DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2”, 31/08/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi defeated To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai when Koroku submitted Sato with a Jumping Armbar (6:36). *Yuya Koroku wins Daichi Sato’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
2. ¥3,000 Match: Jun Akiyama, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito defeated KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO) when Akiyama pinned Honda with a Blockbuster (9:17).
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul and Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Masada pinned Ishida with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (18:59).
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki when Naya pinned HARASHIMA with The World’s Best Back Drop (11:37). *V3 for The Apex.
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated MAO with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (17:50). *V4 for Minoru Suzuki.
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Danshoku Dieno with a Crab Hold (16:29).
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi (c) with the WR (20:42). *Kazusada Higuchi fails in V3. Yuki Ueno becomes the 86th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (2:51). *Yuki Ueno fails in V1. Kazuki Hirata cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover. Kazuki Hirata becomes the 87th KO-D Openweight Champion!
The second day of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” took place today in Korakuen Hall and by the end of it there was pandemonium over the KO-D Openweight Title going to the most unlikeliest wrestler in years! But first Kazusada Higuchi put the belt on the line against Yuki Ueno when just less than a day earlier he defended it against Jun Akiyama in a hard fought battle. Ueno pulled out the Sit Down Himawari Bomb for a nearfall and avoided the Claw Slam to hit Higuchi with a Dropkick to the back. Higuchi fought back using Lariats until Ueno blocked the fourth one and suddenly captured Higuchi in the WR to score the three count and become the new KO-D Champion! The two showed respect to each other after the match but then things took a wide swerve in a different direction.
Suddenly Kazuki Hirata made it down to the ring and he hesitated over whether or not he should cash in his Right To Challenge Arm Cover to get an immediate title shot against Ueno. He decided that since he held it on for so long, the audience’s expectations have grown too large. Hirata had also grown attached to the Arm Cover and didn’t want to lose it. He considered burning it in a shrine but that didn’t feel right so he’s going to use it for the title shot right away! The match began and although Ueno was tired from just wrestling Higuchi, he easily went on the offensive against Hirata. However Hirata kicked out of Ueno’s Frog Splash and suddenly rolled him up with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the upset of all upsets. Kazuki Hirata is now the KO-D Champion!
Hirata was just as shocked as everyone else that he won and admitted he didn’t mean to do that. Being the KO-D Champion is a heavy burden and he cannot think about what waits for him in the future but right now he is really happy. In his 15 years as a pro wrestler he’s had fun times, difficult times, injuries and a lot of other things going wrong. He persevered though and through hard work in all kind of forms he has made it to the top of DDT! He doesn’t feel any stronger though so he isn’t going to let his guard down. With that said, he promised the fans he will show them everything that is fun about the KO-D Title.
Hirata went back to the locker room where everyone was there in the hallway to give him applause. However Toru Owashi approached Hirata and gave him a slap across the face. He then led Hirata back out to the ring with everyone else was there waiting for him. Owashi then grabbed the title belt but it was only so he could wrap it around Hirata’s waist. The entire locker room took a group photo together and Hirata was given a pair of Hirata GO! glasses so he could do his complete dance routine uninterrupted in front of everyone. Backstage Hirata told reporters he would rather defend the KO-D Title against Hisaya Imabayashi or Daisuke Kiso instead of Higuchi or Ueno. The thought of being the defending champion at Sumo Hall on 3rd November sounds hellish to him. However it will never intentionally lose a match when a championship is on the line so he will give it his all to win every time, even if his first defence will probably be a tough one. Ueno said he has no excuses for losing to Hirata. He warned the new champ to be careful on his way home because everyone now has their eyes set on him! Higuchi said he is satisfied with how his weekend went because he gave it his all on both days. He’ll keep working hard to show his spirit with the rest of Harimao.
On paper a matchup between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Danshoku Dieno sounds like the most two opposite forces of pro wrestling colliding with each other. But look deep into the layers and you will find both men have a similar past background. Both are from the Kansai region, are nearly the same age and made their starts in wrestling by joining student pro wrestling clubs in college. It turns out this match was fate all along. Dieno couldn’t help but burst into tears when the match began. He needed all of his seconds at ringside to slap him across the face to psyche him up. As he went toe to toe against Tanahashi, he used moves from other DDT wrestlers like the nose grab from Masahiro Takanashi, the Stunner from Sanshiro Takagi, the God’s Right Knee from Yukio Sakaguchi and the Buzzsaw Kick from KUDO. He even added in the Kamigoye from Kota Ibushi for good measure. The Danshoku Driver couldn’t keep Tanahashi down so Dieno went for a Moonsault and missed it. Tanahashi went to town on Dieno with his signature moves ending with the High Fly Flow. But rather than pin Dieno, Tanahashi encouraged him to get back up so he could give him the Lip Lock! It took Dieno off his feet and when Dieno grabbed onto Tanahashi to try and pull himself back up, he instead pulled down Tanahashi’s wrestling tights to reveal he was wearing a Danshoku thong underneath this whole time! Tanahashi then tripped Dieno to the canvas and put him in the Crab Hold, forcing Dieno to tap out.
After the match Tanahashi talked to Dieno about their university routes. Their upbringings ended up being completely different but pro wrestling is what brought them together. Tanahashi really got a sense of what Dieno has achieved as a pro wrestler. So even though Tanahashi is retiring on 4th January, he encouraged Dieno to keep going because he still has a lot going for him. He then told Dieno if there’s any young wrestlers in New Japan that he likes, just let him know (his second at ringside Katsuya Murashima had a flustered look on his face when he heard that). Dieno was a little annoyed to have earned Tanahashi’s acceptance so quickly because he’ll have nothing to reach for if the top of the industry now recognizes him. This match wasn’t about winning or losing to Dieno, it was his chance to have a fun fight with Tanahashi and he wasn’t going to apologise for that if it went wrong. He will never forget what he felt today and he told Tanahashi he loves him. Backstage Tanahashi explained that passion is just the matter of where you direct it. He put his passion into training his boy while Dieno put his passion into DDT. It is all about heart and Tanahashi thinks it is good for NJPW to cooperate with companies like DDT and NOAH. With today done he believes he has settled of of his ties with DDT before his retirement. Now he has to wait and see what everyone will say to him about the Danshoku thong tomorrow.
Not even MAO’s craziness can surpass Minoru Suzuki when it comes to the DDT Universal Title. Suzuki lured MAO out of the ring so he could attack his leg using the steel post and also strike the limb with a chairshot. Suzuki then got his hands on KIMIHIRO and knocked him over with an Elbow Strike. KIMIHIRO got a little bit of revenge later in the match when MAO knocked Suzuki out of the ring and KIMIHIRO used his tie to strangle Suzuki on a chair so MAO could run over and hit a Cannonball into the champion. Back in the ring Suzuki tried to counter the Michinoku Driver II into a Front Neck Lock but MAO completed the move and also hit the Iai Kick. However Suzuki only fell down to one knee from the blow and immediately popped back up to put MAO in a Sleeper Hold. MAO got a rope break and tried fighting back with Palm Strikes until Suzuki caught him with a Dropkick, wore him down with another Sleeper Hold and pinned him with the Gotch-Style Piledriver.
Suzuki told MAO after the match that he had fun. He also found something he wants to do in DDT and that is keep the DDT Universal Title all to himself. It’s not like there’s anyone here that can take it away from him, right? Takeshi Masada felt otherwise and he got into the ring to challenge Suzuki. Unfortunately for Masada, Suzuki ignored him then threw him out of the ring when he wouldn’t get out of the way. He called Masada a brat who isn’t strong enough to deserve a title shot so he should just go home. Masada then accused Suzuki of running away. Suzuki grew furious over the comment and headbutted Masada before accepting the challenge. The title match was confirmed for the 28th September Korakuen Hall show. Masada promised that he isn’t afraid of Suzuki but Suzuki warns he is really going to kill Masada!
