DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024”, 30/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 992 Fans – No Vacancy
1. 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuni and Ilusion when Sumi pinned Yuni with the School Boy (7:06).
2. Lucha Libre Rules: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when KANON pinned Hirata after the Freedom Call (10:39).
3. Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura defeated Jun Akiyama & Makoto Oishi when Nakamura pinned Oishi with the Running Diving Headbutt (9:27).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Takeshi Masada defeated HARASHIMA, Akito & Soma Takao when Masada pinned Takao with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (12:34).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~ BURNING Vs TEAM NOAH!: Go Shiozaki, Atsushi Kotoge & Hi69 defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Kotoge pinned Koroku with the Killswitch (15:25).
6. Sanshiro Takagi Indefinite Rest Road ~ Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Miyu Yamashita defeated Danshoku Dieno & Maki Itoh when Takagi pinned Dieno with the Stone Cold Stunner (13:21).
7. Road To PETER PAN 2024! Special Tag Match: MAO & To-y defeated Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata when MAO pinned Katsumata with the Michinoku Driver II (26:24).
It’s still another month to go until “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” but today was the last stop at Korakuen Hall before DDT returns to Sumo Hall. One that caused friction inside The 37KAMIINA thanks to the main event. The four members of the group paired off against each other to build up Yuki Ueno against MAO. Ueno teamed with Shunma Katsumata while MAO had To-y as his partner. Everyone looked to be having fun with the match, doing some good-natured poking at each other and the NeppoWER!! pose being used often. The fun then turned wreckless when chairs were set up at ringside and Katsumata crashed into them after MAO dodged his dive out of the ring. Both teams were able to hit synchronised dives to their opponents. MAO almost got the win when he hit Katsumata with the Iai Kick but Ueno broke the pin. To-y came in to hold Ueno back while MAO gave Katsumata the Michinoku Driver II to get the win.
MAO spoke a lot about the other members of The 37KAMIINA after the match because they do not all fight each other often. He now realizes just how great Ueno is after wrestling him today. He also sees how much Katsumata has grown because they’ve been working so hard together. Since MAO is facing Ueno at Sumo Hall for the KO-D Openweight Title he needs to make a decision. MAO is going to run away from home by temporarily leaving The 37KAMIINA! He was about to exit the ring when Ueno stopped him just for a moment. He understands MAO is taking the match seriously and knows just how much he also loves to be free. He does not know if MAO is fully quitting The 37KAMIINA, joining another unit or if somebody else will soon take care of him. But no matter what MAO is doing, The 37KAMIINA will always be there to make him shine!
Backstage Ueno said he understands the heavy weight that comes with leaving a unit because he himself did it before with DISASTER BOX. It is a sad feeling but MAO’s choice to leave also makes Ueno look forward to the KO-D Title match even more. All he wants MAO to do is not take this decision lightly. Katsumata said The 37KAMIINA will continue and will be a unit that MAO will want to come back to. MAO said he will always trust Ueno but does not want to rely on him. He wants to face Ueno in as many prelim matches as possible from now until Sumo Hall and does not mind who DDT will make him team up with. He is doing this because it will be the best way to raise Ueno’s motivation as well as his own. MAO said he will eventually go home after “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” because he loves everyone but does not know what will happen after that. Especially if he discovers a new life he really likes away from The 37KAMIINA.
Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh from Tokyo Joshi Pro both consider Sanshiro Takagi to be an important person in their lives because he was their entryway into pro wrestling. So it was fitting for Takagi to have them be part of one of his final matches before his indefinite break as a pro wrestler begins. Tetsuya Koda though thought otherwise. The inclusion of Danshoku Dieno in the match and his lewd moveset being performed on his talent was too much for the TJPW boss to bear so he interfered in the match. That caused the DDT GM and Koda’s part-time rival Hisaya Imabayashi to get involved. Both of them started fighting each other until they both got their faces shoved into Dieno’s backside. The scheduled match continued and Itoh gave Takagi a Stunner. Yamashita then picked up Itoh in the Electric Chair position and dropped her face first into Dieno’s Hell Gate. She then kicked Dieno in the butt and Takagi followed up by giving Dieno an Avalanche Brainbuster before pinning him with the Stunner.
