of his opponents.
Non-Tournament 8-Man Tag Match
The buffer match after Round 1 brought together a mixture of wrestlers from across the indies. DDT & Big Japan were represented by their young generation of Takuho Kato, Kosuke Sato, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida. Their opponents were MUSASHI from Michinoku Pro, Daisuke Kanehira from HEAT-UP, Takafumi from ZERO1 & Tatsuya Hanami from 2AW. In the end MUSASHI picked up the win by making Ishida submit.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final
Three Brothers Kawaii Vs LEFTOVERS
The semi-finals had a tense start when Hashimoto and HARASHIMA declined to shake the other team’s hands. Fujita and Mashimo had a back and forth that ended with Fujita asking for a handshake only to get attacked. HARAHSIMA and Nomura got into a spirited kick-off and Fujita almost pinned Mashimo with the SAYONARA. The tables were turned when Fujita was hit with a Triple Super Kick and Mashimo pinned him with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster.
Deadlifters Vs Ugo Association
Kamen was targeted as the weak link in this match. While Takeshita & Okabayashi cancelled out Nakanoue & Irie the dying moments of the match fell down to Kamen and MAO. Kamen was caught in the Clothespin submission but held out for the last 30 seconds so the match could end in a draw. When Sudden Death began Kamen was quickly given more big blows but when MAO attempted La Magistral Cradle, Kamen blocked it and stole the win with the 1 Count fall.
3 Way Tag Match
The other non-tournament match brought the show back to weird territory. Danshoku Dieno jumped into the Hell Gate position, Kazuki Hirata started dancing, Kankuro Hoshino vanished to be replaced by Kenshiro Hoshino, then Abdullah Kobayashi disappeared and Stan Kobayashi took his place. To cap it all off, Jaki Numazawa left and returned as RoboCop! Antonio Honda was ready to finish the match but tripped and injured his knee. Kobayashi ended up using Dieno’s backside to charge up his Lariat arm and pin Honda with the Bakachinga Elbow.
Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final
LEFTOVERS Vs Deadlifters
Poor old Kuishinbo Kamen has never won a tournament in his career. His run of luck in these things is so bad that back in Osaka Pro it was a known flaw that he would get eliminated early in their annual tournaments. By making it to the final, today could have finally been his day. Sadly it just wasn’t to be. He brought out some fun antics at the beginning but was there to win with his partners as the match heated up. Okabayashi floored HARASHIMA with a Lariat and Takeshita wiped out Hashimoto & Mashimo with a Topé. But HARASHIMA regained control of the match against Kamen and pinned him with the Somato to win the final.
The tournament winners celebrated and HARASHIMA said he felt good fortunes with his team this year. They were all the last people picked in the lottery draft which is why they called themselves LEFTOVERS in the first place. Hashimoto agreed and thinks it is a sign that the new year will be good to them. He’d like LEFTOVERS to team together for next year’s Shuffle Tag show but doesn’t know if that will happen. Mashimo credited all of the wrestlers involved for making today and exciting tournament and he invited all of them out for a group photo to end the show.
1. Takuya Nomura Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan, 18th October)
2. The Great Sasuke Vs Jinsei Shinzaki (Michinoku Pro, 4th June)
3. Jun Akiyama Vs Konosuke Takeshita (DDT, 21st August)
4. HARASHIMA Vs Yuji Okabayashi (DDT, 21st November)
5. Tetsu Inada Vs Shota Okamura (Hiragana Muscle, 1st September)
Best Unit
1. Pheromones
2. Astronauts
3. Speed Of Sounds
4. The 37KAMIINA
5. E.R.E
Best Box Office
1. Hiragana Muscle @ Korakuen Hall, 1st September
2. DDT @ Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki, 21st August
3. CyberFight Festival @ Saitama Super Arena, 6th June
4. Big Japan @ Sapporo Chateraise Gateaux Kingdom, 20th September
5. Masahiro Takanashi Produce @ Shinjuku FACE, 1st August
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE FINAL ROUND OF 2021 ~I HOPE THERE ARE LOTS OF HAPPY AND FUN THINGS TO DO NEXT YEAR~”, 27/12/2021 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Maki Itoh Vs Arisu Endo
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Nodoka Tenma Vs Mahiro Kiryu
3. Shoko Nakajima & Haruna Neko Vs Marika Kobashi & Suzume
4. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto
The show has already happened as I write this so I’ll be getting to the results ASAP. Just wanted to include the lineup as part of catching up for the sake of it.
DDT “DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY OPENING SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 3000 YEN BOX OFFICE!!”, 03/01/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Toui Kojima
2. Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
3. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Hideki Okatani
4. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuki Ueno
5. HARASHIMA & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Naomi Yoshimura
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Soma Takao, Gota Ihashi & Yuki Ishida
7. Special Mixed Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & Saki Akai Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Maya Yukihi
8. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Pokotan
9. DDT 25th Anniversary Opening Memorial Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Shinya Aoki
Every match on this show will have a 15 minute time limit. Jun Akiyama will also be on commentary instead of wrestling.
One day after defeating Yuji Okabayashi on DDT’s final show of the year, Konosuke Takeshita is looking for new challenges in 2022. When Takeshita returned home after yesterday’s show, he already saw pictures on social media of Okabayashi already in the gym doing leg exercises. That inspired him to start training again too. Nobody came out after the match to challenge Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Title which is why he is going out there to seek opponents. First up is Shinya Aoki for a special singles match celebrating DDT’s 25th Anniversary. It’s been two and a half years since their last singles match together and a lot has changed for both of them since then.
Newly freelanced Maya Yukihi will be appearing in DDT for several dates in January. She is also booked for the 7th January and 22nd January events.
Hideki Okatani has unexpectedly volunteered to join Eruption! He approached Kazusada Higuchi after yesterday’s show with the request. He wants to join because there are wrestlers from his class and below that are joining units while he had nothing after Junretsu disbanded. Both Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai approve of the idea but Higuchi wants to find out if Okatani is ready to join them. They will have a singles match so Higuchi can judge him firsthand.
A decision was made by DDT to turn the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles back into the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. DDT made the decision in reaction to the lifting of restrictions allowing bigger crowds to gather in one place. However the current champions are not allowed to add a 5th member and must defend the titles in a 4 Vs 5 Handicap Match. The DDT Variety Team are the current champions but have not yet been told about the change in rules. If there is any chance the champions have of retaining the belts it is because Sanshiro Takagi has for some reason put together a team of challengers that do not want to work with each other.
GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “CLOCKWORK GAKE NO FUCHI 2022 ~GAKE NO FUCHI VS PROMINENCE~”, 04/01/2021 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes Vs Suzu Suzuki
2. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & SenoSister Mao Inoue Vs Mochi Miyagi & Akane Miura
3. Special Single Match ~ Gake no Fuchi Rules: Miyako Matsumoto Vs Risa Sera
4. Gake no Fuchi Vs Prominence Full Scale Battle! No DQ 8-Man Tag Match: Miyako Matsumoto, Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes & (w/ Ippanjin Munenori Sawa) Vs Risa Sera, Mochi Miyagi, Akane Fujita & Suzu Suzuki (w/ Hiragi Kurumi)
The full Gake no Fuchi Joshi Vs Prominence card has been revealed. Old friends and allies are coming to Miyako Matsumoto’s aid against the brand new deathmatch group. SenoSister Mao Inoue is MAO pretending to be Mao from SenoSister. Matsumoto will be providing her unpredictable match rules against Risa Sera and when all is said and done there will be one last match pitting both sides at their fullest against each other.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2022 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 1”, 09/01/2022 Osaka 176BOX
1. Akito Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuji Hino & Yuya Koroku
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & MAO
4. Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima Vs Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Bodyguard
6. Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yusuke Okada
Two Osaka wrestlers have their first singles match against each other when Takeshita faces Yusuke Okada.
BURNING gets a little bit of assistance from Bodyguard.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2022 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 2”, 10/01/2022 Osaka 176BOX
1. Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
3. HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani
4. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
5. Special Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Bodyguard & Kazuki Hirata
6. Osaka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & Akito
The next day Bodyguard gets to deal with Pheromones for the first time. Good luck with that, buddy!
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2022 ~ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2022 OPENING ROUND~”, 30/01/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Minoru Fujita
The original plan was for Daisuke Sasaki Vs Minoru Fujita to happen in October. Fujita fell ill with covid and spent weeks in the ICU in no condition to wrestle so Sasaki defended the DDT Universal Title against Isami Kodaka instead. After Sasaki beat Masahiro Takanashi yesterday he demanded that Fujita be his next challenger no matter what condition he is in. Fujita accepted, knowing that he is nowhere near his physical best but still confident he can beat Sasaki. Just like Takanashi, he is fighting for the pride of ChocoPro!
DDT “NEVER MIND 2021 IN YOYOGI”, 26/12/2021 Yoyogi National Stadium 2nd Gymnasium 1,134 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya defeated Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani when Naya pinned Okatani with the Back Drop (6:17).
0. Dark Match – DDTeeeen!! Special Single Match: Vent Vert Jack defeated Ilusion with the Tlaloc (9:08).
0. Dark Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Maku Donaruto with the Kentucky Bomb (7:54).
1. Soma Takao & Shota defeated Akito & Yuki Ishida when Shota pinned Ishida with the Frog Splash (8:35).
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) defeated Shinya Aoki, Yumiko Hotta & Super Sasadango Machine when Iino submitted Machine after the Ferrozzo (9:57). *V2 for Pheromones.
3. Special Single Match: Shuji Kondo defeated Kazuki Hirata with the King Kong Lariat (9:40).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match – Yukio Sakaguchi Return Match: Minoru Suzuki, Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai when Suzuki pinned Sakaguchi with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (20:38).
5. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toui Kojima when Endo pinned Kojima with the Shooting Star Press (16:30).
6. DDT Universal Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Crossface Lock (17:48). *V3 for Daisuke Sasaki.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – WRESTLE UNIVERSE Presents: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yuji Hino & Bodyguard when Yoshimura pinned Bodyguard with a Lariat (18:17). *V1 for DISASTER BOX.
8. KO-D Openweight Title – Yanekabe Presents: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Yuji Okabayashi with the Plus Ultra (37:17). *V2 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The final DDT show of 2021 took place in Yoyogi National Stadium 2nd Gymnasium and was the first time DDT held a show in the venue. The main event was a rematch from the D-Ou Grand Prix with Konosuke Takeshita taking on Yuji Okabayashi. The D-Ou match went the distance and ended with a 30 minute draw but this time the KO-D Openweight Title was on the line, extending the time limit to 60 minutes. Kenta Kobashi watched on from the commentary booth as champion and challenger fought for almost 40 minutes this time. Okabayashi used the power of Pissari to resist the Plus Ultra submission hold. Trading German Suplexes led to a double down moment. Lariats and Jumping Knees couldn’t put Okabayashi away so Takeshita went for Plus Ultra again. Okabayashi used his strength to stand up for Takeshita held on and added a Manjigatame style hold to bring his opponent back down to the mat and make him submit.
Kobashi entered the ring to present the KO-D Title to Takeshita. The champion thanked Okabayashi for coming to DDT from Big Japan all by himself and giving the fans many great matches. Takeshita picked him to be his challenger and in return he got the most spirited opponent he had ever seen. He is now his rival and best opponent. They should have another match again and maybe this time Big Japan can host it. He said this was the year when he, The 37KAMIINA and DDT all improved together as a team. 2022 will be when DDT becomes bigger and stronger without forgetting what makes them DDT. Backstage Takeshita said his determination as champion was the deciding factor today. He thinks if the roles were reversed and he was the challenger he wouldn’t have won. Kobashi called this match more intense than the D-Ou draw. He also complimented the Jumping Knee that Takeshita now uses.
Determination to hold onto the championship is also what drove Naomi Yoshimura today. He & HARASHIMA struggled against Yuji Hino & Bodyguard leading up to the show so today they had to give it their all. Yoshimura took all the Lariats and High Kicks his opponents threw at him while HARASHIMA was there to break him out of trouble. A collapse in teamwork from Hino & Bodyguard gave the champions the opportunity to strike. HARASHIMA hit Hino with the Somato and Yoshimura knocked down Bodyguard with a Lariat. Bodyguard kicked out at two but another Lariat kept him down for good. DISASTER BOX scores their first KO-D Tag Team Titles defence. Bodyguard shook Yoshimura’s hand after the match and praised him for putting up a good fight. HARASHIMA also praised him for his hard work. Yoshimura said he was beaten up so badly today he doesn’t think he will ever get beaten up so badly like this ever again. He knows he is getting stronger but respects his opponents enough to know he has not surpassed them yet. Hino said Bodyguard’s wrestling career still has a long way to go even though he is 53. Hino himself said he will continue wrestling until he becomes 150 years old!
Everything was set up for today to be Masahiro Takanashi’s day. He had the backing of ChocoPro’s male wrestlers joining him for his entrance to take on the dastardly Daisuke Sasaki for the DDT Universal Title. He also got a video message of support from Emi Sakura over in America. The back up was there to even the playing field whenever MJ Paul interfered. Sasaki used a ref bump to hit a Low Blow and a chair attack to Takanashi. When Yukinori Matsui recovered, Sasaki used La Mistica to transition into the Crossface Lock but Takanashi reached a rope break. Sasaki then had to hit the Vietnam Driver II before applying an elevated Crossface Lock to finally win.
Sasaki told Takanashi to go back to Ichigaya because he has unfinished business with somebody else from ChocoPro. Minoru Fujita! He doesn’t care if Fujita has recovered from his illness or not, he wants him to be the next challenger. Fujita admitted his physical condition hasn’t been great since he got out of intensive care but he still looks in better health than Sasaki. Fujita went to the neighborhood of hell and came back stronger in spirit. He will take the title from him on 30th January. Backstage Sasaki called himself a genius because he figured out when you get pinned, you have 2.99 seconds of recovery before you kick out so he used that to his advantage. He also ignored complaints of interference because he only has Paul with him while Takanashi had six people in his corner. Fujita said he wishes Takanashi would have won today but it is now up to him to win the Universal Title for ChocoPro.