Unlike Higuchi there were a pair of heavyweights who survived the weekend with their championships still intact. The Apex were victorious against the pairing of HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki, meaning they achieved a successful KO-D Tag Team Titles defence for the second day in a row. Yuki Iino stuggled at first against Aoki’s grappling along with HARASHIMA targeting his back. The challengers also held the champions in stereo Cobra Twists. But when HARASHIMA went to go do the Somato on Yukio Naya, Iino cut him off with the Spear. Naya then used a Running Knee Lift on HARASHIMA before pinning him with The World’s Best Back Drop.
After the match Naya called The Apex the strongest tag team in DDT. Yuya Koroku then entered the ring wearing the Right To Challenge Arm Cover he won earlier in the show. To-y then entered from the opposite side to ambush Iino with a dive from the top rope. However he ruined the surprise by encouraging the fans to chant “T-O-Y” and Iino easily caught him. Luckily for To-y, Iino’s back was still hurt from the match so he couldn’t drive him into the turnbuckle like he did to Daisuke Sasaki yesterday. To-y said he and Koroku want to challenge for the titles. Iino refused because he is tired but he did show interest in taking the RTC Arm Cover from Koroku. Imabayashi decided a tag title match will go ahead between the two teams in Osaka on 23rd September. Iino agreed to it but said he will cancel the match if Koroku loses his Arm Cover before then.
The injury Daisuke Sasaki suffered in yesterday’s KO-D Tag Titles match was revealed to be a fractured rib. MJ Paul replaced him as Hideki Okatani’s partner in the 3 Way Tag Match. When Okatani was held in the Schadenfreude Tower by Chris Brookes & Masada, Yuki Ishida jumped on top to pull off a Dosukoi pose. Masada encouraged all of SCHADENFREUDE International to do a train attack on Naomi Yoshimura but Yoshimura knocked everyone down with Shoulder Blocks one by one. He then grabbed Bunbun and gave him the Coconut Crush, literally knocking the puppet out of its pants! Okatani attacked other wrestlers with his bamboo stick but ended up accidentally hitting Paul with it. Paul then tried to break up Yoshimura pinning Okatani but ended up squashing his partner by mistake. The match then came down to Ishida missing the Dosukoi Splash, giving Brookes & Masada the opportunity to double team him until he was pinned with Masada’s finisher.
If only we knew during the second match what was to come. Hirata was part of a 6-Man Tag Match teaming with KANON & Antonio Honda. This was also the match where Akiyama was placed for losing in yesterday’s main event, teaming with Super Sasadango Machine & Akito. Everyone in the match was still feeling tired from yesterday’s show so Imabayashi promised the winning team would get 3,000 yen as their prize. That fired everyone up to levels above even their normal standard. When Akiyama won the match for his team, they were overjoyed to receive the 3,000 yen.
The wrestlers from D GENERATIONS were put into the opening 8-Man Tag Match. Rukiya and Kazuma Sumi started off while Ilusion would get in To-y’s way when the opportunity presented itself. Ilusion didn’t stop there because he pushed his own tag partner Munetatsu Nakamura off the top rope just so he could do the Missile Dropkick instead. In the end, Koroku used the ropes to give Daichi Sato a Tornado DDT and he then made him submit to a Jumping Armbar, winning his RTC Arm Cover in the process.
Just like yesterday, NωA Jr. members Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi kicked off the show by singing “Going my ωay!!!!! ~You Are Not Alone~” for everyone.
Sanshiro Takagi made an appearance during the show to give everyone an update on his return to the ring. He has been cleared by his doctor to have his official return match at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November and his opponent will be against someone he has never fought before. It will be Hinata Kasai! Takagi congratulated the rookie on debuting yesterday and explained to him that the first match on a show is the second most important bout after the main event. It will be up to them to set the stage for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”. Kasai asked how can a promising young talent like him lose to an old man who lost his breath from simply getting to the ring? He is going to beat Takagi at Sumo Hall! Backstage Takagi said that while Kasai has the obvious connection with his father Jun Kasai, there is something else about Hinata that draws him in and makes him excited for this match to happen. Kasai meanwhile is looking forward to winning in his Ryogoku debut. Later in a brief interview with Tokyo Sports, Takagi revealed that the actual reason for his absence was because he got diagnosed with angina. However it was detected early and he eventually made a full recovery.
Akito told the reporters some behind the scenes details about this weekend’s shows. “WRESTLE PETER PAN” this year was originally planned to take place as one show in Sumo Hall but the venue was unavailable around this time period due to renovations. He also thanked New Japan for giving them miracles like Zack Sabre Jr. while he is the reigning IWGP World Heavyweight Champion as well as what is likely to be Tanahashi’s final match in DDT before he retires. Akito couldn’t have imagined things like that happening if it wasn’t for NJPW and President Tanahashi agreeing to it.
DDT announced Kaisei Takechi’s remaining appearances for this year as well as his first booking for 2026. He is already announced for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November. He will also be at the Korakuen Hall shows held on 28th September, 19th October, 21st December and 3rd January.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025 Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Hinata Kasai Debut Match: HARASHIMA defeated Hinata Kasai with the Somato (10:24).
2. Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida defeated Soma Takao & Rukiya when Ishida pinned Rukiya with the Flame Palm (6:32).
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda when Dieno pinned Honda with the Danshoku Driver (9:19).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba defeated Akito, Naomi Yoshimura & Daichi Sato when Ilusion pinned Akito with the Swanton Bomb (12:21).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & Kazuma Sumi when MAO pinned Sumi with the Ultra Big Tone (12:11)
6. DDT Extreme Title – Earn Your Own Life!! Pro Wrestling Life Or Death Death Match!: To-y (c) defeated Yuya Koroku by TKO (9:20). *V2 for To-y.
7. Muscle Sakai 15th Anniversary Of Retirement Match ~ Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Muscle Sakai with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (7:42).
8. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when Sabre submitted Masada with the I’ve Mistakely Run To Windsor (19:49).
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani when Naya pinned Sasaki (16:01). *V2 for The Apex.
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Jun Akiyama with the Claw Pin (17:41). *V2 for Kazusada Higuchi.
Two days of “WRESTLE PETER PAN” has begun and with it comes the biggest challenge of Kazuzada Higuchi’s reign as KO-D Openweight Champion. There are two title defences scheduled for this weekend, the first of which saw Higuchi face Jun Akiyama in a title rematch from 2021. Akiyama was the defending champion back then and Higuchi had the chance to get revenge on the legend for that match. Akiyama took a page out of Naomi Yoshimura’s book by using the Harai-goshi to break out of the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex. Akiyama got a big blow in with the Jumping Knee Strike but Higuchi kept kicking out of the Exploder Suplex, including the Wrist-Clutch variation. When Higuchi kicked out of the Wrist-Clutch Exploder, he immediately grabbed Akiyama in the Claw and gave him the Claw Slam. Akiyama kicked out of that but Higuchi put him back in the Claw and used all his strength to pin Akiyama to the mat for the three count.
After the match Higuchi thanked Akiyama for the match. He said Akiyama is as strong and fearsome as ever no matter how old he gets. Akiyama told Higuchi not to call him old because he is a role model to everyone out there in their mid-50s. He encouraged Higuchi to do his best in tomorrow’s defence and if he wins, Akiyama will wrap the KO-D Title belt around his waist. Higuchi then called for tomorrow’s challenger Yuki Ueno to come out to the ring. Ueno apologized for being late and talked about the first time he met Higuchi ten years ago. He called Higuchi an incredible champion that DDT can be proud of. Ueno wants to carry the dreams of everyone in DDT along with everyone who loves DDT so he will go all out to win the KO-D Title tomorrow.