Takagi told Yamashita and Itoh after the match how much he really wanted to wrestle them because TJPW is an important part of his career. Yamashita was the catalyst for TJPW and Itoh has spread it across the world. He will work closely with Koda to help grow TJPW even more. He also likes the idea of Itoh inheriting the Stunner from him. She says she is going to use the move more often in America. Takagi also had news for Danshoku Dieno. Takagi has thought long and hard about who he wants his last opponent to be at Sumo Hall. It has to be someone who embodies the “Dramatic Dream” and Dieno fits the image more than anyone else. Dieno agreed and has a match stipulation in mind. The Weapon Rumble! Takagi swears it is not a retirement but Dieno wants nothing more than to retire him at Sumo Hall!
In a preview for the KO-D Tag Team Titles match at Sumo Hall, TEAM NOAH paid a visit to face BURNING in a 6-Man Tag Match. Tetsuya Endo and Go Shiozaki started off but once Yuki Iino got into the match he and Shiozaki spent time beating each other’s chests raw. Atsushi Kotoge’s plan to focus on Yuya Koroku paid off when he pinned him with the Killswitch to give the visiting team the win. Iino and Shiozaki kept fighting afterwards and had to be pulled apart. Iino demanded a singles match against Shiozaki before the tag title bout happens. Shiozaki said he will do it anytime and promise to damage Iino’s chest twice as bad as he did today. Endo said today was the first time he saw something out of Kotoge. He told him not to hold anything back when he fights DDT.
The battle for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles has gotten even more crowded than it’s already been. Two members of Smile Squash were at the show today without their belts because DAMNATION T.A stole them recently. With that on the minds of HARASHIMA & Akito things got even messier when they and Soma Takao lost to SCHADENFREUDE International. The consequence of that is now Masahiro Takanashi, Takeshi Masada & Antonio Honda wanted in on the title match at Sumo Hall! DAMNATION T.A came out with the stolen belts demanding to know what the match was going to be because it was already announced as a 3 Way Trios match. That caused Katsumata & To-y to enter the ring and finally reveal who their third member is supposed to be. It’s Aja Kong! After a lot of arguing between the teams, Imabayashi confirmed that the titles will be on the line in a Survival 4 Way Match on 21st July. That way only the strongest team will be left holding the three championship belts.
Keigo Nakamura scored a big win by pinning Makoto Oishi in a tag match. Jun Akiyama was a big challenge for him to overcome but Yukio Naya was there to block him off. Nakamura got the pinfall by placing Oishi seated between the ropes and then hitting the Running Diving Headbutt while Oishi was dangling in the air.
Match #2 was under Lucha Libre Rules as per Toru Owashi’s request. Honda tried to do a Rolling Sole Butt to fit in but only ended up injuring himself. He tried to tell a Gongitsune story only for Daisuke Sasaki to cut him off. Owashi, Honda & Kazuki Hirata all put on Hirata GO!! glasses and danced around KANON, dealing him psychological damage. However Sasaki & MJ Paul attacked them and soon Hirata was dancing alone unaware that DAMNATION T.A were surrounding him. The three of them destroyed Hirata from there and won the match.
Kazuma Sumi beat both Yuni and Ilusion in the latest show opener between their generation. He used the movement of a 619 to grab Yuni and roll him over into a School Boy for the three count.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ’24”, 23/06/2024 Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu
1. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Runa Okubo
2. Yuki Aino Vs Chika Nanase
3. Shoko Nakajima & Kira Summer Vs Haru Kazashiro & Uta Takami
4. Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Kaya Toribami Vs Miyu Yamashita, Moka Miyamoto & Toga
6. Nao Kakuta Vs Shino Suzuki
7. Miu Watanabe & Wakana Uehara Vs Rika Tatsumi & HIMAWARI
It will be the first time in over a year when Tokyo Joshi Pro comes to Act City Hamamatsu.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 10/07/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. KANON 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku Vs KANON
It should be no surprise to see that TAKA Michinoku is part of KANON’s 5th Anniversary match. Although it being just a singles match between the two is a bit unexpected. I would have thought there would be a tag of some sort involving them along with other wrestlers connected to KANON.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Masato Tanaka
2. Dramatic Dream Match: El Desperado Vs Chris Brookes
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Kotoge
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO
Yesterday DAMNATION T.A attacked members of Smile Squash as well as the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi backstage during the show. Daisuke Sasaki took it far enough to grab a clothes hanger and hook the inside of Imabayashi’s mouth with it! He did it while demanding DAMNATION T.A be given a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles rematch. Akito gave in and accepted the challenge but only because DAMNATION T.A are the former champions. He believes they have the right for a championship rematch. Akito also decided the match should take place at Sumo Hall so Smile Squash can get their revenge on the big stage.