The 4th generation of BURNING has gone off to a great start with the entire unit beating the remaining members of The 37KAMIINA. Tetsuya Endo came out to new music produced by Osamu Suzuki and wearing new gear including an entrance robe that Jun Akiyama gave to him. Endo even scored the winning pin on Toui Kojima. However he isn’t content with that. The leader of The 37KAMIINA is Takeshita and that is Endo’s ultimate target. If he can’t beat him at the end then there is no point in this new version of BURNING even existing. But that’s in the future, today Endo sees the potential that he, Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku all have together. Akiyama encourages the unit to make a name for themselves not only in DDT but across the wrestling world! MAO was annoyed that Kojima lost but is trying to give him a chance. Yuki Ueno reminded him that The 37KAMIINA will fall apart if they lose their sauna spirit. Shunma Katsumata thanked the fans for supporting them this year.
The return of Yukio Sakaguchi from a herniated disc was added to Minoru Suzuki’s first match in DDT in five years as Eruption battled The Itoh Respect Army. Well, if you ask Suzuki he isn’t part of Maki Itoh’s group as shown when he refused to wear the merchandise Itoh gave him. There is no love lost between Sakaguchi and Suzuki. They kept each other in their sights for the whole match. Itoh kept wanting to do the Cutest Knuckle Punch In The World but Suzuki would pull her aside and keep the fight going. When Suzuki did the punches in the corner, Itoh said her catchphrase which made Suzuki stop and kick both her & Chris Brookes away. He did show support for Itoh later shouting encouragement when she was in the ring with Kazusada Higuchi. Brookes was taken out by Saki Akai and the Quetzalcoatl. The match came down to Sakaguchi and Suzuki again. Suzuki won the strike exchange, applied the Sleeper Hold and pinned Sakaguchi with the Gotch-Style Piledriver. He then gave the other members of Eruption a glare after the match.
Akai admitted to getting goosebumps when Sasaki made his entrance and for some reason it made her want to make Suzuki get even angrier so she could leave a mark on his fighter’s soul. Higuchi was disappointed to lose but also happy to see Sakaguchi come back to the ring. Sakaguchi said the match wasn’t about winning or losing. His three months off with the injury felt hellish to him because he didn’t know if he could return. That he was given a worthy opponent like Suzuki for his return match makes him think he’s not ready to die yet. Eruption aren’t going to forget the look Suzuki gave them after the match. To them it is now a three person race to see who will get Suzuki’s head! Meanwhile Itoh fired Suzuki from The Itoh Respect Army for refusing to wear the unit’s shirt even though she left her Piledriver jacket at home. They can still be friends though.
Shuji Kondo didn’t wait for his match against Kazuki Hirata to begin. He walked out in the middle of Hirata’s entrance while Hirata was going up and down the ramp on a hoverboard. A scared Hirata reversed back towards the ring for the match to start. Hirata tried to stop the match so he could read a letter to Kondo that conveys his feelings but Kondo ripped the letter apart. Toru Owashi came down with Yoshihiko to help Hirata get some offence in and he even countered the Spear into the Miracle One Shot Cradle for a nearfall. But once Kondo hit the King Kong Lariat it was all over. Kondo looked like he was going to praise Hirata after the match but he hit him with another Lariat instead. Kondo explained afterwards that he isn’t made about Hirata’s dancing or anything else he does, it’s just not the wrestling for him. Kondo understands that violence is more frowned upon nowadays but the kind he does is acceptable. He hopes this match will change Hirata but knows it won’t.
Love was in the air for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. Shinya Aoki has fallen in love with Yumiko Hotta and Super Sasadango Machine wanted to help get them together. Fighting Pheromones together was his bright idea. Hotta was confused by the behavior of the champions. Meanwhile Aoki was more concerned with giving her an expensive red belt he bought for her as a Christmas gift than he was with wrestling the match. Pheromones ended up winning by isolating Sasadango. Yuki Iino put him in a European Clutch and Danshoku Dieno sat on top of them, making Sasadango submit when his backside got cramped. Yumehito Imanari filmed the whole thing on his camera. On the bright side, Hotta accepted Aoki’s present and was happy to learn it could fit her. It’s not true love just yet but Hotta would like to form a tag team with Aoki to show her appreciation.
The opening match continues ROMANCE DAWN’s quick success as a tag team. Shota caught Akito with a surprise Topé while Soma Takao took down Yuki Ishida with a Jumping High Kick. Shota followed up with the Frog Splash for the three count. He said it felt huge to win a match in DDT because ROMANCE DAWN has mainly fought together in Ganbare☆Pro. Takao hopes that the wider audience that watched them today understands what ROMANCE DAWN is all about. 2022 will be a big voyage for the team. Akito admits to having some disdain towards this new team because he doesn’t have the kind of teamwork that they have. He thinks he should go look for an ally to work hard with them to form their own tag team. He praised Ishida but he is still just a rookie so the team won’t be with him.
As the pandemic continues spreading across the world, Sanshiro Takagi feels the need to boost the global fast food industry. That is why for his match against Maku Donaruto he was dressed up as Colonel Sanders! The match was fought under Hardcore rules and featured weapons such as plastic cases, barbed wire bats, ladders and chairs. Takagi used a Modified Stretch Bomb that today was called the Kentucky Bomb to win. Takagi thanked Donaruto afterwards and told him it was the end of his run in DDT. After five years in DDT it is time for Donaruto to move on to new pastures. Takagi explained that for DDT’s 25th Anniversary next year they need to make more contributions to society and they can’t do that with Donaruto hanging around. Takagi however would like to continue working with him at events independent from DDT.
The DDTeeeen!! match saw Vent Vert Jack live up to his promise to defeated Ilusion. The Tlaloc Diving Knee Stomp gave the MY WAY wrestler the victory. He thanked DDT for inviting him to wrestling on their big finale for the year and also looks forward to fighting Ilusion again on 5th January. Ilusion swears today’s loss is just a setback and not the end of his story. He sees his future going beyond Jack and he will become a teenage champion next year before he turns 20 years old.
The opening dark match had Antonio Honda get Hideki Okatani to join in with the Gongitsune attack. Yukio Naya hit Okatani back with Big Boots and Running Knee Strikes. He then pinned him with the Back Drop.
The first big talent announcement for “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~” on 20th March was revealed. Andreza Giant Panda is back!