A rough KO-D Tag Team Titles match took its toll on one of the competitors. The Apex and DAMNATION T.A took the fight out of the ring where chairs were used as weapons. MJ Paul then brought the chairs into the ring to attack the champions with. Daisuke Sasaki pulled off one of the corner pads but that proved to be a costly mistake when Yuki Iino drove Sasaki back first into the exposed buckle. Sasaki held onto his side after impact and couldn’t get back up. So when Yukio Naya Choke Slammed Hideki Okatani and snapped his bamboo sword in half, he noticed Sasaki was injured and simply pinned him to win the match. DDT later confirmed that Sasaki suffered an injury to his side and will not be wrestling on tomorrow’s show. Paul will take his place in the 3 Way Tag Match. Meanwhile The Apex will now defend the KO-D Tag Titles again tomorrow because their match with HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki now has the belts on the line.
Some New Japan involvement is taking place on both nights of “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. The first show had Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita from TMDK coming over to face Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada from SCHADENFREUDE International. It was a chance for one pair of friends Sabre and Brookes to wrestle each other for the first time in years while the other pair of friends Masada and Fujita got to wrestle each other for the first time ever. Antonio Honda and Bunbun both got in the way when Honda climbed to the top of the Schadenfreude Tower spot while Bunbun gave Sabre a Headbutt! Sabre got revenge by turning the rubber band spot against Brookes (but only when Yukinori Matsui ordered him to let go of the band) and kicking Bunbun out of the ring! Brookes and Sabre later faced off while putting each other’s partner in Octopus Holds next to each other. Later Fujita took out Brookes with a Suicide Dive while Sabre locked Masada in the I’ve Mistakely Run To Windsor submission hold to win the match.
Brookes thanked Sabre for coming to DDT but brought up how Sabre has always been stronger than him in the 18 years they’ve known each other. Sabre mentioned the last time they had a singles match together was seven years ago in Revolution Pro and they haven’t fought one on one in Japan yet. Brookes then brought up the idea of finally doing that match at Sumo Hall for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November! Hisaya Imabayashi asked Sabre if New Japan would be okay with that and he assured them both the company and its president Hiroshi Tanahashi will be fine with the idea. Backstage Sabre said today was so much fun and he’s looking forward to the match featuring the best foreign wrestler in DDT against the best foreign wrestler in NJPW. Fujita said he could feel the pride that DDT wrestlers have for their company. He’d love to fight Masada again in either a New Japan or DDT ring. Masada said if Brookes is going to get a singles match with Sabre, then he would like to get a singles match with Fujita!
Before Muscle Sakai could go out and fight Minoru Suzuki, he decided first to do a PowerPoint Presentation as Super Sasadango Machine to explain why the match was taking place. Sakai originally retired in 2010 to go run the family business in Niigata and his final match was with Suzuki. But in 2012 he got the bug to wrestle again and created the Sasadango gimmick to do it on a local level. The gimmick caught on which led him to working with DDT again more and more then before he knew it, it was like he was a regular again. He heard Suzuki was upset over him breaking his retirement so this match was put together on the 15th anniversary in the hopes that he could clear the air with Suzuki. With that said, the plan to win to the match is for Sakai to hit Minoru Suzuki in the groin.
He also relied on Danshoku Dieno interfering in the match but that only made Suzuki mad. It was all part of the plan though because soon several wrestlers wearing Sasadango masks all entered the ring so Sakai could hide among them. Except they all wore different clothes and Suzuki could easily tell which one was Sakai. He put Sakai in the Sleeper Hold but intentionally stopped him from giving up. Sakai briefly turned the tables with a Low Blow and a few nearfalls but Suzuki blocked the Lehmann Shock, twisted the mask over Sakai’s head backwards to blind him and then gave him the Gotch-Style Piledriver for the win. Suzuki continued to attack him after the match, chasing him backstage with a chair. Suzuki then told reporters he accepts Sakai’s return to wrestling on the condition that Sakai fights him in 100 consecutive matches! He then mocked DDT fans for expecting MAO to beat him for the DDT Universal Title tomorrow. Sakai tried to save face by acting like he was able to push Suzuki to his breaking point today and he is the only one in DDT who was ever able to do so. He also said that since Sasadango debuted in 2012 that means he is part of Konosuke Takeshita’s generation. That generation will lead the pro wrestling industry and he will be part of it!
Life Points were the name of the game for this DDT Extreme Title defence. In the weeks leading up to the match To-y and Yuya Koroku went to social media to try and go viral. For every post they made that made at least 10,000 impressions they would receive one Life Point. Then when they wrestled today the goal was to reduce the opponent’s LP to zero. Points were lost for every pin count, rope break, giving up to a submission hold and getting thrown out of the ring. Leaving the ring also counted towards this as proven when Koroku threw money to the floor and To-y ran out to get it, losing a point. When the match began To-y had 23 LP while Koroku had 20 LP. Koroku quickly used some Cradles to whittle down To-y’s LP so To-y resorted to constantly throwing Koroku in and out of the ring from the floor to do the same. More cradles led to points getting lost until To-y won by using the Kojima Impact for a two count, removing Koroku’s two final points.
It turned out both wrestlers enjoyed the match and had fun fighting each other. To-y said he was glad he didn’t give up because he knows lots of fun still awaits for him in the future. But when he was about to praise Koroku, he was suddenly attacked from behind by Ilusion! He quickly declared himself the next challenger and To-y has no reason to turn him down. If he does decline then Ilusion will beat him up and the footage will be seen all over the world! To-y said there was no reason for Ilusion to ambush him, he could have just challenged normally and To-y would have accepted. Imabayashi confirmed the title match will happen in Sapporo on 14th September. Backstage To-y and Koroku talked about how they are always there for each other to solve their problems together so maybe the time is now for them to start teaming up? Meanwhile Ilsuion talked about how belt collecting became his recent hobby and the purple Extreme Title belt will suit him. He is going to save the title after he found out To-y went gambling with it!
Kumadori and the Strange Love Connection had big entrances for their match. Kumadori performed a dance along with the rest of O-MENZ while MAO & KANON had KIMIHIRO rap them down to the ring. The trio proved to be in sync with each other because they went on to beat Ueno, Aoki & Kazuma Sumi. Kumadori landed a Tornillo Press on Sumi while MAO followed it up with the Hollywood Star Press. Ueno broke the pin and took out KANON with a Plancha but the match returned to MAO against Sumi. MAO ended up using his AI finisher the Ultra Big Tone to pin Sumi. KANON said everyone on their team had the same vibe today because SLC became a little more street style to match with O-MENZ. Well, MAO said he was his usual self but he didn’t like wearing Calvin Klein underwear because that’s not a street brand. KANON promised to get a different brand next time. MAO also said Kumadori might start wrestling on a regular basis soon and could be appearing on DDT’s regional shows as well as the big events. Ueno told Sumi that he should start acting braver so Sumi said he is willing to fight Kumadori more and more to prove he is better and more popular than him!
DAMNATION T.A brought “The Monster” back to DDT and he was again a force to be reckoned with. Haruto Sakuraba proved to be a big challenge for Naomi Yoshimura to try and overcome. Chops and Lariats couldn’t knock Sakuraba off his feet but Yoshimura was able to throw him down with the Harai-goshi. However Ilusion did damage to Akito & Daichi Sato by giving them Low Blows and Sakuraba came back to cause more pain for the opponents. It resulted in DAMNATION T.A picking up the win with Ilusion claiming that nobody can stand a chance against Sakuraba! He’ll be back anytime he is called upon which is good because Sato wants to fight him!
