Akiyama Missing January, Shin Ultra Shoko, Takanashi Return Cancelled

January 7, 2021

Tokyo has gone into a state of emergency until February over the Coronavirus. So far several pro wrestling companies have been laying their plans for the period and how it effects their scheduling. For the most part, not much has changed with DDT and their spinoffs. DDT and Ganbare☆Pro will continue with their advertised shows. However the events taking place at night from 12th January onwards will be reviewed according to the guidelines given to them. A bunch of DDT shows are happening outside of Tokyo during this period anyway so that’s kinda how they’re getting away with it. Tokyo Joshi Pro is currently unchanged but do not rule out having to reschedule or cancel shows as the situation changes. BASARA are going on as normal but the Clutch bar in Shinjuku will be closed for the rest of the month.

DDT “GO TO DDT! VOL. 1”, 09/01/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hideki Okatani Vs Keigo Nakamura & Toi Kojima
1. Written By Hajime Takahashi & Masaki Inoue “Does Momotaro’s Kibidango Recognize As An Expense?” Infomercial Match: Akito, Kazuki Hirata, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi & Saki Akai
2. Chris Brookes & Shunma Katsumura Vs Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino
3. HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Konosuke Takeshita & MAO
4. DAMNATION Vs Junretsu!: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yusuke Okada
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs CIMA & Soma Takao
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Shota

Jun Akiyama will be out of action this month after he got arthroscopic meniscectomy for a left knee meniscus injury. He will be back in the ring on 31st January. All of the January cards have been changed to reflect his absence. First up, Yusuke Okada takes Akiyama’s place this Saturday.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2021 WINTER ~LOVERS~”, 10/01/2021
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

The matches will be revealed during the show.

Yesterday Hyper Misao announced the new name Shoko Nakajima must use for a month. Nakajima is now Shin Ultra Shoko. Misao originally wanted to come up with a more… heroic “Academia” kind of name but Tetsuya Koda wouldn’t allow it for legal reasons. Misao still wanted to add Ultra to the name thinking that Nakajima would like it so she settled with Shin Ultra Shoko. Koda asked if that name was still based on a real superhero property. Misao explained that “Ultra” is on a higher tier than Hyper and “Shin” is because this is a new Shoko so any complaints about copyright infringement do not matter. Shoko is reluctant to take the name because she is a kaiju on the side of justice rather than a superhero. But the world is looking for a hero and she does have heroic qualities. Together Hyper Misao & Shin Ultra Shoko are the Tokyo Joshingers! But they will only team up when there is an emergency that requires superheroes. Shoko had to cover her face for the photo session because superheroes have to hide their real identities.

DDT “ISN’T IT DRAMATIC! 2021”, 11/01/2021
Nagoya City Biwajima Sports Center

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura
2. Hiroaki Ura Vs Toi Kojima
3. Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda Vs Makoto Oishi & Yusuke Okada
4. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani
5. Young Communication Generation Vs DDT Legend Army! – Reservoir Sealing Rule: Akito & Shota Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno
6. Nagoya Specialty! Doerya Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya Vs Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino
7. DAMNATION Vs DDT Sauna Club!: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & MAO

The DAMNATION Vs Junretsu main event will now be DAMNATION Vs DDT Sauna Club.

The rules for the Young Communication Generation Vs DDT Legend Army match will be explained at the show.

Aichi freelancer Hiroaki Ura gets called in on short notice. He previously wrestled once for DDT back in 2019.

DDT “WRESTLING TONKOTSU 2021 ~MOTSUNABE~”, 17/01/2021
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

1. Yusuke Okada Vs Toi Kojima
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno & Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Saki Akai
3. Akito & Keigo Nakamura Vs Soma Takao & Azul Dragon
4. ALL OUT Vs Junretsu!: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata Vs Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase
5. Eruption Vs DDT Sauna Club!: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs MAO & Yuki Ueno
6. Hakata Specialty! Seimonbarai Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino Vs HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Yukio Naya

Pretty much the entire card has been mixed around except for the opener.