DDT “NEVER MIND 2021 IN YOYOGI”, 26/12/2021 Yoyogi National Stadium 2nd Gymnasium
0. Dark Match: Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya Vs Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani
0. Dark Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Maku Donaruto
0. Dark Match – DDTeeeen!! Special Single Match: Ilusion Vs Vent Vert Jack
1. Soma Takao & Shota Vs Akito & Yuki Ishida
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Shinya Aoki, Yumiko Hotta & Super Sasadango Machine
3. Special Single Match: Shuji Kondo Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toui Kojima
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match – Yukio Sakaguchi Return Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai Vs Minoru Suzuki, Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuji Hino & Bodyguard
7. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Yuji Okabayashi
Earlier today Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh went to visit Minoru Suzuki at his clothing store Piledriver in Harajuku. Their intention was to initiate Suzuki as the newest member of The Itoh Respect Army before their match against Eruption. Despite Suzuki’s intimidating presence, the two introduced themselves to him and explained what was going on. Suzuki told them if they spent 10,000 yen in his shop then he would become friends with them. He gave advice to Itoh, telling her not to compare herself to others. He also said he will target Yukio Sakaguchi because he has known him since junior high. Brookes volunteered to fight Saki Akai because they are both tall and slim wrestlers who have good chemistry together in the ring. That leaves Itoh to deal with Kazusada Higuchi. Brookes told Itoh they both have iron heads so it will be an even fight. Itoh welcomed Suzuki into the Itoh Respect Army after making Brookes pay for their items. However Suzuki denies joining the unit because he is still Suzuki-gun.
GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “CLOCKWORK GAKE NO FUCHI 2022 ~GAKE NO FUCHI VS PROMINENCE~”, 04/01/2021 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes Vs Suzu Suzuki
Two years ago Gake No Fuchi Joshi held an unforgettable Ittenyon show where Brookes and Miyako Matsumoto had a nightmare of a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Matsumoto urgently decided to hold a show on 4th January again but this time it’s to welcome one of the newest joshi units onto the scene. A few weeks ago several wrestlers from Ice Ribbon announced their intentions to go leave the company and become a freelance death match unit called Prominence. One of the key members of this new unit is Suzu Suzuki who was built up by Ice Ribbon to be their young prodigy with a love for death match wrestling. A Hardcore Match against Brookes is exactly what she is looking for after taking her career in a new direction.
The other members of Prominence will also be on the show for other matches. The members are Risa Sera, Mochi Miyagi and Akane Fujita. Gake No Fuchi in the past hasn’t held more than two matches in a single show so I expect it to be a tag match with Matsumoto also involved. As you will see below the Prominence wrestlers have no problem with wrestling each other.
DDT “DDTEEEEN!!”, 05/01/2022 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Raimu Imai & Toui Kojima Vs Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida
2. Daichi Sato Vs Yuki Ueno
3. Hardcore Match: Suzu Suzuki & Hideki Okatani Vs Akane Fujita & Shunma Katsumata
4. Ilusion & Tetsuya Endo Vs Vent Vert Jack & Naomi Yoshimura
5. El Unicorn Vs You-sei☆Estrella
The main event between El Unicorn and You-sei☆Estrella promises to be a high flying battle.
If there is any unsettled business between Ilusion and Vent Vert Jack from Yoyogi then Tetsuya Endo and Naomi Yoshimura will help clear things up between them.
Prominence is also showing up on the next DDTeeeen!! show with Suzuki and Fujita taking part in a Hardcore Match. Suzuki will team with Hideki Okatani who recently took part in his first Hardcore Match thanks to Shunma Katsumata. Only makes sense for Katsumata to drag him into another here.
The other teenage wrestlers Daichi Sato and Raimu Imai are back for more.
GANBARE☆PRO “MOEKA HARUHI PRODUCE ~PARADISE AFTER THE RAIN 2022~”, 08/01/2022 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Rain And Bumblebees: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Thanomusaku Toba Vs Fuminori Abe
2. Rain And Then Downpour: Ken Ohka & Miyako Matsumoto Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE
3. After The Rain, Gokigen: Kaori Yoneyama Vs YuuRI
4. I Like The Rain: Moeka Haruhi, Makoto & Cherry Vs Yuna Manase, Rina Yamashita & Tsubasa Kuragaki
The final match added to Moeka Haruhi’s produce show is a heavy striking 3 Way between Shuichiro Katsumura, Tanomusaku Toba and Fuminori Abe.
GANBARE☆PRO “TROPIC THUNDER 2022”, 10/01/2022 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Hatsuyume Special Tag Match 2nd Round: Yuna Manase & YuuRI Vs SAKI & Hikari Shimizu
2. RENEGADES Are Back! New Year Special Tag Team Match: Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase Vs Yumehito Imanari & Baliyan Akki
3. Ganpro New Year Battle 2022 2nd Round: Shuichiro Katsumura, Taison Maeguchi & Moeka Haruhi Vs Shota, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE
4. New Year Special Single Match 2nd Round: Soma Takao Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
5. Ganpro Vs Takaiwa Army Full Scale Battle 2nd Round: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs 5th Black Tiger & Kenya Maeda
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Tatsuhito Takaiwa (c) Vs Ken Ohka
Now that Mizuki Watase has gotten his feet wet in Ganbare☆Pro he is getting straight to business. He is reviving RENEGADES with Shigehiro Irie! The tag team was originally a unit led by Irie during his 2018 main event run in DDT. However most of the unit was made up of foreign wrestlers so for now RENEGADES is coming back as just a tag team. Watase said he will DM the other members and ask them to come back once the pandemic is over. There is one question I have to ask. Does this mean Watase will wrestle in a suit again?
The Ganbare☆Joshi division is open to work with Color’s and that relationship continues here. Yuna Manase is looking for more joshi to appear on GanJo shows. YuuRI also just learned a harsh lesson being in the ring with SAKI.
DDT “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION 2021”, 18/12/2021 Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall 484 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Soma Takao & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Toui Kojima & Yuya Koroku when Higuchi submitted Koroku with the Torture Canadian Backbreaker (8:57).
2. Special Single Match – DDT Vs Dera Beppin Pro Wrestling: Saki Akai defeated Papillon Akemi with the Quetzalcoatl (8:17).
3. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Masahiro Takanashi & Hideki Okatani when Paul pinned Okatani with the Death Valley Bomb (8:12).
4. Hardcore Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Hyper Misao with the Sauna Trance Splash from the Ladder (15:34).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Susumu Yokosuka, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Akito when Hirata pinned Honda with the Egoist Driver (13:48).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Current Blast Death Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (c) defeated Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi & Kuro-chan when Iino pinned Takagi after a Pheromone Current Blast Bat Swing (9:58). *V1 for Pheromones.
7. HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Jun Akiyama & Yukio Naya defeated Yuji Hino, Bodyguard, Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada when Naya pinned Okada with the Back Drop (15:36).
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ DDT Vs BJW: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Yuji Okabayashi, Yuya Aoki & Kosuke Sato when Ueno pinned Sato with the BME (19:01).
One week before their KO-D Openweight Title match, Konosuke Takeshita and Yuji Okabayashi faced off in their final preview of the big championship fight. Today in Nagoya the match between them spread out to be DDT versus Big Japan. Takeshita had backup from Yuki Ueno & MAO to defend home plate while Okabayashi brought along Yuya Aoki & Kosuke Sato to fly the BJW flag. The times Takeshita and Okabayashi were in the ring together would end in stalemates and double downs. It was up to the other four to break the deadlock. It was the teamwork of The 37KAMIINA that became the deciding factor. The three of them were able to get ring of Okabayashi, MAO wiped out Aoki with a Moonsault and Ueno won the match with the BME to Sato. Takeshita said he hopes his wrestling with Okabayashi is exciting enough to make fans forget about their problems. Both have gotten more powerful since their D-Ou Grand Prix match so he promises the title bout on 26th December will be a great fight.