DDT/GCW “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER”, 12/08/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
More guest wrestlers from the GCW side will be at the show. Gringo Loco and Broski Jimmy are among them along with 2 Cold Scorpio! DDT are also marketing GCW’s other shows for their Japan tour but I won’t be writing much about them here unless there is a lot of DDT involvement in their lineups.
GLEAT/DDT “GLEAT VER. & – GLEAT X DDT PRO WRESTLING”, 06/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 725 Fans
1. 3 Way Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata, Takanori Ito & Issei Onitsuka defeated Densha MICHIo, Jitensha KEIgo & Yu Iizuka and Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Jun Tonsho when Katsumata pinned Oishi with the Totonou Splash (7:32).
2. Minoru Tanaka defeated Kazuki Hirata with the B”D”F (8:44).
3. CIMA & HARASHIMA defeated Soma Watanabe & Soma Takao when HARASHIMA pinned Takao with the Somato (7:15).
4. Tetsuya Endo defeated Tetsuya Izuchi with the Tetsuya In The Sky (9:34).
5. SBK & TAKUMA defeated To-y & Kazuma Sumi when TAKUMA pinned Sumi with the 630° (11:32).
6. Yuki Ueno, El Lindaman & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Kaz Hayashi & Akito when MAO pinned Akito with the Iai Kick (11:39).
7. Elimination Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Kaito Ishida, KANON, Hartley Jackson & Kotaro Suzuki defeated T-Hawk, Chris Brookes, Takehiro Yamamura, Seiki Yoshioka & Takeshi Masada (22:43).
7a. Kotaro Suzuki eliminated Takehiro Yamamura with the Blue Destiny (8:18).
7b. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated Seiki Yoshioka by Ring Out (9:20).
7c. T-Hawk eliminated Kotaro Suzuki with a Low Blow (10:06).
7d. Hartley Jackson accidentally eliminated KANON by Ring Out (13:33).
7e. Chris Brookes eliminated Hartley Jackson by Ring Out (13:58).
7f. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated Chris Brookes with El Es Culero (14:50).
7g. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated T-Hawk with the Crossover Face Lock (18:36).
7h. Takeshi Masada eliminated Daisuke Sasaki by Ring Out (21:07).
7i. Kaito Ishida eliminated Takeshi Masada with the Half Tiger Suplex (22:43).
8. Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya defeated Hayato Tamura, Ryuichi Kawakami & KAZMA SAKAMOTO when Iino pinned Tamura with the Spear (20:46).
The latest GLEAT show at Korakuen Hall was a joint show with DDT, mashing the two rosters together for a bunch of inter-promotional matches. In the main event it was DDT’s heavyweight team that defeated BULK Orchestra. Even more newsworthy is Yuki Iino pinned Hayato Tamura with the Spear, scoring the win over the G-REX Champion! Iino rubbed it in his opponents’ faces after the match, saying GLEAT is weak and comparing them to the brass band club in elementary school. When Tamura went to respond, Iino tackled him with another Spear and then posed with the G-REX Title. After the DDT team left the ring Tamura promised he will get revenge. He also encouraged GLEAT fans to support DDT and DDT fans to support GLEAT. Backstage Yukio Naya talked about the times he wrestled with KAZMA SAKAMOTO in Real Japan and then challenged him to a singles match. Ryuichi Kawakami lost his temper at his partners for making GLEAT look weak.
A 10-Man Elimination Tag match mixed the two rosters together. One side was an alliance between SCHADENFREUDE International and #STRONGHEARTS that took on the name SCHADENHEARTS. The other side paired together DAMNATION T.A with Black Generation International. BGI’s Kaito Ishida ended up being the last man standing.
