DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 19/05/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 979 Fans
0. Under Match: Mike Rollins & Ricky Starks defeated Gota Ihashi & Nobuhrio Shimatani when Starks pinned Shimatani with a Spear (6:32).
1. Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Mike Bailey & Saki Akai defeated Antonio Honda, Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Makoto Oishi when Akito submitted Sasadango with the Figure 4 Leg Lock (7:09).
2. King Of DDT 2019 – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kazusada Higuchi with a Lariat (8:41).
3. King Of DDT 2019 – Semi Final: Soma Takao defeated HARASHIMA with the Reverse Gory Special Bomb (12:49).
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Scramble Bunkhouse Hardcore 5 Way Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated MAO, Yuki Ueno, Kota Umeda and Naomi Yoshimura when Takagi pinned Ueno with a Cradle (8:00). *Sanshiro Takagi defends his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
-. KO-Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) defeated Keisuke Ishii with the Shooting Star Press (18:14). *V2 for Tetsuya Endo. Keisuke Ishii cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
5. Road To WRESTLE MATUSYAMANIA! Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Mizuki Watase defeated Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie by Knockout when Sakaguchi knocked out Endo with the God’s Right Knee (1:13).
6. Road To WRESTLE MATUSYAMANIA! Special Handicap Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Kazuki Hirata & Maku Donaruto when Sasaki submitted Hirata with La Mistica Cross Facelock (11:46).
7. King Of DDT 2019 – Final: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Soma Takao with the Fable (21:11).
When it comes to tournaments, the last six months have been a dominant one for Konosuke Takeshita. He now adds the King Of DDT to his 2019 collection along with the D-Ou Grand Prix and New Year’s Shuffle Tag Tournament. In the final Takeshita defeated Soma Takao, ending DAMNATION’s three year iron grip on the competition. He kicked out of the Official Endless Waltz and also the Reverse Gory Special Bomb. The big reversal in fortune came when Takeshita countered a top rope Gin And Tonic into an Avalanche Canadian Destroyer. From there he hit a Lariat, a Zehi Knee Strike and then the Fable to win. With this victory Takeshita now has a KO-D Openweight Title shot at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” on 15th July. He doesn’t know who if he will face Tetsuya Endo or Yukio Sakaguchi for the title but either way there will a break in the new era. He will either have to fight the glamorous high flying of Endo or the killer aura of Sakaguchi. Either one will be an exciting path for him. In the end, Takeshita says he will be the one to choose this new era. The new era of Konosuke Takeshita will begin at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 15th July! For Takao his dream of main eventing Ota Ward is over. That is unless he can win the last remaining Right To Challenge Gauntlet…
The Canadian Destroyer being used as a counter for the Gin And Tonic was something that haunted Takao throughout the show. A big version from Takeshita ended his hopes of winning the final but in the semi-final HARASHIMA also hit the counter on Takao in the middle of the ring. However Takao had HARASHIMA scouted and he countered the Somato into the Official Endless Waltz for a nearfall. When the two got back up Takao did a High Kick and dropped HARASHIMA with the Reverse Gory Special Bomb for the win.
The earlier semi-final left both Takeshita and Kazusada Higuchi drawing blood from each other. Takeshita got a bloody nose from a Headbutt while Higuchi bled from the mouth after some late strikes. The match ended with a Lariat duel. Higuchi hit first but Takeshita hit harder and that gave him the win.
A 2 Vs 1 Handicap Match gave us a preview for next month’s KO-D Tag Team Title match. The outcome does not look so good for the challengers. Daisuke Sasaki had his hands full by dealing with both Kazuki Hirata & Maku Donaruto but Donaruto’s lewd antics took the match in a different direction. For his big spot Donaruto stripped out of his gear and wore nothing but a gold thong underneath. Whatever he tried to do, the plan backfired and Hirata took the brunt of the attack instead of Sasaki. What little hope the team had left vanished when Donaruto missed the McFly Bomb and Sasaki trapped Hirata with La Mistica Cross Facelock to get the submission. Hirata apologised to Donaruto backstage for the poor teamwork but he noticed something when Donaruto spoke back to him. Donaruto’s voice wasn’t as low as it was before. Is he slowly turning back into Hirata’s old roommate from the Kobe dojo? Hirata remembers taking a picture with him pretending to be tag team champions back when they lived together. Maybe they can make that a reality on 2nd June after all.
The fifth match of the show was ready to begin when Keisuke Ishii suddenly came out. He lived up to his promise to cash in his Right To Challenge Guantlet. However to him it made no sense to get his title shot after Tetsuya Endo’s match when Endo would be too tired. That would make the winning the KO-D Title meaningless in his mind. So instead he was cashing in his title match now before the tag bout could begin! Despite the noble intentions, Ishii was unable to beat Endo. The champion kicked out of the Tiger Suplex and dodged the Kneel Kick. Ishii kicked out of the Torture Rack Bomb but was put away with the Shooting Star Press.
Endo got on the microphone to brag about his victory but he completely forgot that Yukio Sakaguchi was still at ringside waiting for their tag match to begin. From out of nowhere Sakaguchi ran in and hit Endo from behind with the God’s Right Knee. The tag match was officially declared to have begun while Sakaguchi had Endo locked in a Sleeper Hold. Mad Paulie tried to save his partner but Sakaguchi got rid of him with the God’s Right Knee. One more God’s Right Knee struck an exhausted Endo and Daisuke Kiso ruled he was unable to continue. I’m not even sure Mizuki Watase did anything of note, the win was all Sakaguchi’s.
Sanshiro Takagi was dared by the younger generation of wrestlers to put his Right To Challenge Gauntlet on the line in a 5 Way Match. Before the match begun it was announced that the match would also be fought under Scramble Bunkhouse Hardcore rules. Everyone begun the match starting at a different part of Korakuen Hall but when the bell rang Takagi was immediately targeted by the other four. For the most part it felt like a Handicap Match. MAO broke plastic cases over Takagi’s head, Kota Umeda put him through a table and the two of them were aided by Naomi Yoshimura and Yuki Ueno for a Tower Of Doom Suplex spot to Takagi. Ueno then turned on the others by smashing a case over Yoshimura and attacking the rest with a chair. Ueno went for the Diving Body Press but Takagi used another plastic case to break Ueno’s fall then rolled him over for the three count. Takagi celebrated by hitting a Diving Press onto one more plastic case next to the stage. He said backstage that all of his opponents are stronger than him but they are also really bad friends so he saw Ueno’s betrayal coming.
Antonio Honda damaged his right hand and was unable to do the Gongitsune effectively. He tried doing it with his left hand but the move was still underpowered. His solution was to summon Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi and Danshoku Dieno to form an Avengers Gongitsune for one big powerful attack! It was so powerful that Saki Akai could not block it. Unfortunately the attack missed its target and Super Sasadango Machine took the blow. Akito then made Sasadango submit to a Figure 4 Leg Lock. Akito says he is physically and mentally ready for the DDT Extreme Title match with Honda. He just has to wait for Honda to choose the match stipulation.