DDT “WRESTLING TONKOTSU 2021 ~MIZUTAKI~”, 17/01/2021
Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall

1. Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Keigo Nakamura
2. HARASHIMA & Yuto Aijima Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Chris Brookes, MAO & Yukio Naya
4. Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yusuke Okada
5. Yuji Hino Vs Hideki Okatani
6. Only Because It Is! Hakata Specialty Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda

The main event for Fukuoka’s evening show has been spared.

DDT “DRAMATIC EVERYONE’S DREAM HAS COME TRUE! 2021”, 23/01/2021
Osaka City Minato Ward Citizens Center

1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Yukio Naya
2. Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamura
3. Yuki Ueno Vs Yusuke Okada
4. Toru Owashi & Akito Vs Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani
5. Osaka Specialty! 4 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi Vs MAO
6. HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Chris Brookes Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino
7. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Tetsuya Endo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata

Osaka now gets a 4 Way match.

GANBARE☆PRO “LAST ACTION HERO 2021”, 24/01/2021
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Ganpro 6 Men & Women Winter Story: Moeka Haruhi, Yuna Manase & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Asuka, HARUKAZE & Hagane Shinno
2. Special Tag Match ~Ganpro Alumni Association~: Ken Ohka & Yumehito Imanari Vs GENTARO & Chikara

Some faces of the past show up to Ganbare☆Pro. Well kind of. Chikara was there last year but he only wrestled one match for Ganpro in 2020. GENTARO however hasn’t been here since 2017.

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI BOX OFFICE YOPPARAI IS BACK”, 29/01/2021
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Emi Sakura & Yuna Mizumori Vs Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel
2. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Fuminori Abe

This show has been cancelled by Masahiro Takanashi himself in consideration of the recent government guidelines. It was meant to be Takanashi’s return from injury but now there is no date decided for his comeback. He either is getting or has gotten surgery to remove a plate from his left knee and a bolt in his right. However as already mentioned, the cancellation is more because of the pandemic than his recovery timetable.


DDT “ISN’T IT DRAMATIC 2020” Results

February 24, 2020

DDT “ISN’T IT DRAMATIC 2020”, 24/02/2020
Nagoya City East Sports Center
264 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Hiroshi Yamato defeated Keigo Nakamura with a Half Crab Hold (6:54).
2. Soma Takao & Mad Paulie defeated Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya when Takao pinned Hirata with the Gin And Tonic (10:02).
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi and Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase when Endo pinned Watase with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (12:37).
4. Saki Akai “Okibariyasu” 7 Match Series – 4th Match – Rocky Of Naniwa II Vs Human Torpedo II: Saki Akai defeated Miranda Gordy with the Quetzalcoatl (6:53).
5. DDT Senbatsu-gun Vs Nagoya & Kengo Takai-gun: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi defeated Kengo Takai, Intelligence Sensational Grand Passion Mask #4 & Hiroaki Ura when HARASHIMA pinned Ura with the Somato (11:23).
6. Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & MAO defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata when Brookes pinned Katsumata with the Praying Mantis Bomb (12:14).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura (c) defeated Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine when Yoshimura pinned Sasadango with a Lariat (19:14).
*V3 for Nautilus.

There was havoc caused in the KO-D Tag Team Title match when the referees kept getting wiped out. Yukinori Matsui got knocked away several times forcing Tomomitsu Matsunaga to come in as a substitute. He got knocked down as well so no referee was around to count any pins. Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine called in their secret weapon. It was the third referee DJ Nira! He was on their side and tried to win them the Tag Titles. Matsui recovered and counted a pin for Nautilus but Nira stopped him with an Elbow Drop. Matsui gave Nira a Lariat and took back control of the match. The challengers got rid of Yuki Ueno and gave Naomi Yoshimura a double team Danshoku Driver for a nearfall. Sasadango pulled off his mask in frustration and went in for the kill. But Yoshimura overpowered him and hit a Lariat for the three count.