El Lindaman didn’t hear the news about Sanshiro Takagi’s recent demotion. He declared he was going to take over the President role from Takagi while attacking him. When Takagi fought back he sadly explained to Lindaman he is the Vice President now. Takagi also crashed the Dramatic Dream bike into Yuki Ueno. Lindaman then brought out a bouquet as a gift for Takagi but tried to hit him with it. The match came down to MAO beating Akito with the Iai Kick. Afterwards he called out Kaz Hayashi and said he is his hero who has been a big influence. Hayashi is retiring soon but MAO wants to defend the DDT Universal Title against him before he retires. Or to be more exact, MAO wants to defend the title against Shiryu, Hayashi’s masked gimmick from Michinoku Pro! Hayashi said he can tell MAO has been influenced by him and he promised he will tell Shiryu to accept the challenge. The title match will go ahead in DDT on 16th June.
GLEAT did get a straight tag team win against DDT when SBK & TAKUMA defeated To-y & Kazuma Sumi. The DDT side did well enough. To-y hit the Kojima Wonderland while Sumi did a Lionsault. But SBK & TAKUMA isolated Sumi with tag moves and TAKUMA finished him off with the 630°. SBK joked that Sumi seems to already know them from somewhere else but he doesn’t remember. Sumi took the blame for losing and couldn’t shake the feeling there was something else other than GLEAT and DDT that connected him and his opponents today…
Several of the matches on the show seemed to be booked because the wrestlers involved had similar names. For example Tetsuya Endo from DDT fought Tetsuya Izuchi from GLEAT. Endo got the win out of nowhere by giving Izuchi the Tetsuya In The Sky. He thought they would get along afterwards because of their names but Izuchi bit Endo’s hand after the match.
There were times before when CIMA & HARASHIMA were in the same match but today was the first time they teamed up together. CIMA also got to meet up with Soma Takao again but this time Takao was teaming with Soma Watanabe. That made it HARACIMA Vs Soma-Soma! Backstage after the match Watanabe told Takao that when he was in high school he sent a resume to DDT hoping to wrestle for them but never received an answer. His Dramatic Dream to be in DDT finally came true today.
Kazuki Hirata tried to get Minoru Tanaka to wear the Hirata GO! glasses and dance with him. Tanaka kept on refusing until finally the temptation was too much to ignore. The extra power of the dance led to Tanaka pinning Hirata with the B”D”F. He ended up enjoying it so much he told Hirata they should go clubbing together!
The opening match was already changed when MICHIKO opted out so her otaku alter ego Densha MICHIo could take her place. Keigo Nakamura decided to do something similar by showing as Jitensha KEIgo. That left Yu Iizuka as the odd man out on the team because he wanted to wrestle seriously. Jun Tonsho got dragged into doing the Hell Gate with Danshoku Dieno but that left Makoto Oishi along to fight off everyone else. Shunma Katsumata, Takanori Ito & Issei Onitsuka took advantage of that to win the 3 Way Trios Match.
DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/06/2024 Shinjuku FACE 344 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Koroku with the Modified Crucifix Pin (7:09).
2. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata by TKO when MAO knocked out Hirata with the Iai Kick (11:58).
3. Jun Akiyama, Atsushi Kotoge & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Kotoge pinned Koroku with the Killswitch (11:15).
4. Daisuke Kiso Referee 14th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated To-y & Yuni when Ishii pinned Yuni with the Double Arm Driver TURBO (10:49).
5. IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles – CDK 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi when Brookes pinned Oishi after the H.O.D (8:19). *V1 for CDK.
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano defeated Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul (c) when Akito pinned KANON after the Somato from HARASHIMA (13:43). *DAMNATION T.A fails in V1. Smile Squash becomes the 55th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the BME (24:01). *V5 for Yuki Ueno.
Yuki Ueno had to take on a version of Sanshiro Takagi that no longer had any restrictions or responsibilities to worry about. Takagi is feeling the most freedom he has had in years and fought Ueno in the most unfiltered DDT match they could have for the KO-D Openweight Title. There was an out of the ring brawl, Dramatic Dream bike crashes and broken plastic boxes aplenty. Takagi used the regular Stone Cold Stunner as well as a top rope Stunner for nearfalls. Ueno countered another Stunner by Dropkicking Takagi in the back of the head. He then used one of Takagi’s own finishers against him by doing the Sit Down Himawari Bomb. Takagi kicked out of it but was a sitting duck for the BME, giving Ueno the win.