The KO-D Tag Team Titles match on the 26th also got one final preview here. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura got to face off against Yuji Hino & Bodyguard one final time. New BURNING members Tetsuya Endo and Jun Akiyama found themselves on opposite sides too. But the result came down to Yukio Naya pinning Yusuke Okada with the Back Drop. Although the tag champs were on the winning team today, HARASHIMA was left dissatisfied. He thinks DISASTER BOX didn’t do enough against their upcoming challengers so today feels like a loss to him. Hino would later give the same opinion, thinking he and Bodyguard feel like the real champions coming out of today’s show. Yoshimura said he has a lot of respect for Hino and he is still his favorite wrestler, but he is also a little less scared of him than before. The champs have no choice but to fight back in Yoyogi on the 26th.
The match the show was named after was the Current Blast Death Match with the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on the line. Pheromones used the stipulation to act their most indecent, making lewd poses with the barbed wire weapons before attacking The Kuronita Army with them. They stripped off Kuro-chan’s costume and threw Sanshiro Takagi into him as part of more shameless antics. Not even Atsushi Onita’s comebacks could change the tide when he hit an exploding guitar over Yumehito Imanari’s head. Once Yuki Iino grabbed the Current Blast bat and charged up the power using Danshoku Dieno’s backside, the finish was inevitable. Takagi was hit with the exploding bat and Iino pinned him for the successful defence. Dieno bragged about Pheromones growing stronger when everyone thought the unit wouldn’t make it to the end of the year. He doesn’t care if they didn’t win any awards this year because the look of disgust they get from everybody is the best prize of all. Onita & Kuro-chan blamed Takagi for losing. Onita thinks he became weak ever since he became CyberFight president, too busy caring more about paperwork than wrestling. The Kuronita Army still want to fight for championships but they won’t get any if Takagi is wrestling for them. Takagi accepted blame and offered to manage Onita & Kuro-chan instead of teaming with them from now on. As president he can still grant them title shots if they want one.
The latest chapter in Kazuki Hirata’s slow integration with his Kobe past brought him to team with Susumu Yokosuka today. Hirata begged for Yokosuka to dance with him despite Toru Owashi’s protests. Yokosuka made up his mind, pushed Owashi away and joined in with the dance! Even Owashi had to admit defeat and took part to complete the dancing trio. The boost in enthusiasm helped them beat Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Akito with Hirata pinning Honda decisively. Yokosuka admitted he never thought he would see the day where he would dance with Hirata. Owashi asked him to give Hirata advice for his match against Shuji Kondo on 26th December. Yokosuka told him to do his best and he thinks Kondo won’t want to dance with him.
Shunma Katsumata and Hyper Misao settled their grudge in a violent Hardcore Match. The match featured barbed wire boards with voodoo dolls attached, a castle of chairs, toy blocks, ladders, staplers and skewers. Misao was accidentally unmasked during a back and forth on the ring apron but she continued fighting with her face fully exposed, putting Katsumata through a wooden board at ringside. Back in the ring she then poured a box of thumbtacks over herself and her opponent. Katsumata fought back with a Superplex from the ladder. Misao toughed it out by taking chair shots for as long as she could but the end finally came when Katsumata hit Sauna Trance Splash from the top of the ladder. Katsumata praised Misao for having a very strong heart filled with love. She can protect Tokyo Joshi Pro while he will be the hero of DDT so they can both stand together in the same ring as heroes! Misao said she saw the world of hardcore wrestling for the first time and it is beautiful. She thanks Katsumata for opening up this world to her.
There is no such forgiveness going on between Daisuke Sasaki and Masahiro Takanashi. Their tag match had a sudden start when Takanashi attacked Sasaki. They fought outside where MJ Paul attacked Hideki Okatani with a chair. Sasaki then used a chair to choke Takanashi with. Back in the ring Sasaki gave Takanashi a Low Blow and put him in the Crossface Lock. He held him in place with the hold while Paul pinned Okatani with the Death Valley Bomb. Then during the backstage interviews after the match, Takanashi ran in and attacked Sasaki sparking a big brawl.
Saki Akai was introduced to a new opponent in the form of Papillon Akemi representing Dera Beppin Pro Wrestling. Akemi was prepared and blocked the Quetzalcoatl with a slow rolling cradle that distracted Akai more than make her dizzy. But Akai was able to hit her finisher on the second try and win. Akai revealed that she wanted a match with Akemi ever since her second year in wrestling. It took about six years to finally make it happen. She would like to wrestle in Dera Beppin and become their champion but does the group have any wrestlers other than Akemi? She doesn’t know.
The opening match saw Soma Takao & Kazusada Higuchi put aside any past differences and get along to beat Toui Kojima & Yuya Koroku. The rookies worked together to give Higuchi a Double Brainbuster but they were eventually overwhelmed by the more experienced opponents.
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN FITNESS SHOP NAGOYA PARCO SAKAE”, 17/12/2021 Aichi Fitness Shop Nagoya Parco Sakae Store ??? Fans – Withheld
1. Falls Count Anywhere Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Hideki Okatani when MAO pinned Okatani with the Michinoku Driver II onto the Bench Press Stand (22:28).
DDT was invited to hold a Rojo Pro Wrestling match inside a Nagoya Fitness Shop, one day before “DRAMATIC EXPLOSION 2021”. The match started off normally with Yuki Ueno and Hideki Okatani exchanging holds. But once MAO and Sanshiro Takagi took part things went wacky real quick. Takagi grabbed the arms off the store’s display mannequin to use as weapons. The four then began fighting out of the shop and down the hallway over to nearby stores. MAO threw Takagi down a stairway and then dragged him into an elevator with Okatani. Ueno was left on his own so he talked to the spectators until the elevator returned with MAO being stretched by his opponents. The match returned to the fitness shop straight into the men’s restroom.
After that unintentional bathroom break, the wrestlers all grabbed blank art canvasses and decided to draw pictures of each other. Ueno and Okatani then used the running machines while fighting each other until both slipped off. Takagi grabbed the mannequin arm and charged in for a Lariat. Unfortunately MAO ducked and Okatani got hit instead. Takagi then got trapped under a workout machine. Ueno used the same machine to swing into a Hurricanrana to Okatani. MAO grabbed a kettlebell but Okatani stopped him from dropping it on top of Takagi. The art canvasses were broken over everyone’s heads and this time MAO was able to drop the kettlebell on Takagi. Ueno took out a bench press and MAO slammed Okatani onto it with the Michinoku Driver II for the win.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2021 II THE FINAL”, 05/12/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 650 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku defeated Dark Match: Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Northern Lights Suplex (7:19).
0. Dark Match – Mizuki Watase Send-Off Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Mizuki Watase with the Sudden Death (8:36).