In the pre-show match Ricky Starks got to show off his vocal skills by singing “Livin’ la Vida Loca” while doing the Old School rope walk on Gota Ihashi. Mike Rollins took care of Nobuhrio Shimatani while Starks pinned Ihashi with a Spear.
Some more matches were announced for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019”. DDT’s newest signing Yukio Naya will take on Hideki Suzuki. Naya says he is close with Suzuki so he is glad to get a singles match with him. The other new match is Danshoku Dieno Vs Shinya Aoki!
Chris Brookes will be wrestling in DDT throughout June and July as part of DDT’s relationship with Fight Club: PRO. He was introduced in a video parodying the Time’s Up teasers New Japan have been showing on their events lately. This was done to make fun of Brookes being a popular guess for that reveal. Takagi said he met Brookes in New York and was surprised with what he saw in him. He thinks Brookes can do a better job of making DDT more exciting than the current young wrestlers in the company. If the younger Japanese wrestlers can’t do this job then Takagi has no problem with relying on the young foreigners instead.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SPRING TOUR ’19 ~ READY SET, GO!”, 12/05/2019 Osaka City Minato City Citizen Center
1. Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku Vs YUMI & Makoto Kiryu
2. Mizuki Vs Mirai Maiumi
3. Marika Kobashi & Miu Watanabe Vs Hikari Noa & Raku
4. Misao Vs Nodoka Tenma
5. Yuna Manase & Himawari Unagi Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mina Shirakawa
6. Osaka Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Shoko Nakajima, Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi & Natsumi Maki
The next big event coming up for Tokyo Joshi Pro is the annual Tokyo Princess Cup beginning on the 25th.
Haruna Neko will miss this show because of a lower back injury.
DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 19/05/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Mike Rollins & Ricky Starks Vs Gota Ihashi & Nobuhrio Shimatani
1. King Of DDT 2019 – Semi Final: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kazusada Higuchi
2. King Of DDT 2019 – Semi Final: HARASHIMA Vs Soma Takao
3. Antonio Honda, Toru Owashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Makoto Oishi Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Mike Bailey & Saki Akai
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 5 Way Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs MAO Vs Yuki Ueno Vs Kota Umeda Vs Naomi Yoshimura
5. Road To WRESTLE MATUSYAMANIA! Special Handicap Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Kazuki Hirata & Maku Donaruto
6. Road To WRESTLE MATUSYAMANIA! Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Mizuki Watase
7. King Of DDT 2019 – Final: X Vs X
Four are left in the King Of DDT and there is plenty of history to be found in the semi-final match-ups. Kazusada Higuchi has always treated Konosuke Takeshita as a strong opponent and this time won’t be any different. Takeshita is aware that the occasion may trigger something in Higuchi to change him into something even stronger so his plan is not to trigger it. HARASHIMA and Soma Takao were allies in Smile Squash until Takao betrayed HARASHIMA to join DAMNATION. Takao wants nothing more than to win this tournament and fight for the KO-D Openweight Title in Ota Ward Gymnasium because he was born and raised in Ota.
Even though Kazuki Hirata & Maku Donaruto will be getting a KO-D Tag Team Titles match next month, Hirata is unsure if the combined power of himself and Donaruto can work. He asked for a Handicap Match against Daisuke Sasaki to test the team out and determine if they are good enough to become champions.
1. Favourite Mixed Tag Gauntlet: Saki Akai & Asuka Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kengo Takai & Shoichi Uchida Vs Gota Ihashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Yuni Vs Hiroshi Yamato & X
2. GENERATION BATTLE ~Young Communication Generation Vs DNA Generation~: Keisuke Ishii, Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Kota Umeda, MAO & Mizuki Watase
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match Of Genius People: Toru Owashi, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Billy Ken Kid Vs Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi & X (w/ Danshoku Dieno)
4. Get The New Glory! Special Tag Match: HUB & Isami Kodaka Vs Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura
5. Master Vs Skill ~ Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Wadachi~: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Tsubasa & Jinsei Shinzaki
7. Gongitsune Vs US Freelance Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Kikutaro
8. Super Space Time Wars Kaientai DX Vs Kishiwada Brigade ~ Special Tag Match: Dick Togo & MEN’S Teioh Vs Magnitude Kishiwada & Buffalo
9. Special Tag Match ~Dramatic Dream~: Konosuke Takeshita & HARASHIMA Vs Shigehiro Irie & Kazusada Higuchi
The team names in the gauntlet are Team Beauty And Beauty (Saki Akai & Asuka), Most Technical Combo (Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga), Original Osaka’s (Kengo Takai & Shoichi Uchida), Team Boo And Noise (Gota Ihashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani) and Team President And Small 6 (Sanshiro Takagi & Yuni). Hiroshi Yamato’s team does not have a name or a second wrestler yet.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “SHANGRI-LA 2019”, 02/06/2019 Tokyo BumB Sports Culture Museum Multi Studio
1. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Real GUTS Army 2nd Round: Ken Ohka & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Guts Ishijima & Shota
2. PochaJo Another Story ~Encounter With The Female Version Of Atsushi Onita~: Yumehito Imanari Vs Miss Mongol
3. Inevitability Or Fate’s Mischief? Team Drift And DNA Clash In Ganpro!: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
Guts Ishijima has created a Guts World revival in a bid to unite the independent scene under his influence. Ken Ohka doesn’t trust Ishijima’s ability to do that given his reputation of quitting and failing many of his previous projects.
Moeka Haruhi, HARUKAZE and Shuhei Washida will be on the show.
DDT “WRESTLE MATSUYAMANIA 2019”, 02/06/2019 Ehime World Trade Center
1. There ☆ Is A Dream! Ryutaro Watanabe (DDT Matsuyamania Affiliation) Big Match!: Hideki Suzuki Vs Ryutaro Watanabe
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata & Maku Donaruto
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
Tetsuya Endo ambushed Yukio Sakaguchi at the contract signing to send a message to his challenger. Nobuhiro Shimatani provoked Sakaguchi to distract him while Endo grabbed a chair for the attack. Endo also gave Sakaguchi a Low Blow before signing the contract. To add extra insult to injury, Shimatani said he would sign the contract on Sakaguchi’s behalf. He signed the words “I’m Sorry” into the column meant for Sakaguchi.
The failed DDT trainee is back for another match. Ryutaro Watanabe trained with DDT back in 2012 but injuries prevented him from ever debuting. It wasn’t until DDT came to his hometown in Matsuyama last year when he finally got his debut match. With DDT coming back to the region they want him to wrestle against Hideki Suzuki. They wanted Watanabe to face the toughest opponent available and Suzuki fits that description to a tee. The two have been in the ring together before as part of a recent Hard Hit tag match that happened in March. The time they wrestled each other was short but it was enough for Watanabe to realise how large the wall is he has to climb.