Dieno has a very important match against Tanahashi coming up tomorrow so the last thing DDT needs was for him to get hurt somehow. Imabayashi told the participants of the 3 Way Match to take things likely in order to ensure Dieno will be 100% for tomorrow’s match. He even told Dieno he didn’t have to do anything and should just let the other two fight each other as if it was a singles bout. Dieno wanted to take part in the match but Imabayashi kept trying to stop him. He eventually got fed up and grabbed the microphone to say even if he got injured right now and the Tanahashi match got cancelled, he would not regret it because he lives for today! Imabayashi understood and allowed the match to continue as a 3 Way. He stayed involved anyway and gave Kazuki Hirata a Stunner. Honda used Dieno’s Hell Gate to charge up Gongitsune and poked Imabayashi in the eyes with it. But Dieno blocked the Shining Gongitsune and gave Honda the Danshoku Driver for the win. Afterwards Dieno said that unless he has an accident while taking his pet dog Haku out on a walk, his match with Tanahashi will absolutely happen tomorrow. This will be his last chance to beat Tanahashi before Tanahashi retires and he is going to grab the opportunity!
In Match #2 Shinichiro Kawamatsu got to hit Soma Takao with the Axe Bomber that was passed down to him by the late Hulk Hogan. After that Yuki Ishida hit Rukiya with the Flame Palm to win the match for his team.
The first match of the show was Hinata Kasai’s debut match. He is the son of Jun Kasai and was pitted against HARASHIMA for his first bout. Kasai got off the blocks early with an Arm Lock, Chops and a Missile Dropkick. HARASHIMA took control with Middle Kicks and the Falcon Arrow but Kasai caught one of the kicks and knocked HARASHIMA back with a punch. HARASHIMA held him down with a Crab Hold after that and then pinned him with the Somato. Backstage Kasai said there were times he considered quitting during his training but he is glad he didn’t. The thoughts of his first win, his first championship or when he achieves his dreams all excite him so he wants to continue being a pro wrestler. HARASHIMA said one of the things that makes him happy to have wrestled for so long is he gets to have matches with people he has known since they were a child. He noticed Kasai does not have much skill but he does have passion so he looks forward to seeing what he does in the future.
The show began with two members of NωA Jr. performing a song for everyone. Shunma Katsumata and Kazuma Sumi went out there to sing “Going my ωay!!!!! ~You Are Not Alone~” to welcome the fans to the big weekend of shows.
I don’t have the time to write up full previews for this weekend’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” shows but there was a press conference held during the week where several wrestlers talked about their matches.
The current Right To Challenge Arm Cover holders going into the weekend are Kazuki Hirata (Yellow), Daichi Sato (Green), Hideki Okatani (Blue) and Soma Takao (Red).
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025 Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena
1. Hinata Kasai Debut Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Soma Takao & Rukiya Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba Vs Akito, Naomi Yoshimura & Daichi Sato
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & Kazuma Sumi Vs MAO, KANON & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. DDT Extreme Title – Earn Your Own Life!! Pro Wrestling Life Or Death Death Match!: To-y (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
7. Muscle Sakai 15th Anniversary Of Retirement Match ~ Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki Vs Muscle Sakai
8. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
There are two KO-D Openweight Title matches guaranteed to happen this weekend with the first day going to Kazusada Higuchi defending the belt against Jun Akiyama. The challenger said it’s been four years since he last attended a press conference for a big event in this position and he’s excited to be competing at the highest level again. He aims to win the title without getting injured so he can have a good match with Yuki Ueno the next day. He would have wanted to be Higuchi’s first challenger but HARASHIMA beat him to the punch. When Akiyama saw how hard HARASHIMA worked in the match it motivated him to get next in line for a title shot before anyone else.
Higuchi talked about challenging Akiyama for the title four years ago and losing. It remains the most frustrating time of his wrestling career but time has passed long enough for him to develop respect for Akiyama. It is with that respect that he will beat him this time. He also hasn’t put any thought towards any Right To Challenge title shots getting cashed in on him. What motivates Higuchi right now is to make it to Sumo Hall on 3rd November as the KO-D Champion because he never got to have a title defence there during his previous reign.
When Muscle Sakai originally retired after wrestling Minoru Suzuki 15 years ago, Suzuki thought Sakai completely disappeared from the industry. So when he discovered that Sakai quietly returned to the business as Super Sasadango Machine, he decided he will make him pay for going back on his decision to retire! If you get Minoru Suzuki as your final opponent you should never take your decision to retire lightly.
The result of the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on Day 1 will have an effect on Day 2’s card. If The Apex successfully defend the tag titles against DAMNATION T.A then their match against HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki the next day will also be a title match. But if Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani win the titles then they will defend the belts on Day 2 in the 3 Way Tag Match. Sasaki said all that Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya are good for is being big. They aren’t funny, the tag belts don’t suit them and they’re both too ugly. Iino said he can’t tell if Sasaki is ugly or not because he covers 80% of his face with his sunglasses.
At the time when the press conference took place To-y had 15 life points and Yuya Koroku had 14 for their DDT Extreme Title match. Social media numbers are what determine how many Life Points they can get before the match starts. Life Points will be lost in the match after every One Count in a pin, every time someone gives up, every rope break and every time someone is thrown out of the ring. First wrestler to reduce their opponent’s Life Points to zero will be the winner. To-y admits he needed help in his previous title matches and has no shame in admitting he will continue to rely on the help of others from now on. If he can get 100 Life Points before the match begins then he thinks he will can win easily. One of the things Koroku did to prepare for this match is meet up with Animal Hamaguchi at the gym he trained at before going to DDT. The rules of the actual wrestling isn’t any different from a normal match so Koroku thinks he just has to avoid getting pinned while he whittles down To-y’s LP to zero.
The debuting Hinata Kasai wasn’t at the press conference but did an interview online to talk more about himself. His favorite wrestlers are CM Punk and Ric Flair because he loves American wrestling of all shapes and sizes. He wants to be the kind of wrestler who leaves an impact that people will never forget once they see him. It was Sanshiro Takagi’s idea to debut Kasai while he is still a college student because a debut match in a big building like Higashin Arena would draw a lot of attention. Kasai admits he currently does not have a lot of skill and is more of a clumsy type but what sets him apart from others is his mentality. He wants his debut match to stir the audience’s emotions with all of the passion and feelings he has held for pro wrestling ever since he was a child. He would like it if his goal was to win the KO-D Title but he thinks he should win support from the fans and trust from the company first to build himself up to that goal.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2”, 31/08/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai Vs Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Yuki Ishida
2. Loser Of 30/08 KO-D Title Match, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito Vs KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO)
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs MAO
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) or Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Ueno
Ueno cannot predict who he will be facing for the KO-D Title on Day 2. He thinks he has made progress during his time without the championship and he’s been watching Konosuke Takeshita win the G1 Climax. If Ueno becomes champion again he does not want to compare himself to others. He would rather focus on raising DDT and one way to do that is to wrestle Takeshita when both are at the height of their powers! He’ll have to beat either Higuchi or Akiyama to move that plan forward. He knows he’ll have the stamina advantage going into the match because his opponent won’t even have 24 hours to rest after Day 1’s main event ends.
It took Minoru Suzuki becoming the DDT Universal Champion to make MAO feel it is time for him to win the title back for a fourth time. He cannot help but get excited over the thought of beating Suzuki for the belt in front of a packed Korakuen Hall. It’s all he can see in his mind right now. He even said it doesn’t matter if the win is clean or dirty, he will beat Suzuki doing whatever it takes! Suzuki is also looking forward to the match because he’s been wanting to fight MAO ever since they first met. With that being said he’s not here to play around. He’s going to kill MAO!
Matches #3 and #4 may swap places on the card depending on who wins the KO-D Tag Titles on Day 1. The tag title match will be placed as the 4th match. Iino approves of the idea because he wants The Apex to rack up title defences. Sasaki complained he will be too busy celebrating the title victory on Day 1 to defend it on Day 2.
DDT “DRAMATIC BEER GARDEN NEVERLAND IN UENO – DAY 2”, 20/08/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special Tag Match: Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku defeated Aero Boy & Rukiya when Takao pinned Rukiya with the Official Endless Waltz (9:34).