After the match Ueno told Takagi how much he loves DDT. His life changed when he met Takagi and discovered this company. Today his life changed again because he was able to fight Takagi in a KO-D Title match that left him feeling completely worn out. As the champion he will continue to take on the dreams of the people he beats so someday he and Takagi will bring DDT to the Tokyo Dome together! Takagi praised Ueno for being strong and becoming even stronger. He then called MAO into the ring to confirm the “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” main event on 21st July will be Ueno Vs MAO for the KO-D Title! DDT’s first show in Sumo Hall was 15 years ago and Takagi is confident those two will put on a main event worthy of the venue.
The Smile Squash reunion has achieved its goal when the unit became the new KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions! It is a significant achievement for the trio because both HARASHIMA and Yasu Urano have never held the title in their long careers while Akito wanted to win the belts with both of them. Akito scored the pin thanks to HARASHIMA hitting the Somato on KANON while KANON was trying to put Akito in the Cobra Twist. Akito gave a history lesson of the group after the match, explaining they originally broke up in a way that left bad tastes in their mouths but they got over it like adults. HARASHIMA said his generation will continue to do their best and he would like to defend the titles for 10 years! DAMNATION T.A however are made they lost another championship in their first defence. This keeps happening whenever they win a tag team title! Daisuke Sasaki blamed KANON and asked him if he’s trying to get into the Guinness Book of Records for having the most 0 defence title reigns? Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul all want a rematch right away.
CDK celebrated their 5th year anniversary as a team by having an impromptu defence of the IWA Japan SETUP World Tag Team Titles against Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi. After CDK won the match Masahiro Takanashi suggested they should hold their own show featuring different wrestlers from all of the different promotions he and Chris Brookes regularly appear in to celebrate their 5th anniversary even more.
Also celebrating his anniversary in wrestling today was the referee Daisuke Kiso. He put together a match between Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie against To-y & Yuni for the occasion. Both Ishii & Irie were thankful to Kiso for being invited to take part.
Recent events in NOAH led to Jun Akiyama inviting Atsushi Kotoge over to DDT to learn a new thing or two. Together with Tomomitsu Matsunaga they defeated BURNING when Kotoge pinned Yuya Koroku with the Killswitch. Everyone then discovered that Kotoge did not come here on his own. Go Shiozaki appeared after the match! He keeps hearing that Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino want to fight him so how about Shiozaki & Kotoge challenge them for the KO-D Tag Team Titles? Endo agreed and the match will take place at Sumo Hall on 21st July!
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ FINAL!!”, 26/05/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,005 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Yuni & Keigo Nakamura defeated Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Sumi with the Diving Headbutt (8:51).
1. KANON & MJ Paul defeated HARASHIMA & Akito when KANON pinned Akito with the Ground Cobra Twist (7:59).
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final: MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi with the Iai Kick (11:43).
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Semi Final – No DQ Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Chris Brookes with the El Es Culero (13:48).
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada when Oishi pinned Hirata with a Rock Bottom (0:05).
4a. Rematch: Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada defeated Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi and Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Naya pinned Hirata and Oishi with the Double Choke Slam (6:42).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shuji Ishikawa, Masahiro Takanashi & Yuya Koroku defeated Poison Sawada JULIE, Tetsumamushi Endo & Yuki “Anaconda” Iino when Koroku pinned JULIE with a Moonsault Press (9:01).
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Ueno pinned Matsunaga with the WR (11:45).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Final: MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the 450 Cannonball (23:45).
On the 20th Anniversary a new King Of DDT has been crowned and it is MAO! He reached all the way to the final where Daisuke Sasaki was there standing in his way. MAO wanted to win quickly and busted out the Hollywood Star Press for a nearfall. Sasaki then started targeting MAO’s knees before taking him outside to do a Super Diving Elbow Drop while MAO was sitting in the front row. MAO fought back by biting his way out of the Crossface Lock, turning Sasaki over with the Michinoku Driver I and then applying the Just Face Lock. Sasaki took a big risk to get back into the fight by giving MAO a Superplex out of the ring onto members of The 37KAMIINA and DAMNATION T.A below. He then tried using flash pins including the Hurricanrana but MAO wore him down with Palm Strikes, the Iai Kick and the Cannonball 450 to win.