BASARA “BASARA 94 ~BANQUET~”, 23/04/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 254 Fans – No Vacancy
Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Ryuichi Sekine (c) Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT Vs Abdullah Kobayashi, Hideki Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto
BASARA “BASARA 94 ~BANQUET~”, 23/04/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 254 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Takumi Tsukamoto, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano defeated Takato Nakano, Masato Kamino & Jun Masaoka when Hiroshi submitted Nakano with the Scorpion Deathlock (8:53).
2. Aiseki Tag Vs Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial Combination!: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Gouma Ryu & Banana Senga when Hidaka pinned Ryu with the Stray Dog High Kick (12:15).
3. Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizawa defeated Daiki Shimomura & Tsutomu Oosugi when Tanizaki pinned Shimomura with the Implant Bomb (9:15).
4. Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Abdullah Kobayashi, Hideki Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto defeated Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Ryuichi Sekine (c) and FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT when Kobayashi pinned SAGAT after the Osu! (15:45). *Sento Minzoku fails in V1. Kobayashi Gundan becomes the 31st Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
5. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) defeated Best Stretchman V3 with the V Slider (14:42). *V5 for Ryota Nakatsu.
At the start of the show Best Stretchman V3 was accompanied by Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga instead of the other Best Stretchmen. This made V3 fear that his Best Stretch friends had died and he must fight for the Union MAX Title on his own. However they did appear with him when it was time for the main event, all carrying YMZ towels. V3’s hood was pulled down by Ryota Nakatsu during the match, turning him back into Daichi Kazato for a while. But he eventually put a new hood on and became Best Stretchman again. It was all for naught though since Nakatsu kicked out of the Best Stretch Bomber, hit some German Suplexes and pinned the challenger with the V Slider.
Nakatsu said he was happy to have chosen Best Stretchman for this match and he was also happy to get a glimpse of Kazato during it too. With 5 title defences achieved, Nakatsu has now matched the record for most defences with Isami Kodaka. His next challenger turns out to be Ryuichi Sekine. He came out with Sento Minzoku asking for a title shot on 6th May.
The Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles match was chaotic as three teams battled each other over the belts. Sento Minzoku and The Iron Family tired each other out and Kobayashi Gundan took advantage. They were able to isolate SAGAT and beat him down. SAGAT was able to kick out of the Bakachinga Elbow from Abdullah Kobayashi. Pressure continued to be put on him and he was eventually put down with the Osu! That is a double Power Bomb from Hideki Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto. Kobayashi said he is glad his team were able to reclaim their championship in BASARA. This place is so good to them they see it as home.
BASARA will get to host one of the shows during this year’s Beer Garden week in August. Their day is happening on 3rd August. The summer of DOVE x BASARA will also be returning for that show.
DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2019 ~SATSUKI~”, 20/04/2019 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Masahiro Takanashi, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Shunsuke Sayama Vs Kota Umeda, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Ueno
2. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi Vs Hiroshi Yamato, Asuka & Ricky Starks
3. Saki Akai Marunage Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Keisuke Okuda & Yoshiko
4. HARASHIMA & Mike Bailey Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
5. DDT Megaton Class One Match: Mad Paulie Vs Naomi Yoshimura
6. Hama Special 4 Way Match: Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita Vs MAO Vs Mike Rollins
7. Hama Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Makoto Oishi
Some of the participants in the KO-D Tag Team Titles 4 Way Match get involved in a singles version at Yokohama.
DDT “SHIN SYU VERY MUCH! 2019”, 21/04/2019 Nagano Art Center Pavilion
1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Iino
2. Saki Akai & Kota Umeda Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mike Rollins & Ricky Starks
4. HARASHIMA Marunage Match ~ Generation Struggle 5 Vs 5 Elimination Match: HARASHIMA, Sanshiro Takagi, Masahiro Takanashi, Super Sasadango Machine & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda
5. DDT Nagano Sales Manager, Toru Owashi (Free) Local Triumph! Pre-Performance Failure & Job Neglect 15th Anniversary! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko Vs MAO, Mike Bailey & Asuka
6. Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Makoto Oishi
Toru Owashi will be approaching 15 years in DDT soon. May 2005 was his first match in the company after his time in Dragon Gate ended in controversial circumstances.
DDT “SOUKEN HOLDINGS PRESENTS MAX BUMP 2019”, 28/04/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Pokotan (w/ Danshoku Dieno)
2. Keisuke Okuda Farewell Match: Keisuke Okuda, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Kota Umeda, Mizuki Watase & Yuki Iino
3. Saki Akai & Asuka Vs Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. Legendary Wrestler Yoshiaki Yatsu First Match In DDT: Yoshiaki Yatsu, Sanshiro Takagi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Akito, Kazusada Higuchi & Hiroshi Yamato
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 4 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki (c) & Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita & X Vs MAO & Mike Bailey Vs Ricky Starks & Mike Rollins
6. DDT Extreme Title – Panty☆Hunt Tiger Cub Rope Death Match: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Antonio Honda
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Makoto Oishi
There have been Tiger Cub Rope Death Matches in the past but none have ever had panties attached to them! This is what happens when HARASHIMA lets Antonio Honda come up with his match ideas.
With Shunma Katsumata out of action, a decision hasn’t been made over whether or not Konosuke Takeshita will still be in the KO-D Tag Team Titles match. Either he will get a new tag team partner or he will be removed and the match will be reduced to a 3 Way Tag.
DDT “GOLDEN DDT THEATER 2019”, 25/05/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. DDT Extreme Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Akito
What a sneaky little devil Akito is. I thought he used the title shot he won from the Dramatic General Election on the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match back at the start of the year. Turns out it didn’t because #STRONGHEARTS officially challenged ALL OUT for that match, not the other way round. That means Akito still has his shot and he wants to use it for the DDT Extreme Title. He is happy to face either HARASHIMA or Antonio Honda for it.
DDT “WRESTLE MATSUYAMANIA 2019”, 02/06/2019 Ehime World Trade Center
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata & Maku Donaruto
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs X
This is a big show DDT is putting together in Ehime before their major summer event in Ota Ward Gymnasium. Names announced to appear include Tatsumi Fujinami, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Hideki Suzuki, former DDT trainee Ryutaro Watanabe and Rising HAYATO. Also joining the show are Ehime Pro Wrestling talents Bonjin Pulp, Mizuhime Saijo and Cutiely The Ehime.
BASARA “BASARA 92 ~BANQUET~”, 27/03/2019 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 212 Fans
1. Takumi Tsukamoto & Yasu Urano defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Tsukamoto submitted Nakano with a Crab Hold (10:50).
2. Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Akiyori Takizawa defeated Gouma Ryu Vs Banana Senga when Takizawa pinned Ryu and Senga with a Reverse DDT and Choke Slam combo (9:53).
3. Jun Masaoka defeated Daiki Shimomura with the 2trap (9:38).
4. Aiseki Tag Vs Trans-Am ★ Family: Ikuto Hidaka & Fuminori Abe defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Trans-Am ★ Tomato when Hidaka pinned Hiroshi with the Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex (10:40).