2. 3 Way Match: Daichi Sato defeated Kazuki Hirata and Daichi Sato when Sato pinned Sumi with the Mad Splash (9:46). *Daichi Sato wins Kazuma Sumi’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y when Akiyama pinned Ishida with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (10:48).
4. Yuki Iino 8th Anniversary Match ~ Pro Wrestling & Personal Training Match: KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Iino (w/ Kazuma Sumi) when Kazuma Sumi was unable to continue training.
5. Crocodile Death Match THE FINAL: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul defeated Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda, Bunbun’s Big Brother & Munetatsu Nakamura when Ilusion pinned Honda with the Wani Wani Splash (16:38).
6. MAO 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 2 ~ Falls Count Anywhere 4 Match: HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno and Akito defeated MAO (w/ KIMIHIRO) when HARASHIMA, Dieno and Akito pinned MAO after the Danshoku Driver (17:57).
If there is one thing MAO wants to do most during his 10th Anniversary celebrations it’s to have a match that is as chaotic as possible. Shortly after the 4 Way Match began, MAO shouted into the microphone that is was now Falls Count Anywhere and he wants music to be played over it too! “Ikenai Taiyou” by ORANGE RANGE then started playing while everyone brawled into the crowd. The ring itself got stripped apart as the match went on and planks of wood from it were used as platforms for the wrestlers’ attacks. Danshoku Dieno chased after KIMIHIRO at one point up to the scaffold. Then down in the crowd HARASHIMA gave MAO the Somato, Akito dropped MAO onto the planks with a Gourdbuster and Dieno gave him the Danshoku Driver. All three then piled on top of MAO for the pin to all be declared the winners.
After the match MAO said what a promotion he ended up joining! Before he knew it 10 years has gone by and he’s already 28 years old. He remembers apologizing to his parents when his debut was decided and he never thought he would say it again a decade later. But he wants them to know their son is so happy to be here! He loves how crazy DDT is, how the young guys don’t have any cares in the world and he loves the fans. In 10 and even 20 years time he will keep doing this and never change. He came here to follow Sanshiro Takagi and hopes future DDT wrestlers will follow him the same way.
Takeshi Masada was having trust issues during the day and decided he would not wrestle on the show. Bunbun had to replace him in the Crocodile Death Match but it turns out he wasn’t alone. He brought along his Big Brother to do the fighting for him! Ilusion disappeared during the match only to show back up dressed like a crocodile to dive onto his opponents in the pool. Whatever was going on with Masada, his trust issues went away shortly after the match ended and he was present for the autograph session.
The rules of Yuki Iino’s match with KANON was after every round a “client” for a wrestler would need to pass an exercise routine. The length of the routine would be extended for every 2 Count and rope break that happened in the previous round. Kazuma Sumi was Iino’s client while KIMIHIRO was KANON’s client. Sumi broke first and couldn’t finish off his exercises so KANON was declared the winner. Iino then took his frustration out by giving Sumi and then KIMIHIRO The Apex Elbow.
Things continue to get intense between Kazusada Higuchi and Jun Akiyama but this time Yuki Ueno was in the mix too because it was a 3 Way Tag Match. Higuchi feels more fired up for his KO-D Openweight Title defence with Akiyama while also noticing that Ueno is in good shape for the next title match the day after. Akiyama said Higuchi won’t see just how capable he is until they face each other one on one.
All of a sudden Daichi Sato got his hands on one of the Right To Challenge Arm Covers after he pinned Soma Takao. Sato believes Akiyama will beat Higuchi for the KO-D Title so he is looking forward to using this title shot to challenge Akiyama for the belt.
DDT “OSAKA VS TOKYO – DREAM EAST VS WEST PRO WRESTLING BATTLE 2025”, 17/08/2025 Osaka Edion Arena #2 ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. East Vs West Vs Unknown All-Out Competition ~ Rukiya Return Match: Yuya Koroku (Chiba) & Daichi Sato (Kanagawa) defeated Yuki Ishida (Kumamoto) & Rukiya (Osaka) when Koroku pinned Rukiya with an Elbow Butt (8:47).
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 4 Way Match: Soma Takao defeated Akito, Naomi Yoshimura and Shota when Takao pinned Shota with a School Boy (5:46). *Soma Takao wins the Red Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. East Vs West All-Out Competition ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan (Tokyo), To-y (Saitama) & Kazuki Hirata (Tokyo) Vs Danshoku Dieno (Hiroshima), Shigehiro Irie (Osaka) & Mikiya Sasaki (Osaka) ended in a Double Knockout (13:46).
4. Western Army Offer Match: Jun Akiyama (Osaka) defeated Miyu Yamashita (Fukuoka) with the Running Knee Butt (10:49).
5. Eastern Army Offer Match – Kansai-Style Three Can Anywhere Match: Yuki Ueno (Osaka) defeated MAO (Miyagi) (w/ KIMIHIRO (Tokyo)) and Super Sasadango Machine (Niigata) (13:32).
6. East Vs West Vs Unknown All-Out Competition ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes (UK) & Takeshi Masada (Osaka) defeated Yuki Iino (Tokyo) & Yukio Naya (Tokyo) and Ilusion (Unknown) & MJ Paul (Unknown) when Masada pinned Ilusion with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (10:06).
7. East Vs West All-Out Competition ~ Special Elimination 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno (Osaka), Hideki Okatani (Kochi), KANON (Ishikawa) & Kazuma Sumi (Mie) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (Hokkaido), Daisuke Sasaki (Tokyo), HARASHIMA (Tokyo) & Antonio Honda (Tokyo) (23:46).
7a. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated HARASHIMA by Ring Out (13:01).
7b. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated KANON after the Skewered Claymore from Hideki Okatani (16:08).
7c. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Hideki Okatani by Ring Out (16:49).
7d. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Daisuke Sasaki by Ring Out (16:49).
7e. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Yuki Ueno by Ring Out (22:41).
7f. Kazuma Sumi eliminated Kazusada Higuchi by Ring Out (22:57).
7g. Kazuma Sumi eliminated Antonio Honda with the School Boy (23:46). *Kazuma Sumi wins Antonio Honda’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
For DDT’s visit to Osaka this weekend they decided to book a series of East Vs West matches based on the different hometowns of every wrestler involved on the card. It was an idea they started last summer and wanted to try again. It led to a strange bedfellows style Elimination Tag Match in the main event. Daisuke Sasaki and Hideki Okatani were on opposite teams but didn’t want to let geography determine who they should team with so Sasaki first tried to take a fall for Okatani and then he purposely threw his own partner HARASHIMA out of the ring to eliminate him. Okatani also betrayed his own team by knocking over KANON with the Claymore Kick so Sasaki could pin him. Kazusada Higuchi got fed up with their behavior and Clotheslined both of them out of the ring for a double elimination. He then got one over on Yuki Ueno by Shoulder Blocking him from the apron to the floor but he got eliminated soon after by Kazuma Sumi kicking him out of the ring. That left Sumi and Antonio Honda as the final two and Sumi pinned Honda with the School Boy to win the match for the West Army. He also got to take Honda’s Right To Challenge Arm Cover in the process. Sumi was so excited over the result he asked if he could become the leader of the West Army. Ueno decided he could have it. Sumi then announced his dream as leader is to have a homecoming show in Tsu City, Mie!