After the match Ueno said that the last time DDT was supposed to be in Nagoya he, Yoshimura & HARASHIMA were meant to challenge for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. A typhoon postponed the show so that match never happened. Today Ueno & Yoshimura were able to give Nagoya a tag title match in a different form. That makes them glad. Ueno said they will next defend the titles against The Moonlight Express. However Hisaya Imabayashi has not decided on the date for that match yet.

Makoto Oishi complained that the Nagoya team were too noisy making their introductions so he and Toru Owashi taped Hiroaki Ura’s mouth shut. Intelligence Sensational Grand Passion Mask #4 got revenge by whispering the word “Divorce” into Oishi’s ear at every opportunity to drive him mad. He also targeted Owashi’s nipples. HARASHIMA and Kengo Takai were the only ones acting normally. They simply told each other “long time no see” before they wrestled.

The Okibariyasu trial is now at 2 wins and 2 losses after Saki Akai defeated Miranda Gordy. Akai said she wants to win her remaining three matches so she and Eruption can make DDT even bigger.


“Quiet” Weekend Ahead, Thunder Challenges Shoko, E10 & Royce Chambers

February 7, 2020

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2020 WINTER ~WONDERFUL HARMONY~”, 08/02/2020
Aichi NGK Sports Plaza 3rd Stadium

1. Miu Watanabe Vs Raku
2. Rika Tatsumi & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mina Shirakawa
3. Yuna Manase & Mirai Maiumi Vs Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku
4. Shoko Nakajima, Nodoka Tenma & Haruna Neko Vs Mizuki, Suzume & Sena Shiori
5. Saki Akai Vs Hikari Noa
6. Miyu Yamashita Vs Natsumi Maki
7. Yuka Sakazaki & Maki Itoh Vs Lana Austin & Yuki Aino

Quiet weekend. Only three shows. Yes that’s a quiet weekend now.

DDT “SUNDAY KASUKABIAN! 2020”, 09/02/2020
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

1. Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai Vs Hiroshi Yamato & Keigo Nakamura
2. 3 Way Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Soma Takao Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi
4. Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Akito, Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya
5. Yuki Ueno Vs Cody Hall
6. Charisma Vs Gongitsune!: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda
7. Harashimao Vs ALL OUT!: HARASHIMA & MAO Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino

Heading into this weekend Daisuke Sasaki currently holds the Right To Challenge At Saitama Super Arena Sword. The Right To Challenge Gauntlets are attached to Shinya Aoki (Blue), Naomi Yoshimura (Yellow), Akito (Green) and Cody Hall (Black).

BASARA “BASARA 121 ~OKEHAMA~”, 09/02/2020
Aichi Tsubohashi Sports Center

1. Takumi Tsukamoto & Takato Nakano Vs Banana Senga & Daichi Kazato
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yasu Urano Vs Masato Kamino & Tetsuo Usui
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Shigehiro Irie
4. FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT Vs Ryuichi Sekine, Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura
5. Fuminori Abe Vs Ryota Nakatsu

Fuminori Abe hasn’t been pinned since December. Ryota Nakatsu is coming off of a loss to Isami Kodaka. I’m thinking Abe is closing in on a Union MAX Title shot.

DDT “ISN’T IT DRAMATIC 2020”, 24/02/2020
Nagoya City East Sports Center

1. Hiroshi Yamato Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Yuki Iino & Mizuki Watase
4. Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & MAO
5. Saki Akai “Okibariyasu” 7 Match Series – 4th Match – Rocky Of Naniwa II Vs Human Torpedo II: Saki Akai Vs Miranda Gordy
6. DDT Senbatsu-gun Vs Nagoya & Kengo Takai-gun: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Kengo Takai, Intelligence Sensational Grand Passion Mask #4 & Hiroaki Ura
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura (c) Vs Danshoku Dieno & Cody Hall

The Nagoya Army led by Kengo Takai has been decided. DDT has their defence force set in response.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “STAR PLATINUM 2020”, 24/02/2020
Tokyo Seijo Hall