With this victory MAO thinks he now has a spot in the main event of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. He called Yuki Ueno into the ring to tell him it could be those two fighting for the KO-D Openweight Title at Sumo Hall. However Ueno told everyone that he has to beat Sanshiro Takagi first on 5th June. Takagi entered the ring to congratulate MAO and tell him that he too is fighting to achieve his dream of being in a KO-D Title match at Sumo Hall. The closest he’s been to that position was the King Of DDT 2009 final but he lost to Kota Ibushi. MAO reminded Takagi he still had the Weapon Rumble match against The Great Sasuke that year and that match captured MAO’s heart. So much so that if Takagi becomes his opponent at Sumo Hall then they should have a Weapon Rumble match! But if he faces Ueno the match will just be held under normal rules. Ueno was relieved to hear that. The three of them all agreed by sharing a toast together in the ring.
Sasaki went through a war with Chris Brookes in the semi-finals. The two agreed to have a No DQ Match over expectations that both could cheat against each other. Instead it became a full blown hardcore match with tables, plastic boxes, chairs, a ladder, a stapler and even a fork board laid against the corner with “Fuck You Sasaki” painted on it. Brookes also had backup in the form of Mecha Mummy but Sasaki used a taser to make it short circuit and play no further part in the match. Sasaki was thrown from the ladder through a table and Brookes followed up by hitting a Diving Double Knee Drop onto the remains. Sasaki kicked out and then countered the Praying Mantis Bomb into El Es Culero cradle to steal the win from out of nowhere. A bloody Brookes threw everything he could get his hands on around the ring out of anger after the match.
The other semi-final had MAO beating a previous King Of DDT winner Kazusada Higuchi. He had to use Middle Kicks and Palm Strikes to try and match Higuchi’s Chops and Headbutt. The Doctor Bomb Higuchi used was kicked out of but so was the Green Tea Plunge that MAO pulled out. The match came down to duel between the two. Higuchi charged in looking to do the Buchikamashi but MAO blocked it with a Thrust Kick, stunned Higuchi with a Palm Strike, cut off a Lariat with a Hurricane Kick and finally put his opponent down with the Iai Kick. Higuchi had no problem admitting backstage that MAO is a really, really strong wrestler.
Ueno and Takagi used their 6-Man Tag as a preview for what to expect in the KO-D Title bout by brawling with each other in the crowd with the Dramatic Dream bike involved before taking the fight up to the balcony. They had more to offer back in the ring with Ueno doing a Dropkick and Takagi firing back with the Stunner. Tomomitsu Matsunaga used the opening to hit Ueno with the Tommy Bomber for a nearfall. Ueno recovered and Dropkicked Matsunaga in the face before pinning him with the WR. After the match Takagi said he does not care if Ueno is ready or not for the title match. Takagi is now free from responsibility and will be at his most immature on 5th June! Meanwhile To-y told Shunma Katsumata they will be enemies on 21st June because he wants to win the DDT Extreme Title from him in the 5 Way Sauna match. In fact, To-y accused Katsumata of not helping him during today’s match so they may already be enemies!
Plans for Match #4 changed when before the match Poison Sawada JULIE looking for his teammates to brainwash them with his Snake Magic. While this was going on, Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino asked Yuya Koroku in a nearby locker room to go find them something to drink. Koroku found some cans labelled “Modification Drink” in the room where JULIE was just in and gave them to his BURNING partners. What happened when they drank it scared Koroku out of the room while a returning JULIE was pleased with the results. It all became clear what happened when JULIE entered the ring with Endo & Iino both brainwashed into becoming Tetsumamushi Endo & Yuki “Anaconda” Iino! Koroku now had to team with JULIE’s original partners Shuji Ishikawa & Masahiro Takanashi in order to win the antidotes that would turn Endo & Iino back to normal. It was a tough challenge but a well timed dodge from Kuroku caused Iino to Spear Endo by accident. Koroku then gave JULIE a Back Drop and pinned him with the Moonsault Press. He then quickly fed his friends the cans of antidote to free them from JULIE’s snake magic. Whenever JULIE returns to DDT he promises to get revenge on Koroku for stopping him from turning BURNING into his new Snake Magic army.
The 3 Way Tag Match ended too quickly thanks to Makoto Oishi immediately pinning Kazuki Hirata with a Rock Bottom before one of the other teams even made it to the ring. It required a restart and the same result almost happened. Yukio Naya made it in time to break it up so the match could continue. A noticable trend then happened where Takeshi Masada became left out of all of the multi-man spots. Somehow Yukinori Matsui took his place! When Masada became upset over it, Hisaya Imabayashi paused the match and ordered everyone to let Masada be more involved because he is already a lonely college student. Most of them although Danshoku Dieno wasn’t really interested. Naya instructed Masada to climb the top turnbuckle and wait for the opportunity to do a big move while Naya took care of Dieno and Toru Owashi. Oishi and Hirata tried to give Naya the Double Miracle Ecstasy but it was countered into a Double Choke Slam. Naya decided to pin the both of them while Masada was still waiting on the top turnbuckle. The match ended with them as the winners but a sad and lonely Masada took his time to leave the ring.