Not all of the matches were West Vs East. Each side provided their own matches on the undercard. The East Army came up with a stipulation where Super Sasadango Machine, MAO and KIMIHIRO all hid biscuit tins around the venue and the first person to find the opponent’s tin and drop it into the ring three times would become the winner. At first the match just resembled a treasure hunt around the room but when it came down to the final points, Sasadango and MAO started wrestling each other over the last tin. KIMIHIRO also got involved in the action when Sasadango lost his temper and tried to fight him. He then wanted to win the match for himself so he turned on MAO by spraying him in the face. While this was happening, Kazuma Sumi showed up to give MAO a Low Blow while Yuki Ueno climbed the top rope and threw some tins into the ring. Ueno then did a Frog Splash onto everyone and was declared the winner. KIMIHIRO then revealed he and Ueno betrayed MAO because they are actually from Kagoshima in the far west of Japan! The rest of the East Army rushed down to the ring and chased them away while Sasadango told them they must avenge MAO.
The West Army match caught the most attention in the lead because it was Jun Akiyama taking on Miyu Yamashita from Tokyo Joshi Pro! Today just so happened to be the 12th Anniversary of Yamashita’s pro debut too. She threw everything she had at Akiyama including the Attitude Adjustment and the Skull Kick but couldn’t put him away with any of those moves. Akiyama hit back with his coveted Knee Strikes as well as the Exploder Suplex but Yamashita also refused to be beaten like that. Akiyama had to pull down his own kneepad and hit Yamashita with a Raw Knee Strike to finally defeat her. He offered to shake her hand after the match but Yamashita brushed it off. She said backstage that she never imagined she would face Akiyama one on one and is incredibly frustrated that she couldn’t win.
Now all four RTC Arm Covers are activated and currently in play. Soma Takao won a 4 Way Match by pinning his ROMANCE DAWN teammate Shota to earn the prize. Shota had given Akito the Frog Splash and was about to win when Takao rolled him up with La Magistral Cradle to steal the win. Takao reminded everyone that at one point last year he held two RTC prizes at the same time but lost both of them. His plan this year is to hold even more all at once and auction them all off at high prices!
Rukiya made his return to the ring after a lengthy injury. He lost his match but that was to be expected. He told everyone he is starting again from scratch and will do his best to catch up with everyone.
1. Yukio Naya defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga with The World’s Best Back Drop (8:19).
2. 2 Vs 1 Handicap Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dieno & Akito when Hirata submitted Akito after Akito was unable to withstand his face being touched by Dieno (9:06).
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul defeated HARASHIMA, Makoto Oishi & Aero Boy when Okatani pinned Oishi with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (11:55).
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 4 Way Match: Yuya Koroku defeated Ilusion, Takeshi Masada and Kazuma Sumi when Koroku pinned Sumi with the Moonsault Press (7:13). *Yuya Koroku wins the Green Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida defeated Jun Akiyama, Chris Brookes & Daichi Sato when Higuchi submitted Sato with the Claw (13:25).
6. MAO 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 1 ~ Special Tag Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Ueno & To-y when MAO pinned To-y with a Running Palm Strike (21:01).
The first part of MAO’s 10th Anniversary celebrations began in his hometown of Miyagi. He promised the locals he will become Miyagi’s Shikaku Hero and bring the square ring back to the city’s square venue on 14th December. Yuki Ueno had fun fighting MAO and KANON again but To-y promised next time he will turn MAO from a square into a triangle shaped mess! He also threatened to hurt KIMIHIRO during the match which led to KIMIHIRO sneaking in an Apron Dropkick to Ueno later in the match.
After winning the first two prelim matches in their series, Kazusada Higuchi is not taking the results for granted. He feels like his team only beat Jun Akiyama’s team by a hair’s breadth today. Daichi Sato took responsibility for the loss. He said he wanted to win the match by himself in front of Akiyama but ended up submitting to Higuchi’s Claw Hold. Akiyama is learning from the matches though and warns Higuchi he can see his moves clearly now.
The second Right To Challenge Arm Cover was won by Yuya Koroku after he was the last man standing in the 4 Way Match. He wants to keep his focus on the DDT Extreme Title match with To-y first so he will think carefully about what will come next.
Match #2 was changed a couple of times because Gorgeous Matsuno was unable to appear at the show. He had fever symptoms so the match was going to be turned into a 3 Way Match. However Kazuki Hirata currently has a Right To Challenge Arm Cover so Danshoku Dieno & Akito agreed to team up and have a 2 Vs 1 Handicap Match instead. Hirata escaped with a lucky win when Dieno was knocked down sitting on Akito’s face while giving Hirata a Lip Lock. Akito couldn’t take having Dieno’s exposed backside pressing down on his face so he gave up and since Dieno was on his team that meant Hirata was the winner!
DDT “YOKOHAMERMAID”, 09/08/2025 Yokohama Radiant Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Takeshi Masada with the Aoki Clutch (7:21).
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Danshoku Dieno and Super Sasadango Machine when Hirata pinned Dieno with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (13:27). *Kazuki Hirata wins the Yellow Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Daichi Sato with the Somato (9:41).
4. Named By Kazuki Hirata “I’m Koroku” Rule: Chris Brookes & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuki Ueno & To-y when Koroku submitted To-y with the Modified Triangle Lancer (12:29).
5. Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida defeated Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Higuchi submitted Matsunaga with the Claw (9:22).
6. Special Tag Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Minoru Suzuki & Akito when MAO pinned Akito with a Gedo Clutch (14:16).
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & Ilusion (c) defeated Yuki Iino, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi when Okatani pinned Sumi with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (20:42). *V4 for DAMNATION T.A.
The two and a half heavyweight challengers tried using their size to take the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from DAMNATION T.A. by stacking up on each other. But they didn’t think it through so Kazuma Sumi tried and failed to piggyback Yuki Iino and Yukio Naya over his shoulders. MJ Paul then pulled the referee out of the ring when Naya had Choke Slammed Hideki Okatani. With the ref down, Daisuke Sasaki started attacking the other team with a chair and Ilusion gave them Low Blows too. The Apex figured out how to stack themselves up properly by having Iino piggyback Naya and Sumi stand on top of them for a dive. Unfortunately Sumi missed and despite trying to use the School Boy for a last gasp victory, he ended up getting pinned by Okatani with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster.
After the match Okatani taunted The Apex by telling them to train more for the KO-D Tag Team Titles match at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025”. Sasaki said that won’t matter because he and Okatani will surpass them through sheer talent alone. He then had an announcement to make about “CHARISMANIAxMANIAxMANIA” on 2nd October. The main event is going to be Sasaki & El Desperado taking on Shuji Ishikawa & Antonio Honda! Two years after Sasaki and Desperado fought each other in DDT, they now want to team up!
A trickster to the end, MAO was involved in one of the more creative match finishes of the year. He tried to pin Akito with the Japanese Leg Roll Clutch but Minoru Suzuki blocked it and put him in the Sleeper Hold. KANON broke that up and knocked Suzuki into MAO back to back. From there MAO gave Suzuki a Backslide Pin while applying the Gedo Clutch to Akito, pinning both of them for the win. With this victory MAO believes he is now the only person who can take the DDT Universal Title back from Suzuki. However Suzuki has now sworn to kill him at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025”!
Kazusada Higuchi is looking forward to defending the KO-D Openweight Title against Jun Akiyama. He sees it as his chance to get revenge for failing to take the title from Akiyama back in 2021. Akiyama said he may have lost today’s prelim match but he got to have a good look at Higuchi. They still have a few more weeks to go until the match so Akiyama hopes he and Higuchi will stay in good condition until then.
The DDT Extreme Title exists to be an avenue for wrestlers to be at their most creative. To-y is expecting Yuya Koroku to come up with an idea crazy enough to make their upcoming title bout exciting. Today Koroku tested his idea out by applying “I Am Koroku” rules (Kazuki Hirata came up with the name) to his tag match against To-y. The rule was a total pinfall count of 20 was needed to win the match alongside the other usual ways. However Koroku ended up winning the match by submission instead. To-y complained that the rules never said that but Koroku defended himself by explaining he never said pinfall was the only way to win. Since To-y is the champion he gets to pick the rules for the title match. He announced them on social media after the show. From now until the day of the show, he and Koroku will receive one life point for every social media post they make that reaches over 10,000 impressions. During the match itself every one count pinfall, rope break and getting thrown out of the ring will take away a Life Point until the loser is reduced to zero.