5. Sparky Vs Stretchmen!: Ryota Nakatsu & Naoki Tanizaki defeated Best Stretchman V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon when Nakatsu pinned V3 with the V Slider (9:53).
6. Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Ryuichi Sekine defeated FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT (c) when Sekine submitted Kubo with the Let’s Combine (14:48). *The Iron Family fails in V1. Sento Minzoku becomes the 30th Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
What on Earth happened here? A week ago The Iron Family win the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles and today in their first defence they lose the belts to Sento Minzoku! A win looked certain when FUMA stopped Ryuichi Sekine from doing the Let’s Combine on Yusuke Kubo. FUMA hit Sekine with a High Kick to the head, SAGAT did the Crucifixion Of Death and Kubo applied the Death Metal Roll. Luckily for Sekine, Isami Kodaka and Minoru Fujita were there to break the pin. Kubo went for the Goro Suplex several times but Sekine was able to avoid it and catch Kubo in the Let’s Combine for the unexpected submission victory!
FUMA demanded a rematch and encouraged the crowd to agree with him. However his appeal was cut off by a voice saying that they are owed a rematch first. The voice was coming from Abdullah Kobayashi and he was accompanied by Yoshihisa Uto & Hideki Suzuki! The previous champions came here today to get their titles back. Kodaka talked down to Uto by only recognising him as the wrestler he beat in Big Japan yesterday. He saw the mess this situation was becoming and came up with an idea to do a 3 Way Trios title match next month between Sento Minzoku, The Iron Family and the Kobayashi Gundan. The other teams agreed and left, allowing Kodaka to give attention to Sekine for winning the match.
The encounters between Ryota Nakatsu and Best Stretchman V3 in the semi-main event fired up V3. His hood was accidentally removed when he escaped from the V Slider and V3 was left vulnerable to a High Kick as he tried to fix it. V3 ignored his costume malfunction to continue fighting but he was put away with the V Slider. V3 had a bloody nose but he demanded a Union MAX Title shot against Nakatsu for next month. Nakatsu was confused by the challenge because he just beat him but he also sensed a fire burning inside of V3 when they fought so he accepted. V3 then said that BSM stands for something other than Best Stretchman. For this match the B stands for Best, the S stands for Sparky and the M stands for the wrestler that came from Union Pro who will become the next Union Max Champion! Yeah, nobody really understands why he thinks the M stands for that…
A recent online situation involving Manami Toyota and Bea Priestley revealed that Toyota has given permission to only two people for using her Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex: Tsukasa Fujimoto and Ikuto Hidaka. Today Hidaka used the move to win his tag match when Fuminori Abe reminded him he has Toyota’s blessing to do it.
The 2trap is Jun Masaoka’s version of the Tornado Clutch. When he beat Daiki Shimomura he pointed over to Kodaka, implying he wants to fight him next.
Akiyori Takizawa was put in court for a very dangerous crime in Japan, possession of cocaine! The prosecutor Banana Senga wanted to cite Pierre Taki as reference for the case but everyone cut him off because they didn’t want to get into any trouble. The referee was asked to give Takizawa a physical examination and he discovered white powder hidden in Takizawa’s kneepad. The defence lawyer Gouma Ryu identified the powder as just ordinary salt that Takizawa likes to use on his boiled eggs. However more white powder was found so Ryota Nakatsu and Naoki Tanizaki were called in as witnesses. Senga told everyone that the eye blacks seen on the Sparky wrestlers’ faces was actually signs of drug addiction! The topic of ASUKA PROJECT closing down was then brought up which caused Ryu and Senga to join forces and attack Takizawa. He fought both of them off to prove his innocence, pinning the two with a Choke Slam and Reverse DDT combo.
BASARA “BASARA 91 ~ITTORYODAN~”, 21/03/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 706 Fans
1. Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizawa defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Takizawa pinned Nakano with the Tilt 3 (8:12).
2. Yasu Urano defeated Daiki Shimomura with the Tombstone Piledriver (8:10).
3. Steel Can Hardcore Match: Takumi Tsukamoto defeated Jun Masaoka with the Zudon onto a Steel Can (8:36).
4. Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Hardcore Elimination Match: FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT defeated Abdullah Kobayashi, Yoshihisa Uto & Hideki Suzuki (c) (15:12).
4a. SAGAT eliminated Abdullah Kobayashi by Ring Out (3:18).
4b. Hideki Suzuki eliminated FUMA by Ring Out (7:59).
4c. Hideki Suzuki eliminated Yusuke Kubo with a One Handed Backbreaker Hold (10:45).
4d. SAGAT eliminated Yoshihisa Uto with a Super Power Bomb (13:04).
4e. SAGAT eliminated Hideki Suzuki by Ring Out (15:12). *Abdullah Kobayashi, Yoshihisa Uto & Hideki Suzuki fail in V1. The Iron Family becomes the 29th Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
5. Aiseki Tag Vs Sento Minzoku!: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Ryuichi Sekine & Minoru Fujita when Abe submitted Sekine with the Manjigatame (12:14).
6. Yoga Vs Stretch! Final Settlement Match: Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man defeated Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when V3 pinned Hiroshi after the Double Stretch Kick (6:58).
7. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) defeated Isami Kodaka with the V Slider (17:12). *V4 for Ryota Nakatsu.
There is now no doubt that BASARA is in the Ryota Nakatsu era. His win over Isami Kodaka in today’s main event is proof that BASARA is no longer just the Isami Kodaka show. But Kodaka put up a good fight going so far to do a Diving Double Knee Drop from the top rope to the outside! But Nakatsu toughed it out and had Kodaka stunned with a Buzzsaw Kick followed by a German Suplex. From there Nakatsu hit the V Slider and got the three count to stay as the Union MAX Champion. Nakatsu called it a tough battle but also something that shows how fun BASARA is. He got the crowd to chant “Sparky” then said as long as he is on top in BASARA, BASARA will grow in the wrestling world.
In an show of companionship, Trans-Am Hiroshi shaved the top of his head so it would look similar to the Brahman Brothers. He also wrestled in a ZOZO Suit which is a black body suit covered in white dots. Best Stretchman V3 entered the ring with plenty of stretch film wrapped around his body to protect him from the Brahmans’ water attack. Hiroshi used a pair of scissors to cut off the film and the Brahmans then splashed V3 with buckets of water. Everything backfired when Hiroshi was accidentally hit with a traffic sign. Stretchman Man sliced Hiroshi with his hook then V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon hit the Double Stretch Kick for the win. The Brahmans loudly asked the audience after the match why was this picked to be the semi-main event?
There was duelling chants of “Shawn Capture” and “Let’s Combine” when Ikuto Hidaka and Ryuichi Sekine started off their tag match. Later on when Hidaka was busy dealing with Minoru Fujita, Sekine tried to apply the Combine to Fuminori Abe. But he was stopped with the Rabbit Punch and placed in a Manjigatama, giving Abe the submission win for his team.