1. Akito, Saki Akai & Toui Kojima defeated Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata when Akito submitted Honda with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (7:00).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Akito (c) with a Cradle (11:48 pm). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,524th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Toru Owashi defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a Crushed Body Slam (11:49). *Toru Owashi becomes the 1,525th champion.
2. 3 Vs 1 Handicap Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Sanshiro Takagi ended in a No Contest (4:12).
3. Special Single Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Hangover!! (7:24).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II Special 10-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo, Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Bodyguard defeated HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, MAO & Yuji Okabayashi when Endo pinned MAO with the Shooting Star Press (17:03).
5. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) defeated Soma Takao with the Foot Pole Crossface Lock (18:48). *V2 for Daisuke Sasaki.
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – Final: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuki Ueno with the Plus Ultra (27:10).
It’s a clean sweep of DDT tournaments for Konosuke Takeshita! In one year he has won King Of DDT, the first Ultimate Tag League and now he is a two time D-Ou Grand Prix champion! If that’s not enough to show his dominance this year, he went through the entire Grand Prix undefeated! His stablemate Yuki Ueno put up a big fight and took to the air while Takeshita focused on using power moves. Ueno soon matched that power and his big chance came when he hit the WR. But Takeshita got a rope break to save him from the three count. He then used a Modified Tiger Suplex to deal big damage and finally locked in the Plus Ultra. Ueno kept himself in the fight until Takeshita pulled him back onto the mat and made him submit.
Takeshita received the trophy from Kenta Kobashi. He then thanked Ueno for chasing him and catching up to his level. They’ve known each other in high school but today was really the beginning of their story. Takeshita knows they can take their matches even further so he will wait for Ueno to chase him again. Now that Takeshita won the Grand Prix, he gets to choose his next challenger for the KO-D Openweight Title. As he said this, Yuji Okabayashi walked out and gave his intent to fight him for the title. Takeshita accepted and threw the challenge to Okabayashi to have the title match at Yoyogi National Stadium on 26th December. They had their 30 minute draw in the tournament but this time since it is a title match they will get a 60 minute time limit.
The apparent longtime grudge between Daisuke Sasaki and Soma Takao came to light the last few weeks over an incident from a decade ago involving dog food. Their DDT Universal Title match had an extra stipulation where the loser would eat dog food. Sasaki attacked his opponent’s leg with a chair hoping to get him counted out. Takao got back to the ring but had to fight off Sasaki, MJ Paul and now leg damage. He was able to hit the Gin And Tonic but took too long to pin Sasaki. Things fell apart when an attempted Avalanche Pedigree ended with Sasaki getting his boot stuck on the top rope but he caught Takao in La Mistica and made him tap with an elevated Crossface Lock.
After the match Sasaki ordered Takao to eat dog food but when Takao went to do it, Sasaki stopped him. He then asked Takao to join DAMNATION T.A so they can be on the same side again. Takao threw the food away and left the ring with Shota by his side, turning down Sasaki’s sudden change of heart. Chris Brookes then entered the ring with Masahiro Takanashi and Baliyan Akki by his side. It looked like he was going to challenge for the Universal Title but instead Brookes wants Takanashi to fight Sasaki for the belt! A surprised Takanashi said if Brookes really wants him to go for the title then he will do it. Sasaki thought he retired and became a guard at some dirty hospital in Ichigaya. He told him he’s not qualified unless he eats the dog food. Takanashi proved him wrong by eating it! Sasaki didn’t expect him to do that so he agreed to the title match on 26th December. He also took the dog food back.
All of the other wrestlers in the D-Ou Grand Prix faced off in an A Block Vs B Block multi-man tag. Jun Akiyama and Kazusada Higuchi paired off against each other. Yuji Hino & Bodyguard in particular found out they make quite a team together. Their double team work on MAO was used to set Tetsuya Endo for the finish and Endo won with the Shooting Star Press. Afterwards Hino suggested to Bodyguard that they should team up more often. Bodyguard agreed and said they should go after a championship. That just so happened to get the attention of HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura. They offered the new team a shot at the KO-D Tag Team Titles on 26th December. Everyone shook hands until Hino & Bodyguard attacked the champions with Lariats. Hino made fun of them for taking the challenge so easily while Bodyguard called them weak. Yoshimura lost to both of them during the tournament so this will be the perfect match to settle his “debt” with both of them. HARASHIMA said he doesn’t like the challengers’ dirty attitudes.
Takanashi had a singles win earlier before he got into the Universal Title challenge later in the show. He was weirded out by Shunma Katsumata’s sauna loving personality but slowly figured out how to beat him. Katsumata was on the offensive for most of the match but a well timed Hangover!! from Takanashi got him the win in the end.
Sanshiro Takagi had an uphill battle ahead of him. He fought against all three members of Pheromones by himself. He got some shots in early by smashing a plastic box over Danshoku Dieno’s head. Yuni Iino then slammed Takagi through a box and Pheromones attempted to strip off his tights. Hisaya Imabayashi stepped in calling for them to stop because it was a live broadcast. Dieno attacked him while Iino continued his offence on Takagi while Yumehito Imanari filmed the whole thing with his own camera.
The match got called off but Pheromones wouldn’t stop. Suddenly Atsushi Onita ran in and attacked Pheromones! They overwhelmed him but Kuro-chan then ran down with a barbed wire baseball bat. He hit both Dieno and Iino in their backsides with it. Kuro-chan called himself the leader of the team and he is going to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from Pheromones! Onita said he was the leader and Kuro-chan shrunk back to his usual scaredy cat self. Onita then called Pheromones perverts. Takagi admits Pheromones have the better team work but he, Onita & Kuro-chan have the experience in explosion matches to beat them in one on 18th December! Dieno on the other hand says the battle is already won and Pheromones will save DDT!
The spotlight was put on Toui Kojima in the opening match. Not for wrestling but for the dance! After Saki Akai hit her Flying Cross Body and Antonio Honda told his Gongitsune joke, it was time for Akito and Kazuki Hirata to fight over the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title over Hirata’s entrance music. Instead Kojima cut them off and demanded to do a dance routine he has practiced since he was in elementary school. He danced while the match continued on without him until Akito submitted Honda with a Figure 4 Leg Lock.
While Akito was stuck in the move after winning, Hirata jumped on top of him and pinned him to win the Iron Man Title. Kojima tried to roll him up and others joined in the attack but Hirata fought them all off. Unfortunately Hirata tried to life Toru Owashi for a Body Slam and Owashi collapsed on top of him. The referee counted that as a pin and Owashi became the new champ.
The pre-show saw Mizuki Watase have his final match in DDT, losing to Yusuke Okada. Watase is now a full time member of Ganbare☆Pro and he had Ken Ohka in his corner. He didn’t need a microphone to give his message after the match. He yelled he is going to see a lot of the world and will grow up in Ganpro. He thanked everyone for his six years in DDT. Backstage Okada said Watase was one of his first opponents when he came to DDT and at the time he thought he was a cocky son of a bitch. Okada likes guys like Watase more than wrestlers who are quiet. He thinks they aren’t finished wrestling each other yet and they will continue to fight whether it’s in Ganpro or DDT.
Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku are getting more confident fighting bigger opponents. Koroku hit Yukio Naya with a Missile Dropkick and Okatani took him down with a Neckbreaker Drop. Yuki Ishida fought back with a Sitout Spinebuster to Okatani but in the end Okatani pinned him with the Northern Lights Suplex.
A big name was teased to appear in Yoyogi on 26th December and DDT announced him today. It’s Minoru Suzuki! He is making his return to DDT for the first time in five years.
Yukio Sakaguchi announced he will return to action on 26th December. He was out of action with a lumbar disc hernia. He put the roster on notice and wants this news to get the attention of all the DDT wrestlers.
The team challenge DDT put together to promote the Yoyogi show has come to an end. Team Shinjuku (Tetsuya Endo, Kazusada Higuchi, Yusuke Okada, Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura) were the winners and they received their prize during the opening announcements.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2021 II IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 21/11/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 566 Fans – No Vacancy
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Akito defeated Toru Owashi (c) with a School Boy (10:56 am). *Akito becomes the 1,523rd champion.
0. Dark Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda, Akito & Yusuke Okada defeated Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura, Kazuki Hirata, Saki Akai & Yuki Ishida when Brookes pinned Hirata with the Praying Mantis Bomb (6:29).
0. Dark Match Shunma Katsumata Produce – My First Hardcore Match: Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima defeated Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when Katsumata pinned Koroku with the Totonoe Splash onto the Acupressure Foot Mat (10:16).
1. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase when Sasaki submitted Watase with the Crossface Lock (10:16).
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yuji Hino, MAO & Yukio Naya ended in a No Contest (8:14).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – A Block: Jun Akiyama (6) defeated Bodyguard (4) with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (10:39).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – B Block: HARASHIMA (1) Vs Yuji Okabayashi (8) ended in a Time Limit Draw (30:00).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – B Block: Konosuke Takeshita (9) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (4) with the Surprise Rose (5:09).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – A Block: Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Tetsuya Endo (6) with the WR (21:21).
The D-Ou Grand Prix final comes down to two classmates from the same stable. All week Tetsuya Endo talked lightly about Yuki Ueno, thinking a victory over him was certain. Instead Ueno had other plans and he blocked the Shooting Star Press with his knees. The Dropkick to the face hit its mark but Endo fired back with one of his own. Ueno also stood firm and hit another Dropkick before putting Endo in the WR for the big win. The A Block finished with four wrestlers all tied in first but the Head To Head results ultimately determined Ueno as the winner advancing to the final! He would agree that this is a great achievement that’s worth praise. Endo on the other hand now feels he has nowhere to go. He isn’t going back to DAMNATION T.A because he doesn’t want anything to do with the guy in charge of that ever again. In 2022 he will go on a journey to become a new Tetsuya Endo!
Over in the B Block there was no tiebreaker needed for first place. Konosuke Takeshita completes the group stage undefeated with a successful blitz on Kazusada Higuchi. The two wasted no time and went throwing big bombs at each other. Takeshita threw out the Zahi knee strike and brought back the Surprise Rose to win in quick fashion. That is a move Takeshita has purposely held back from using because it is dangerous for him to do. But Higuchi is an opponent he felt he needed to use it against. Higuchi called the match a disappointing result but one he will take as a lesson for the future.
So now finally Ueno gets to stand face to face against Takeshita again. He’s seen his friend wrestle ever since they were in high school and that lead to Ueno falling in love with DDT. Ueno has gotten strong over the last five years and he’ll do his best to beat Takeshita in the final on 5th December. Takeshita is happy that Ueno will be his opponent for a Korakuen Hall main event. He encourages Ueno to try and go beyond him because they will have a match that only they can put together.
For Yuji Okabayashi it was a case of so close yet so far. He also went through the entire tournament undefeated but two draws keep him away from reaching the final. The time limit stalemate here gives HARASHIMA a little bit of redemption. All throughout the grand prix he’s been telling people he is in great shape despite a horrible run of defeat after defeat. Being able to fight Okabayashi for 30 minutes without losing is proof he can still go and he is confident he can do better. He wants to keep looking forward, aiming higher and win again. Okabayashi feels HARASHIMA’s love for DDT. It is that persistence that prevented the Big Japan wrestler from getting his rematch with Takeshita. Speaking of that, Okabayashi is now rooting for Takeshita to win the final. If he loses, Okabayashi will come back to kill him!
Jun Akiyama did what he could do to catch up but his win over Bodyguard wasn’t enough to push him over the line. Akiyama blocked the Rising High Kick, hit the Kneelift and then another one with his exposed knee. That only got a one count. Akiyama then threw Bodyguard over with the Exploder but that got a two count. Akiyama had to hit more Running Knee Lifts and then use the Wrist-Clutch Exploder to finally put Bodyguard away. Bodyguard was impressed by Akiyama’s strength and thinks he is moving faster than he was back in All Japan. If DDT wants to invite him back, he will work harder, rebuild his body and compete again.
Oh no, what did Pheromones do this time? Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino used their skills to put Yuji Hino, MAO & Yukio Naya all in compromising positions. When Yumehito Imanari grabbed his camera and began to film them, Hisaya Imabayashi ordered the match to be called off. Imabayashi singled out Imanari to blame this time and called him the root of all evil. The GM knows just who to call to come over and destroy him. It’s Shinya Aoki!
A video played of Aoki nominating Imanari as the next DDT Extreme Title challenger and the stipulation is no seconds are allowed at ringside. The match will go ahead in Shinjuku FACE on 12th December. Imanari noticed that when Aoki says the word indie it sounds like he is saying indecent. The press may misreport that the match will be lewd because of that. So Imanari promised that even without his friends at ringside, the match is going to get lewd!
The grudge between Daisuke Sasaki and Soma Takao got even dirtier when they attacked each other after the opening match. With Mizuki Watase already beaten, MJ Paul grabbed onto Takao and held him down. Sasaki then brought out a bag of dog food and claimed he kept this for over ten years. “I’ll never forget the dog food you made me eat!” he shouted. Sasaki attempted to force feed Takao but he punched back and shoved the food into Sasaki’s mouth. Takao then declared he will win the DDT Universal Title from him on 5th December.
The rookies got to experience Hardcore wrestling for the first time thanks to Shunma Katsumata. He invited Toui Kojima, Hideki Okatani and Yuya Koroku to go wild with weapons such as block toys, barbed wire bats, clothing pins, chairs, ladders, pop crackers and more. Okatani tried to put Kojima through a table with the Double Arm Suplex but the table didn’t break. Okatani smashed him through the table the second time. Katsumata covered Koroku in an Acupressure Foot Mat and pinned him with the Totonoe Splash. The rookies all agreed the match was painful but fun.
After the contest was over, Katsumata apologised for making a mess during the dark match. Then suddenly Hyper Misao entered the ring carrying a sign and attacked him with it. She is angry with him for a bunch of reasons. First, The 37KAMIINA humiliated her at the Tokyo Dome during the Rojo Pro Wrestling match held there. And second, Misao is upset she wasn’t invited to be in the Hardcore Match today. She demanded a Hardcore Match against Katsumata and it will happen on 18th December in Nagoya. Katsumata questioned if it is heroic to attack someone from behind and if Misao really is a hero? Misao said this is the way of a hero and she will end his hardcore life!