The first Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere prize was up for grabs. This year the prizes are represented with different color Arm Covers. However the first match featured wrestlers who were all hesitant to win for one reason or another. It turns out Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine and Kazuki Hirata all do not want to deal with the pressure of holding the title shot that they could lose before cashing it in. Hisaya Imabayashi pleaded with them to take the match seriously so they did. Hirata won the match and couldn’t help but feel fired up over it. He now expects to get beaten up more than usual while building up anticipation for when he will cash in his KO-D Title shot. If he loses it before then he will only be disappointing everyone so he promised to keep it like it was part of his costume.
DDT began the show with a 10 bell salute dedicated to the late Tomohiko Hashimoto. He passed away at 47 years old from liver cancer on 5th August.
Originally I was only going to write a little bit about GCW’s latest tour of Japan in my monthly DDT Around The World series because there was only a handful of DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro talent taking part and not even on every show. However plans changed when Masha Slamovich and Microman were both unable to travel to Japan, opening spots up for DDT and TJPW wrestlers to get booked for the shows on short notice. So since there was a lot more to write about, I had to put them in their own post.
GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT SHINJUKU FACE”, 28/07/2025 Shinjuku FACE ??? Fans
1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Alec Price & Jordan Oliver (c) defeated Effy & Dark Sheik when Price pinned Sheik after a Flapjack/Facecrusher Combo (11:48). *V12 for YDNP.
2. Drew Parker defeated Shotzi Blackheart with the Swanton Bomb (6:48).
3. Jeffrey John defeated Kikutaro with the Pedigree (10:06).
4. MAO defeated Atticus Cogar after a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo with Drew Parker (12:38).
5. Kazusada Higuchi defeated 1 Called Manders with the Claw Slam (14:01).
6. GCW Ultraviolent Title: Matt Tremont (c) defeated Super Crazy with the Death Valley Driver onto a Table (12:07). *V16 for Matt Tremont.
GCW put together an inter-promotional champion versus champion match. 1 Called Manders was supposed to face Slamovich for the JCW World Title but that match was cancelled. Instead Manders brought along the wXw Unified World Wrestling Title to fight Kazusada Higuchi, the reigning KO-D Openweight Champion in a non-title bout. The two made sure to beat the hell out of each other including a moment at ringside where Higuchi Suplexed Manders onto the exposed floor. The damage done prevented Manders from doing a Gutwrench move later in the match, allowing Higuchi to take over with the Doctor Bomb. But Manders got right back up, Chopped Higuchi in the stomach and pulled off the Gutwrench Suplex on the next attempt. A back and forth series of Chops and Headbutts led to Higuchi reaching out for the Claw Hold but Manders bit his hand instead. A big Lariat from Manders got a two count but Higuchi rocked him back with his own Lariat and used the Claw Slam to get the win. After the match Manders offered to hand the KO-D Title back to Higuchi as a show of respect. Higuchi decided to do the same with the wXw Title.
Opposite attitudes clashed in the ring when MAO fought Atticus Cogar one on one. MAO came into the match wearing shades and a bright orange shirt for the summer while Cogar was all business with no time for dealing with his opponent’s nonsense. When MAO wiggled his way around a Waist Lock, Cogar pulled out his bundle of skewers. The ref took the skewers off him but Cogar pulled another bundle later in the match and threatened the ref when they were taken off him again. MAO ran in to try and stop Atticus but he missed a Big Boot and accidentally knocked the ref out instead! Cogar successfully jabbed MAO in the head with the skewers and then attack him with a chair. Then he suddenly pulled out a dart and was about to stab MAO with it when Drew Parker ran into the ring and stopped him. MAO and Parker then teamed up on Cogar, giving him a Super Kick/Praying Mantis Bomb Combo. MAO was able to pin him while the revived ref counted to three.
GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT TOKYO SQUARE”, 29/07/2025 TOKYO SQUARE In Itabashi ??? Fans
1. Shota defeated Jeffrey John with a School Boy (8:17).
2. Hideyoshi Kamitani defeated 1 Called Manders with a Back Drop (11:29).
3. MAO, Alec Price & Jordan Oliver defeated Miyu Yamashita, Dark Sheik & Shotzi Blackheart when Price pinned Sheik after a Double Impaler DDT (15:19).
4. Atticus Cogar defeated Drew Parker with the Headlock Driver (8:32).
5. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Abdullah Kobayashi with the Diving Sack Rider (14:34). *V25 for Effy.
6. GCW Ultraviolent Title: Matt Tremont (c) defeated Masashi Takeda with the Death Valley Driver into a box of Lighttubes (12:07). *V17 for Matt Tremont.
Slamovich’s absence meant Miyu Yamashita was called in to team with Dark Sheik & Shotzi Blackheart. As for their opponents, you already have Alec Price & Jordan Oliver as YDNP so add MAO to the mix and you get YDNPM (Young Dumb ‘N Price MAO)! Yamashita hit Price with the Skull Kick at one point but Price got one back on her by hitting a Rebound Lariat. MAO then took out Yamashita & Blackheart with a Quebrada outside the ring into the aisleway. YDNP then finished Sheik off with a Double Impaler DDT for the victory.
GCW “GCW JAPAN 2025 AT KORAKUEN HALL”, 30/07/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans
1. GCW Tag Team Titles: Alec Price & Jordan Oliver (c) defeated MAO & Rina Yamashita when Price pinned Yamashita after the Double Impaler DDT (?:??). *V13 for YDNP.
2. Atticus Cogar defeated Miyu Yamashita with the Headlock Driver (?:??).
3. Dark Sheik, Yoshihiko & Jeffrey John defeated Invisible Stan, Shota & Kikutaro when Sheik pinned Shota with the Diving Leg Drop (?:??).
4. Jun Akiyama defeated 1 Called Manders with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (?:??).
5. Maki Itoh defeated Shotzi Blackheart with a Crab Hold (12:29).
6. Chris Brookes defeated Drew Parker with two Praying Mantis Bombs (23:16).
7. GCW World Title: Effy (c) defeated Matt Tremont with the Diving Sack Rider onto the Chairs (21:34). *V26 for Effy.
One of the big matches of the finale in Korakuen Hall was Chris Brookes being in the ring again with Drew Parker. This was the first match together in over two years after Parker left Japan to return home. Parker was busted open early when they brawled up the aisleway and Brookes rammed a table into his face. Parker knocked Brookes onto the table then fought off Takeshi Masada who was there as a cornerman. He had Bunbun with him so Parker grabbed Bunbun, climbed the nearby entrance and did a Diving Body Press to Brookes through the table! Brookes later did a Diving Senton to Parker sending both of them crashing into a stack of plastic boxes in the ring. After a long hard fought battle Brookes started giving Parker different kinds of Piledrivers. There was a Tombstone, then a Snap Piledriver, then a top rope Praying Mantis Bomb. Parker kept kicking out though and tried to show whatever defiance he still had left in him. Brookes then gave him two more Praying Mantis Bombs and Parker was finally down for the three count. The two embraced after the match.
Maki Itoh took part in last year’s GCW tour with a hand injury so in a kind of funny turn of events she took on Shotzi Blackheart who was going through the same thing for this year’s tour. At one point during the match Itoh went into the crowd because she noticed Shoko Nakajima and Miu Watanabe sitting on the bleachers as spectators. Back in the ring there was a strike exchange with Itoh no selling strikes to the head while Blackheart no sold Low Blows. When Blackheart got the upper hand, Itoh pulled out a pizza cutter and attacked her with it. Blackheart went for a Running Knee Strike but Itoh rolled her over into a Crab Hold, increasing the pressure until Blackheart gave up.