Motivated by their new Peavey sponsorship, the Iron Family fought tooth and nail to win the Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The team has SAGAT to thank for that. SAGAT smashed a guitar over Abdullah Kobayashi’s head then with the rest of his team’s help got him over the top rope for the first elimination. The champions took over when Hideki Suzuki tipped over a ladder that FUMA was climbing, landing him outside the ring for the elimination. Yusuke Kubo tried to cradle Suzuki for a pinfall but Suzuki kicked out. Suzuki & Yoshihisa Uto then gave Kubo a double team Backbreaker to pin him instead. SAGAT was in danger having to fight on his own. Uto strangled him over the ladder with a chain but SAGAT kept fighting. Kobayashi tried to get back involved so FUMA & Kubo also came back to help SAGAT. Together the Iron Family gave Uto a Shield style triple Power Bomb to eliminate him. The match was now down to Suzuki and SAGAT. Suzuki applied a Sleeper Hold but SAGAT rolled both of them over the top rope and onto the ring apron. SAGAT then bit onto Suzuki’s arm to break the hold, got back into the ring and used the Goregrind to knock Suzuki to the floor to win the match and the championships! The fans chanted “Heavy Metal” until Kobayashi took the microphone. His team lost today but like in any sport there is a home game and an away game. Next time the two teams meet it will be in Big Japan!
Takumi Tsukamoto and Jun Masaoka whaled on each other with chairs and steel cans in their match. Masaoka was in control when he placed a can over Tsukamoto’s head then Thrust Kicked it. He thought he had Tsukamoto placed where he wanted him after a Conchairto. But when Masaoka climbed the turnbuckles, Tsukamoto got up and Superplexed him onto the chairs! Tsukamoto then hit a Lariat as Masaoka tried to get back up. If that wasn’t enough, Tsukamoto then placed a can over Masaoka’s head and threw another can at him! Finally he hit the Zudon onto the cans to end the match in victory. Masaoka said he feels heartbroken over the result but it doesn’t matter. He lost but he wants another match and will continue to do his best. Tsukamoto said he is trying to climb the ranks in BASARA even though it is leaving him with scars. The fact that wrestlers from other groups are coming over looking to fight him makes him happy.
Sento Minzoku had a bad day in general. Kodaka lost in the main event, Sekine & Fujita lost their tag match and Daiki Shimomura was beaten by Yasu Urano. Shimomura left his mark on Urano though. They got into a chop battle and Urano decided to take his shirt off to taunt his opponent. That was until Shimomura’s chops got so painful that Urano had to put his shirt back on. Sadly for Shimomura he missed the Swanton Bomb and Urano pinned him with the Tombstone.
Akiyori Takizawa scored the pin in the opener by using his Tilt 3 (Angle Slam) finisher in BASARA for the first time.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2018 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,242 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino defeated Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda (w/ Jaki Numazawa) when Sekimoto submitted Honda with a Scorpion Lock (6:26).
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata when Okabayashi submitted Hirata with the Argentine Backbreaker (6:57).
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi (w/ Brahman Shu) when Miyamoto submitted Takanashi with a Cross Armbreaker (5:53).
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey defeated Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara when Ueki pinned Kojika with a School Boy (6:44).
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuya Aoki & MAO defeated Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo when Aoki pinned Yoshino with a Modified Backslide Pin (7:37).
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki) when Hashimoto pinned Takagi with the Shining Wizard (1:22).
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao when Higuchi pinned Takao with a Cradle (5:38).
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA defeated Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno when Takeda pinned Ueno with a One Man Conchairto (6:50).
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino when Sakaguchi pinned Iino with the God’s Right Knee (9:50).
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey when Miyamoto submitted Ueki with a Heel Hold (9:21).
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuya Aoki & MAO when Sasaki submitted Aoki with the Cross Facelock (9:14).
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
12a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA defeated Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi when HARASHIMA pinned Higuchi with a Jackknife Pin (0:41).
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki when Okabayashi pinned Hashimoto with the Golem Splash (10:07).
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA ended in a Time Limit Draw (15:00).
14a. Sudden Death – 1 Count Fall: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA when Takeshita pinned HARASHIMA with a Rolling Leg Clutch (1:54).
15. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi when Takeshita pinned Sakaguchi with the Fable (13:10).
The annual New Year’s tradition of a massive inter-promotional tournament in Korakuen Hall is back again. The teams all contained one Big Japan wrestler and one DDT wrestler although a few had an extra wrestler aiding them from ringside one way or another. Let’s get through this marathon.
Round 1
Muscle Wolf Vs Hama Ton Antonio Honda was able to poke Daisuke Sekimoto in the eyes with Gongitsune but Yuki Iino was one step ahead and countered Honda with a nipple pinch when the attack was aimed at him. This is the point where Ryota Hama thinks his team lost the match. From there Sekimoto gave Honda an Atomic Drop and then submitted him with a Scorpion Deathlock. Jaki Numazawa was in Hama & Honda’s corner for the match. He blames himself for the team losing.
Bald & Blonde Vs ☆Team Nomura☆ Takuya Nomura came out dressed like Kazuki Hirata. The two were about to dance for their entrance when Yukio Sakaguchi immediately attacked Hirata. Nomura stood up to his opponents with his kicks but his momentum was purposely stopped by Hirata so he could tag in. Hirata’s knock out chop worked against Yuji Okabayashi although it took a few moments for it to take effect. Nomura & Hirata got to do their dance but unbeknownst to them, Okabayashi & Sakaguchi got up behind them also wearing Hirata Go glasses! The bald and blonde wrestlers beat up their opponents along to the music until Okabayashi submitted Hirata with the Argentine Backbreaker. Nomura said he doesn’t remember anything after he put on the glasses. He also never learned Hirata’s dance and blames that for the loss. On the bright side, Hirata thinks there are infinite possibilities for them together as a team. He hopes they work together again so he can harness that power to beat Sakaguchi!
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Toryumon Refugees
This year Yuko Miyamoto has been promoting himself as the strongest Joshi wrestler in Japan. In the opening round he was going to prove it by transforming himself into Shinobu Kandori! He entered to Kandori’s song “GET IT BACK” and wore an identical costume to hers. Maybe she would have found it funny but she was too busy losing her shit at a Brazilian She Hulk over at the RIZIN show during this time. Masahiro Takanashi and the Brahman Brothers also paid a tribute of their own to their mentor Ultimo Dragon by entering to his music. Brahman Shu was also wearing an Ultimo Dragon mask. The usual Brahmans plunder came out like their suitcase and bowling ball. Konosuke Takeshita threw the briefcase at Takanashi then handled the Brahmans while Miyamoto scrambled with Takanashi. Miyamoto rolled Takanashi into a Cross Armbreaker for the submission victory. He and Takanashi then gave the Brahmans a taste of their own medicine by doing the bowling ball spot on them. Backstage Takanashi & Brahman Kei begged Shu/Dragon for forgiveness. Kei/Dragon demanded they become Toryumon trainees againt and pay the tuition fees along with it.