1. Ganpro World Tryout: Shin Suzuki Vs E10
2. Ganpro Specialty Special 3 Way Match ~HARUKAZE’s Close Call~: Shota Vs HARUKAZE Vs Kuishinbo Kamen
3. Ganpro & GanJo Special Mixed Tag Match: Shuichiro Tominaga & Moeka Haruhi Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & Asuka
4. Ganpro Vs Pro Wrestling BASARA Full Battle: Kouki Iwasaki & Washi Sakurai Vs Ryuichi Sekine & Tetsuo Usui
5. Ganpro Vs TTT Full Battle: Ken Ohka Vs Guts Ishijima
6. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Yumehito Imanari

For fuck sake Guts Ishijima, stick to one affiliation please! He formed TTT (Total Triumph Team) in December and the promotion held its first show on 25th January. That explains why the Real GUTS Army angle got a bit wonky for the last couple of shows with the enemy team constantly changing its name and intentions.

With THE HALFEE idea now put on the shelf, Shuichiro Tominaga & Moeka Haruhi are going back to their regular ring names. However Shuhei Washida has taken to the name Washi Sakurai and wants to stick with it.

When Shota went on tour in Australia last year he wrestled for a promotion called Pro Wrestling Power in Cairns, Queensland. One of the locals who caught his attention goes by the name of E10. He is coming over to Japan later this month for a tryout in Ganbare☆Wrestling. E10 is 178cm tall, weighs 77kg and his signature moves are the Side Effect and the Frog Splash.

DDT “DRAMATIC SHINYURESE 2020”, 28/02/2020
Kanagawa Shinyuri Twenty One Hall

1. HARASHIMA & Makoto Oishi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Yamato
2. Shinyuri Specialty! Two Major Singles Match: MAO Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Shinyuri Specialty! Two Major Singles Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Akito

Two big singles matches are set for Kanagawa. If it happened today then Akito’s Right To Challenge Gauntlet is on the line. MAO might be the KO-D Openweight Champion by the time the show takes place.

DDT “DDT DOES NOT KNOW GUNMA YET 2020”, 29/02/2020
Gunma Yamada Green Dome Maebashi Sub Event Area

1. ALL OUT Vs Eruption!: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai
2. The First Leap Year Of Reiwa! Inevitable Laughter Once Every 4 Years Ultra Super Mechanko Special 4 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazusada Higuchi
3. Akagi Mountain Is Also Tonight! Maebashi Specialty Special Single Match: Yutaka Yoshie Vs Yuki Iino

Big boys collide in Maebashi! Yutaka Yoshie made his first appearance in DDT last year in a comedy match involving a daruma and a kokeshi. This time it’s a more serious challenge in the form of Yuki Iino.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “STAND PROUD”, 01/03/2020
Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall

1. International Princess Title: Thunder Rosa (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima

A message was sent to the Tokyo Joshi Pro office by Thunder Rosa earlier today. She nominates Shoko Nakajima as the No. 1 Contender for the International Princess Title. The two previously faced each other for the Princess Of Princess Title back in May last year. Nakajima won the match and Rosa wants revenge. She thinks she has the upper hand because this time she is the champion and Nakajima is the challenger.

DDT “DRAMATIC RED READY! 2020”, 01/03/2020
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Chris Brookes Vs Maku Donaruto
2. Yuni Kid Wrestler Graduation Match: Yuni Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo, T-Hawk & El Lindaman

There’s another Australian heading over to Japan soon, this one for DDT. Melbourne high flyer Royce Chambers will be in DDT from 1st to 20th March. His acrobatic moves and matches from Melbourne Championship Wrestling have been getting attention online and impressed the likes of Konosuke Takeshita. DDT is bringing in Chambers on Takeshita’s recommendation. Chambers is 180cm tall, weighs 86kg and has only been wrestling for two years.

Yuni closes out the childhood portion of his wrestling life by facing his career rival Kazuki Hirata.

Thanks for sticking with DDT, Brookes. Here’s Maku Donaruto for you.