If anyone had a hard hitting three days of wrestling it was Manders. His third and final singles match of a tour was a dream come true for him because he got to fight Jun Akiyama. Much like the Higuchi match, both men hit and slammed each other as hard as they could until one reached their limit. That happened when Akiyama gave Manders the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex. Manders gave Akiyama the horns up hand sign after the match and Akiyama replied in kind.
Throughout the tour a grudge developed between Jeffrey John and Kikutaro. It led to Kikutaro costing John a match against Shota and then brought Dark Sheik into the picture to even the playing field. Kikutaro was meant to fight Dark Sheik & Yoshihiko on this show with Microman as his partner. Plans changed so he decided to call in the big guns and invite Invisible Stan to team with him and Shota! Stan’s biggest impact in the match was to do the Korakuen balcony dive onto everyone down below! Back in the ring John landed a Plancha to Kikutaro, Yoshihiko gave Shota a Tornado DDT and Sheik then pinned him with the Diving Leg Drop.
The match Yamashita was scheduled to take part in was a singles bout with Atticus Cogar. Nowadays whenever Yamashita takes part in GCW she gets more and more into the wilder wrestling style of the company compared to TJPW. The same was seen here when she briefly stopped Cogar from using a chair by kicking it apart! The frame was still in one piece so it remained to be used as a weapon by both. Cogar pulled out the skewers but it was Yamashita who jabbed them into his head rather than the other way around! However Cogar recovered and gave her the Air Raid Crash. Yamashita kicked out of it but Cogar immediately rolled it into the Headlock Driver to win the match.
MAO and YDNP became opponents for the final show of the tour. The opening match was a GCW Tag Team Titles bout with MAO joining up with Rina Yamashita as Slamovich’s replacement to challenge the champions. They came close to winning when MAO hit a Frog Splash and Yamashita did a Diving Body Press on Price but Oliver made it in time to break the pin. MAO ran up the corner to do a Jumping Cutter but Price cut him off in midair with a Super Kick. With MAO out of the picture, YDNP were then able to beat Yamashita with the Double Impaler DDT.
DDT “SANKO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. OME PRESENTS HARASHIMA RETURNS HOME! ~WE’RE HOLDING A SHOW IN OME! WHY? BECAUSE IT’S MY HOMETOWN!~”, 27/07/2025 Sumitomo Metal Mine Arena Ome Sports Hall 1 ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Team Ome Presents: Kazuma Sumi defeated Ilusion with the School Boy (5:41).
2. Cockpit Ome Co., Ltd. Presents: Naomi Yoshimura & Soma Takao defeated Makoto Oishi & Shinichiro Kawamatsu when Yoshimura pinned Oishi with the Hara-goshi (6:27).
3. Special Single Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Gaydo Clutch (8:12).
4. Ome Shinkin Bank Presents: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul defeated Antonio Honda, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Yuya Koroku when Sasaki submitted Matsunaga with the Crossface Lock (10:51).
5. Enoki Kougyou Presents Harimao Vs STRANGE LOVE CONNECTION!: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when MAO pinned Ishida with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (10:25).
6. JA Nishitokyo Presents Falls Count Anywhere Match: Yuki Ueno & To-y defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when To-y pinned Brookes with the To-y Who Travels Through Time (15:50).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Seiwa Shoji Co., Ltd. Presents: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato when Naya pins Sato with The World’s Best Back Drop (19:27). *V1 for The Apex.
8. Toyota S&D Nishitokyo Co., Ltd. Presents HARASHIMA Debut 24th Anniversary Match – Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Togi Makabe & Yasu Urano defeated Shinya Aoki, Shuji Ishikawa & Akito when HARASHIMA pinned Akito with the Swan Dive Somato (17:41).
It was a glorious homecoming for HARASHIMA as DDT held a show in his home city of Ome in Tokyo. He invited his old buddy Togi Makabe from the Teikyo University Pro Wrestling Club to team with him and Yasu Urano in the main event. HARASHIMA started the match off with Shinya Aoki while Makabe traded Lariats with Shuji Ishikawa. Urano took a beating from the other team but HARASHIMA avoided taking the Splash Mountain from Ishikawa. Makabe Clotheslined him out of the ring to allow HARASHIMA to pin Akito with the Swan Dive Somato. HARASHIMA thanked Makabe after the match for making memories with him. Backstage Makabe said he is overwhelmed with emotion because he sees how hard HARASHIMA is working to promote DDT. HARASHIMA talked about the times they trained together in the wrestling club 30 years ago and now here they are standing in the same ring together as pro wrestlers. He always wanted to wrestle in his hometown and it took everyone’s help to finally make it happen.
The Apex got past Jun Akiyama & Daichi Sato for their first defence of the KO-D Tag Team Titles but the next pair of challengers quickly revealed themselves. Akiyama & Sato came close to winning the belts when Akiyama gave Yukio Naya a Superplex and Sato followed up with the Mad Splash. But Yuki Iino broke the count and Naya regained his footing by hitting Sato with Knee Lifts before finishing him off with The World’s Best Back Drop. As soon as Iino tried to speak on the microphone, Ilusion came out and distracted The Apex so Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani could attack them from behind with chairs and Low Blows. They then said DAMNATION T.A are the next challengers because they want the belts and The Apex do not deserve them. The champions accepted the challenge and will do the match on 30th August. Backstage Iino & Naya praised Sato for his performance and look forward to fighting him even more in the future. Akiyama also told Sato they can keep challenging the champions as many times as it will take to beat them. Then even later Iino confronted DAMNATION T.A demanding a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles shot. Sasaki refused because The Apex don’t have a third man to team with. Iino quickly found Kazuma Sumi nearby and told him he’s the perfect “heavyweight” to team with him and Naya. That title match will happen on 9th August.
The tag match between The 37KAMIINA and SCHADENFREUDE International was turned into a Falls Count Anywhere Match on a few days notice but everyone involved took to the idea like a duck to water. There was a lot of action that took place outside the ring, a castle of chairs that everyone crashed into and a lot of dives that happened over by the entrance stage. Takeshi Masada Power Bombed To-y into a stack of chairs and he tried to pin To-y on top of them but Yuki Ueno broke the count by diving into them. Chris Brookes then added extra damage to everyone by doing a Senton onto the pile of bodies. Even Bunbun got caught up in the carnage when Ueno gave him a Backbreaker and threw his mangled body high into the air for SCHADENFREUDE International to catch. Ueno then followed with a dive onto them. After that he placed Masada onto a table for To-y to do a Diving Body Press from the stage to get the three count.
The Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata bout was the only match on the card that did not have any sponsorship attached to it. For that reason Hisaya Imabayashi ordered Hirata to stop Dieno from doing anything vulgar so DDT can run a show in Ome again next year. The GM also did his part by staying at ringside to block Dieno from approaching any fans. It became too difficult for them to stop Dieno from being, well, Dieno so Imabayashi brought in a chair to attack him with. However Hirata stopped him and gave a speech about how a pro wrestler is as good as dead if they ever lose their individuality. Imabayashi didn’t agree and tried to attack Hirata with the chair. Hirata deflected him right into Dieno’s Hell Gate, knocking Imabayashi out. Hirata hugged Dieno but then tried to hit him with an Axe Bomber. Dieno dodged it, put Hirata in the Lip Lock and then pinned him with the Gaydo Clutch.
Shinichiro Kawamatsu wanted to win his match with the Axe Bomber he inherited from the late Hulk Hogan and even hit the move on Soma Takao. However Naomi Yoshimura knocked him out of the ring afterwards and pinned Makoto Oishi with the Hara-goshi. Kawamatsu revealed backstage he had tried several times in the past to set up a Hogan appearance for DDT but was never able to make it happen. He promised to continue working hard while thinking about what Hogan would want to tell the Japanese fans.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 