Japan-US 4 Dimensional Combination Vs Team Let’s Go Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey got along great, screaming “Let’s Go!” at everyone and each other for the entire match. Bailey was also wearing his own Ueki’s style shirt with his name on it. Sammy Guevara gave both of them the middle finger and The Great Kojika did the same later. Kojika got into a strike exchange with Bailey until Ueki snuck in a School Boy to pin him. Kojika enjoyed teaming with Guevara and wants to do it again next year. Guevara asked Kojika how old he was. Kojika said he was 60…
2nd Generation Party Boys Vs Cherry Boys On The Run Tetsuya Endo wasn’t eager to team with Tatsuhiko Yoshino. He had to be encouraged down to the ring by Yoshino and Kota Sekifuda. During the match MAO put Endo in a Crab Hold and Endo couldn’t move. Sekifuda got into the ring and along with the audience taught Endo how to reach the ropes. Endo tried to follow the instructions but MAO dragged him back into the centre and Yoshino had to break up the hold. When Yoshino got tagged in the match became more cheeky when he pulled down the back of Yuya Aoki & MAO’s tights, exposing their backsides. Endo & Yoshino would end up having the back of their tights pulled back too. Aoki put an end to the match by backsliding Yoshino into a pin and bridging over on top of him for the pin. Endo told Yoshino he would be muting him on Twitter because of what happened.
Super Fighting Three Musketeers Vs Black Tri-Stars
This was weird. Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki came out doing a mashup act of The Three Musketeers: Daichi’s father Shinya Hashimoto, Masahiro Chono and Keiji Muto. They were supposed to fight Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi with Hideki Suzuki in their corner but they were nowhere to be found. Instead the Black Tri-Star Gundams appeared! They circled around Korakuen Hall until they finally attacked. Sasaki grabbed their cannon and struck them with it. Hashimoto then channeled Muto and his chronic knee pain to hit the Shining Wizard and win the match. The Black Tri-Stars fled but not before attacking Mita Sayoko at the commentary table along the way.
Team Katagi Vs MudNATION Yasufumi Nakanoue carried a wooden sword to the ring and acted like Kazusada Higuchi’s mentor for the match. Nakanoue tried to strike Soma Takao with the sword but he moved and Higuchi took the blow. Minoru Fujita grabbed the sword and tried to attack Higuchi. Higuchi also moved out of the ring and Takao got hit. That allowed Higuchi to cradle Takao for the three count. Both Fujita & Takao said they couldn’t hear each other during the match and would have needed subtitles to communicate better.
Team A Line Vs Crazy Smile Yuki Ueno got in the death match mood by dressing up like Ryuji Ito and asking for the match to be held under Hardcore rules. On the other side, Masashi Takeda wore one of HARASHIMA’s ring jackets for his entrance and wanted to wrestle a normal match. Chairs were brought into the ring anyway and were used a lot. Ueno didn’t hesitate to hit his DISASTER BOX leader HARASHIMA with a chair but that meant HARASHIMA also would not hold back when the roles were reversed. Takeda wasn’t able to hit the Reverse U-Crash, Ueno countered it into a Cradle for a nearfall. Takeda instead placed a chair on top of Ueno’s face then hit it with another chair to keep Ueno down for the pin count. Ito & Ueno admitted they did not communicate with each other much before the show. They only shared 4 or 5 direct messages with each other. If they team up again they promise to message each other more.
Round 2
Muscle Wolf Vs Bald & Blonde
Big lads collided a bunch to kick off the second round. In the dying seconds of the match Sakaguchi hit Iino with the God’s Right Knee to get the win. Iino thinks he pulled a muscle in his leg after doing the Spear. However he says he learned a lot teaming with Sekimoto and will use it to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles in DDT on 3rd January. Iino and Sekimoto also promised to keep in touch through DMs.
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Team Let’s Go
Ueki came up with the perfect plan to counter Miyamoto’s Shinobu Kandori tribute. He came out dressed as Aja Kong! Bailey also joined in by having his face painted like Kong’s. The Kandori Vs Kong match up was historically accurate until Ueki lost his temper and pulled out his gun. Ueki then crotched himself on the top rope and Miyamoto submitted him with a Heel Hold. Ueki admitted that Miyamoto really is the world’s strongest male Joshi wrestler.
Cherry Boys On The Run Vs Super Fighting Three Musketeers
Hashimoto continued the Muto tribute by putting Aoki in the Figure 4 Leg Lock. Sasaki was put in danger after MAO dove onto him. However Sasaki avoided Aoki’s Tiger Suplex and trapped him in the Cross Facelock. Aoki fought to reach the ropes but Sasaki rolled him back into the centre and made him tap out. MAO felt regretful because their elimination from the tournament means the Cherry Boys’ youth has come to an end and they now have to become adults. Maybe it’s not all bad though. MAO heard that a 23 year old’s sex drive is bigger than an 18 year old’s. So maybe he can still work hard when he reaches the ripe old age of 23…
Team Katagi Vs Crazy Smile
The first time limit draw of the show happened here. This time HARASHIMA got into Takeda’s state of mind by wearing Takeda’s entrance gear to the ring. He held Higuchi in place for Takeda to stick a bundle of bamboo skewers into his head. Higuchi then got revenge by sticking skewers in HARASHIMA’s head. They scrambled for a pin but the 10 minute time limit was reached. The match restarted with One Count Pinfall rules to determine the winners. Higuchi went for the Doctor Bomb but HARASHIMA countered it into a Jackknife for the one count victory. Backstage Higuchi took responsibility for the “scandal” of his team losing. He is blessed to have a “big brother” like Nakanoue looking over him. Nakanoue then told him the team was disbanded and he walked out of the room, leaving Higuchi all alone.
Semi Finals
Bald & Blonde Vs Super Fighting Three Musketeers
The semi final lottery paired Okabayashi & Sakaguchi against Hashimoto & Sasaki. Things kicked off literally with Sakaguchi and Hashimoto laying into each other with kicks. Okabayashi blasted Sasaki with a Lariat then added another Lariat with the God’s Right Knee to combo Hashimoto. Sakaguchi kicked Sasaki away while Okabayashi pinned Hashimoto with the Golem Splash. Sasaki blamed Hashimoto for drawing a Muto Kitty on his shirt instead of the Muto Bear. He then came up with an idea to go drink at Seiji Sakaguchi’s house. Hashimoto tried to follow him but he still had Muto’s knee pain to deal with.
Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man Vs Crazy Smile
Miyamoto ditched the Shinobu Kandori jokes and wrestled as his normal self for the rest of the show. Takeshita also wore custom made Yankee gear to match with his tag partner. Another time limit draw happened this time with 15 minutes not being enough to get a result. Sudden death did not immediately begin because the draw happened minutes before 2018 ended and 2019 would begin. The locker room emptied out for the countdown and everyone celebrate the New Year! Overtime then began and HARASHIMA went for the Somato on Takeshita. Takeshita moved and HARASHIMA crashed into the corner. Miyamoto then hit a Somato to HARASHIMA from behind and Takeshita used a Rolling Leg Clutch to pin HARASHIMA for the one count! Takeda & HARASHIMA both had fun teaming together. Takeda was praised for the big success he is currently achieving. HARASHIMA hopes to reach a similar level in 2019. Takeda also talked about Abdullah Kobayashi who was originally supposed to team with HARASHIMA on this show before suffering a shoulder injury.
Sumo Hall Announcements
The first big news of 2019 is DDT and Big Japan announcing a Sumo Hall double header happening this November. DDT runs Sumo Hall on 3rd November and Big Japan has their show on the 4th. Both Sanshiro Takagi and Eiji Kosaka acted like they didn’t expect the other to make their announcement. Yukinori Matsui went ahead with setting up the ticket sales for both shows anyway. Both companies see the situation as friendly competition. They would like to make hundreds of millions of yen this year but may need something like a donation from Floyd Mayweather to make that happen.
Final
Bald & Blonde Vs Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man
Is this definitely the first pro wrestling match of 2019 around the world? Let’s go with that until somebody says otherwise. With no time limit, a winner must be decided definitively. Takeshita got rid of Okabayashi with a German Suplex followed by a Somato from Miyamoto. Sakaguchi aimed the God’s Right Knee at Takeshita but it was blocked and turned into a Reverse Implant Driver. Takeshita ended the night by hitting the Fable on Sakaguchi to win the tournament! Takeshita thanked Miyamoto for helping him reach the final for the 4th year in a row. Miyamoto promised to get his own custom Takeshita gear to return the favour for Takeshita’s costume. Takeshita ended the show by saying both DDT and Big Japan will do their best not to lose against the larger pro wrestling companies this year. The Sumo Hall double header in November will show that.
Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards
There was a break after the 2nd Round for the Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards ceremony to be held. Masashi Takeda dominated the contest by winning the MVP award and being featured FOUR times in the Best Match category! He hopes to become a triple champion in 2019. Isami Kodaka wants to win Best Bout again in 2019 but this time as the match winner. El Lindaman accepted the Best Unit Award on behalf of #STRONGHEARTS. He said 2019 will be an important year not just for the unit but also OWE. He personally also wants to win another championship so he can be a double champion. Best Newcomer Syuuou Fujiwara couldn’t be at the show but he was able to send in a video message. In the message Fujiwara said he is upset that Mita Sayoko is being physically given the award instead of him. He threatened to come down to Samurai! TV studio to take it back. When Eiji Kosaka accepted the Best Show Award for BJW’s Sumo Hall show, he promised to protect Mita from Fujiwara because she is his favourite Mita.
Best Bout
1. Masashi Takeda Vs Isami Kodaka (Big Japan, 20th June)
2. Hideki Suzuki Vs Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan, 11th November)
3. Masashi Takeda Vs Violent Jack (FREEDOMS, 2nd May)
4. Masashi Takeda Vs Jun Kasai (Jun Kasai Produce, 28th August)
5. Masashi Takeda Vs Masaya Takahashi (Big Japan, 11th November)
Best Unit
1. #STRONGHEARTS
2. Kobayashi-gun
3. Arrival
4. DAMNATION
5. 3rd Generation Bloody Brothers
Best Box Office
1. Big Japan at Sumo Hall, 11th November
2. DDT at Sumo Hall, 21st October
3. Jun Kasai Produce at Korakuen Hall, 28th August
4. Masahiro Takanashi Produce at Ryogoku KFC Hall, 8th July
5. Guts World at Shinjuku FACE, 15th April
Best Newcomer
1. Syuuou Fujiwara
2. Yuya Aoki
3. Koju Takeda
4. Yoshihisa Uto
5. Ayame Sasamura
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 2,018 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani when MAO pinned Shimatani with the Cannonball 450 (11:40).
2. Muscle Offer Match ~ M-Ou GRAND PRIX 2018 Total Victory Decision Battle Royal: Antonio Honda defeated Choun-Shiryu with a School Boy (7:10). Order Of Elimination: Yasu Urano and Makoto Oishi, Pedro Takaishi, Super Sasadango Machine, Choun-Shiryu.
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (9:49).
4. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda (w/ Hideki Suzuki) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) ended in a No Contest (5:08).
5. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka defeated Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda when CIMA pinned Iino with the Meteora (13:06).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara by TKO when Sasaki knocked out Yoshimura with the Pedigree (13:02).
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Go Shiozaki with the German Suplex (23:07). *V? for Konosuke Takeshita.
Konosuke Takeshita has booked his ticket for Sumo Hall next February because he is the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix winner! There was an uncomfortable vibe inside Korakuen Hall before the main event because of what happened to Naomi Yoshimura in the previous match (more on that below). Takeshita encouraged everyone to cheer for Yoshimura while he was on his way to the hospital. When they were done he then told Go Shiozaki not to hesitate fighting him at full force because of what happened earlier. Shiozaki didn’t hold back with his Chops and Lariats, leaving their mark on his opponent. Takeshita kicked out of the Go Flasher and did what he could to combat the Strong Arm Lariat. Takeshita successfully used the Fable then followed with a German Suplex to win the match and the Grand Prix. Since he is also the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion that also means a successful defence but that’s kind of a low priority from the list of accomplishments today. Takeshita now gets a KO-D Openweight Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2019” on 17th February.
After the match Takeshita said he never imagined he would ever wrestle against Shiozaki. But today near the end of Heisei era, Takeshita got to fight a member of the strongest class of pro wrestlers. He has never felt such pain or suffering before but he wants to go through it again. Takeshita’s pecs will always be ready to take Shiozaki’s Chops. The show ended with the people who made the most impact in DDT this year talking about their summaries of 2018. MAO said he did a lot of weird things this year and wants to do more next year. Meiko Satomura talked about winning the KO-D Title. HARASHIMA said 2018 was a good year because he is still smiling at the end of it. Takeshita gave the last word. He promises to bring fun and exciting pro wrestling with all of DDT in 2019!
The semi-main event was stopped after Naomi Yoshimura spiked his head against the canvas from Daisuke Sasaki’s Pedigree. Yoshimura was knocked out from the move and Yukinori Matsui called off the match so he could get stretchered out. Sasaki got on the microphone, called Yoshimura a waste of scrap that should be sent back home and left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi later gave everyone the update that Yoshimura could move his legs and was regaining his grip strength. Hours after the show was over it was announced that Yoshimura was diagnosed with a cervical sprain. There is no timetable yet for his return. The KO-D Title match scheduled for 3rd January has been cancelled and will be replaced with a DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION 10-Man Tag Match. Sasaki is annoyed because he was thought he now had free time to take a vacation to Hawaii.