The very first match of the day was eventful before it even begun. Akito pinned Toru Owashi during his in-ring introduction to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. Owashi, Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda then chased after Akito while the match went ahead. Yuki Ishida used his power to knock over opponents but Yusuke Okada soon stopped his momentum. Naomi Yoshimura threw everyone around. Saki Akai went wild against Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi. The Iron Man chase returned to the ring and Honda revealed that today is Hirata’s birthday! He sang him a birthday song but Hirata cut him off with a Cradle for a nearfall. CDK grabbed Hirata and used a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb combo to put him away.
The show began with the D-Ou Grand Prix chairman Kenta Kobashi greeting the audience and declaring the opening of the final day. Endo could be heard cheering his announcement from the locker room.
Since today is Hirata’s birthday and there were two special announcements for him. On 26th December in Yoyogi, Maku Donaruto will be on the show. Also on the show Hirata is getting a big singles match against Shuji Kondo! Hirata was surprised by the second announcement and promised to do his best. He doesn’t even know Kondo despite their Kobe connection. He also wants Kondo to go easy on him.
The second DDTeeeen!! show will be held at Itabashi Green Hall on 5th January. Ilusion and El Unicorn both promoted the event at the start of the show.
In 2022 DDT will be hosting a “0 Yen Free Show” once a month for the entire year. The first one will take place in Shinjuku FACE on 7th January.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2021 II IN SHINJUKU”, 10/11/2021 Shinjuku FACE 214 Fans – Super No Vacancy
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Hideki Okatani defeated Akito (c) with a School Boy (7:12 pm). *Hideki Okatani becomes the 1,520th champion.
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – No Tag Rules: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda defeated Akito, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani (c) when Hirata pinned Okatani with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (7:34). *Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,521st champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Toru Owashi defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with a School Boy (7:15 pm). *Toru Owashi becomes the 1,522nd champion.
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul defeated Toui Kojima & Yuki Ishida when Paul pinned Ishida with the Death Valley Bomb (5:50).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – B Block: Konosuke Takeshita (5) defeated MAO (2) with the Plus Ultra (15:07).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – B Block: Yuji Okabayashi (5) defeated Chris Brookes (2) with the Golem Splash (13:16).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – A Block: Yuji Hino (4) defeated Bodyguard (2) with the Fuckin’ BOMB (15:06).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (2) defeated Yuki Ueno (2) with the Throwaway Power Bomb (13:51).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II – A Block: Jun Akiyama (2) defeated Tetsuya Endo (4) with a Cradle (18:28).
It took three matches for Jun Akiyama to finally get a win and score some points. He just had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the undefeated Tetsuya Endo to do it. Endo threw his big moves and almost pinned Akiyama with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb. Seeing the end in sight, Endo then hit the Shooting Star Press but Akiyama caught hold of Endo on the mat and rolled him over for a three count out of nowhere. Even Akiyama was surprised by the result because Endo had more energy. He joked that maybe it’s because Endo is out showing his ass all the time. Endo pointed out he only lost once in this D-Ou Grand Prix and he will win the rest of his matches so keep an eye on him. Akiyama knows he is in survival mode with one win and two losses so far. He has no choice but to win from here on out.
The meeting of former Nautilus partners saw Naomi Yoshimura defeat Yuki Ueno. It was a much needed win for Yoshimura personally because it shows he can still do it. Ueno broke his heart by ending their team then went on to take the glory. But today is a reminder that Yoshimura is still unbeaten against Ueno in singles matches. He faces Akiyama next and finds himself in a similar position. Whoever loses will be out of contention for the final. Ueno noticed that Yoshimura hasn’t been enjoying himself in his matches lately. He wishes he would go out there to have more fun. Ueno also joked that he hates Yoshimura now because Yoshimura beat him today.
The two outsiders collided in Block A when Yuji Hino faced Bodyguard. Hino pulled out an Exploder Suplex to weaken his opponent for a Lariat afterward. The Fuckin’ BOMB then finished Bodyguard off. A surprised Hino cannot figure out where Bodyguard gets his power from because he is an over 50 year old man. Hino would like to grow old like that. But he doesn’t share the enthusiasm for his next opponent Yuki Ueno. Bodyguard calls Hino a monster and he will watch the match back to figure out why he lost to him. He has Tetsuya Endo to worry about next too.
Block B is turning into a two horse race. Yuji Okabayashi put away Chris Brookes to reach 5 points. A chop battle proved Brookes was capable of throwing the same amount of punishment he could take from his stronger opponent. He tried to outsmart him to by applying a Samson Clutch for a flash nearfall. Okabayashi took control though and squashed Brookes with the Golem Splash to win. He was impressed to find power and skill from a wrestler he thought was just thin and tall. He’s ready to fight Kazusada Higuchi head on next. Brookes doesn’t want to give up yet. He is getting motivation from having Masahiro Takanashi and Drew Parker in his corner. His next match is also against Higuchi and will happen before the Okabayashi match.
Konosuke Takeshita is keeping up with Okabayashi neck and neck in first place. He is also at 5 points after beating MAO in an all The 37KAMIINA match-up. MAO applied the Clothespin hold he used to beat Higuchi but Takeshita powered out of it. MAO then went for the Cannonball 450 but Takeshita rolled out of the way. The German Suplex and Zahi couldn’t put MAO down so Takeshita had to submit him with the Plus Ultra. The match was close but Takeshita thinks he is now the strongest he has ever been. His evolution over the past year has been significant so he now has to get ready for HARASHIMA. MAO on the other hand doesn’t think the match was close at all and thinks it was a complete defeat. The gap between him and Takeshita is getting bigger but MAO hopes some day he will win on the big stage.
Nobody has come forward to challenge Daisuke Sasaki for the DDT Universal Title so he decided to nominate his own challenger. He wants Yuki Ishida, the rookie that he and MJ Paul just beat today. Hisaya Imabayashi refused to book the match because Ishida has only been wrestling for a month. Soma Takao then ran out and attacked Sasaki. He said he just wanted to talk but now that Sasaki is looking for a challenger, he will step up. He promised to take everything Sasaki has got and humiliate him too. Sasaki claims he still isn’t interested in Takao but he will wrestle him once before he takes on his real challenger. It might be Ishida or it might not depending on what mood Sasaki will be in. Imabayashi booked the title match for Korakuen Hall on 5th December. The champion coming out of it will then defend the title in Yoyogi on the 26th.
The opening match saw Hideki Okatani betray his own partner Akito by pinning him for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. This was while the match was still going on. He tried to escape but Kazuki Hirata dragged him back to the ring and outwrestled him to win the match and also the belt. Toru Owashi then pinned Hirata with a School Boy to take the title and add it to his growing collection of championships. Hirata tried to School Boy Owashi back but couldn’t make him budge.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 