#STRONGHEARTS have the upper hand over ALL OUT with today’s win. Yuki Iino was cut off by El Lindaman’s German Suplex. That allowed CIMA to hit the Schwein and the Meteora for the three count. Outside the ring Kota Umeda and Seiki Yoshioka had a face off after the match. CIMA noticed this and said that the difference between Umeda and Yoshioka is the same as the difference between Shunjuku and Ikebukuro. CIMA talked about the upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles defence on 3rd January. He has now beaten Takeshita and Iino. All that’s left for him to beat is Akito! Although he thinks T-Hawk can do that for him. Or maybe Duan Yingnan can leave his mark in DDT history by beating Takeshita?
When #STRONGHEARTS left the ring one by one, El Lindaman was the last to move until he was suddenly attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani! They faced off then stood back to back in a height measuring contest. Both men declared themselves the winner.
Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda brought along Hideki Suzuki to be their cornerman to even the odds against Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai by their side. This led to chaos when Okuda provoked Sakurai leading to a fight with his own partner Aoki! Okuda, Aoki and Suzuki fought each other among the audience until they found their way back into the ring. Things calmed down and Hisaya Imabayashi asked Aoki to pick the stipulation for his DDT Extreme Title match against Toba on 3rd January. Aoki told Okuda to pick for him and another fight broke out. When that brawl ended Aoki told Toba that they will have a Boxing Gloves Match!
It was an exciting day for Kazuki Hirata because he had a brand new pair of Hirata Go! glasses to show off to everyone. Yukio Sakaguchi didn’t care and tried to break the glasses by placing them on a chair and asking the other wrestlers to sit on it. They survived Saki Akai sitting on them but were crushed underneath Gota Ihashi. Hirata was devastated because if the glasses break then so too does his music. Hirata broke down into tears until Toru Owashi & Meiko Satomura put on their own pairs of glasses and sang “TOKYO GO” to him. Hirata danced along to it until Sakaguchi kicked him to oblivion. Sakaguchi then placed a fresh pair of glasses on Hirata’s body and imitated a line from the Hazuki Glasses commercial.
The D-Ou Grand Prix wasn’t the only big event on the show today. The return of Muscle to promote the sub-brand’s Sumo Hall show on 16th February led to a Battle Royal to determine who gets to be in the main event. The goal of the match is for a wrestler to phone the opponent they wish to face while pinning another wrestler. The winner would get that match as well as up to 1,000,000 yen to book that wrestler and 30% of that to be taken in as a booking fee. Antonio Honda wanted to book his father Tetsu Watanabe, Choun-Shiryu wanted to book Jackie Chan “of the Hong Kong International Police Department”, Pedro Takaishi wanted to book Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Yasu Urano wanted to book the comedian Kuro-chan. We didn’t hear who Makoto Oishi wanted because when he said he was going to book someone from K-DOJO he was cut off by the return of Amon Tsurumi! Tsurumi said he’s been gone for so long because he was busy producing movies. While doing this he discovered that ultra low budget movies can make good profits due to word of mouth. That means you don’t need to blow out your budget getting a big name in order to create a big success. He cancelled the Battle Royal and announced the start of the M-Ou Grand Prix round robin tournament! Urano complained that they don’t have time to do that. Everyone agreed on doing a normal Battle Royal after Tsurumi poked everyone in the eyes. Honda ended up winning the match. His prize was a briefcase representing his right to main event the Muscle show in February. Honda noticed it was heavy so he opened it up. Inside was a pile of unsold tickets for the show! Tsurumi said because Honda is main eventing the show it is now his responsibility to sell the remaining tickets. Only 780 tickets have been sold so far!
The Moonlight Express now have the perfect momentum for their Double Titles match on 5th January. They along with HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi were victorious over DAMNATION in the opener. The Express want to be the best tag team of 2019 so they are already planning appearances inside and outside of DDT. They will be at Fight Club: PRO’s Japan debut on 7th January and also K-DOJO’s next Korakuen show on the 13th no matter the result of the Double Titles match.
Ten minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner between Yuki Ueno and Mizuki Watase in the pre-show bout.
The big summer show in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 15th July will be called “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. DDT is asking fans to choose the Twitter hashtag for the show. The options are either #PeterPanDDT, #DDTPeterPan, #DDTWPP or #WrestlePeterPan.
Shuten-dōji’s self-produced show that they won from the Dramatic Election will be held in Shinjuku FACE on 17th April. They will bring in a lot of wrestlers associated with the unit and promise to deliver a ridiculous show. KUDO wasn’t there for the announcement so Shota took his place dressed just like Masahiro Takanashi. It was enough to make Sakaguchi laugh.
Shunma Katsumata is planning to return from his orbital injury this February. He had successful eye surgery on 11th December.
Jason “The Gift” Kincaid returns to DDT on 13th January. Space Monkey makes his debut on the 27th.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “TRUE RISE 2018”, 17/12/2018 Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic
1. Miracle Experience! Unbelievable Match: Moeka Haruhi Vs Fairy Nihonbashi
2. Toshinose! Ganpro Special Tag Bout!: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ken Ohka & Shota
This was supposed to be the final Ganbare☆Wrestling show of the year but this week they announced they will hosting matches at the annual RIZIN Martial Arts Expo at Saitama Super Arena’s Community Area on 31st December. This will be the fourth year in a row Ganpro is involved in the expo.
Yumehito Imanari, Shuichiro Katsumura and Shuhei Washida will be on the show.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2018 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino Vs Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brahman Shu or Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara Vs Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Aoki & MAO
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki)
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #1 Vs Winners Of Match #2
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #3 Vs Winners Of Match #4
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #5 Vs Winners Of Match #6
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #7 Vs Winners Of Match #8
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
15. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: X & X Vs X & X
HARASHIMA’s original tag partner Abdullah Kobayashi is unable to compete in the tournament because of a shoulder injury. Masashi Takeda takes his place.
Hideki Suzuki will not be wrestling in the tournament but has agreed to be the ringside second for Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi.
The Japan Indie Grand Prix Awards presented by Samurai! TV will be held during the show.
We have tag team names!
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino (Muscle Wolf)
Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda (Hama Ton)
Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi (Bald & Blonde)
Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata (☆Team Nomura☆)
Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita (Nishinari Elite Yankee Konosuke And Joshi Pro Wrestling’s Strongest Man)
Brahman Shu or Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi (Toryumon Refugees)
Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara (Japan-US 4 Dimensional Combination)
Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey (Team Let’s Go)
Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo (2nd Generation Party Boys)
Yuya Aoki & MAO (Cherry Boys On The Run)
Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki (Super Fighting Three Musketeers)
Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki) (Black Three Star)
Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi (Team Katagi)
Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao (MudNATION)
Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno (Team A Line)
Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA (Madness Smile/Crazy Smile)
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 