DAMNATION T.A halted some of Smile Squash’s momentum in the opening match. HARASHIMA & Akito were doing well against KANON & MJ Paul until KANON caught Akito in the Cobra Twist. He then grounded the move and rolled Akito over to pin his shoulders to the mat for a 3 count. KANON bragged about beating Akito with a roll up style move, something that Akito is meant to be a master of. Fans like it when teams from the past reunite but he hates it and for that reason hates Smile Squash too. HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano weren’t angry over the result. They assured Akito that they now all learned KANON is capable of winning that way and they will have to be careful of it in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match.
In the dark match Yuni hit Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi with a top rope Moonsault out of the ring. He then gave Sumi a Spinning DDT in the ring and Keigo Nakamura followed up with the John Woo Dropkick for a nearfall. Nakamura didn’t waste anytime and landed the Diving Headbutt to get the win.
A new singles match was announced for “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”. Konosuke Takeshita will face Masato Tanaka in a rematch from March 2020!
There was an announcement during the show that DDT and GCW will be co-promoting a show together in Korakuen Hall on 12th August as part of GCW’s next tour of Japan. The show is called “NEVER ENDING NOISY SUMMER” and Effy sent in a video message to promote it. GCW talent currently announced for the show include Joey Janela, Effy, Allie Katch, Masha Slamovich, Mance Warner, Jordan Oliver, Dark Sheik, Alex Zayne and Rina Yamashita.
Before any of the matches began there was a special presentation held by Saki Akai. One of her first projects with DDT since retiring from pro wrestling last year was to set up a crowdfunding campaign to buy new training equipment for the company. The campaign succeeded and today Akai donated the new equipment to Takagi and DDT.
DDT will be launching a new photobook with Leslie Kee on 21st July. They previously worked together for a photobook called “Super DDT” back in 2013.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 18/05/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. 3 Way Match: Suzume Vs Mahiro Kiryu Vs Shino Suzuki
2. Arisu Endo, Kaya Toribami & Chika Nanase Vs Raku, Moka Miyamoto & Uta Takami
3. Nao Kakuta Vs Runa Okubo
4. Shoko Nakajima & Haru Kazashiro Vs Mizuki & Pom Harajuku
5. Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & HIMAWARI Vs Maki Itoh, Yuki Aino & Toga
6. Queen Of Asia Title & VPW Women’s Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c/c) Vs Alexis Lee
Tomorrow’s show has to change a few matches because Kira Summer will be absent due to family circumstances.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 25/05/2024 Kanagawa Fujisawa City Shonandai Cultural Center
1. Aja Kong & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto
When Tokyo Joshi Pro heads over to Yuki Kamifuku’s neck of the woods next week, she’ll be teaming up with Aja Kong! The two wrestlers paired up to face them are Rika Tatsumi & Moka Miyamoto.
Mizuki will be wrestling at a SETUP show in Thailand on the same day so she will be missing this show.
BASARA “BASARA 249 ~UTAGE~”, 28/05/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Ryuichi Sekine, Fuminori Abe & Gaia Hox Vs FUMA, KUBITO & Yasu Urano
2. Isami Kodaka, Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino Vs Lil’ Kraken, Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
3. SAGAT Vs Gouma Ryu
4. Iron Fist Tag Team Titles: Ryota Nakatsu & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster
5. Union MAX Title: Minoru Fujita (c) Vs Daichi Kazato
Results for SAGAT have been going up and down recently in BASARA. If he is on a downslope then this can be Gouma Ryu’s best chance to beat him in a singles match.
DDT “WHAT ARE YOU DOING 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 05/06/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Daisuke Kiso Referee 14th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs To-y & Yuni
2. CDK 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON &MJ Paul (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano
Smile Squash has been revived in a bid to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles for the first time. Akito has held the belts before but HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano both have not. They defeated DAMNATION T.A in a non-title match yesterday so put out the challenge for a rematch with the titles on the line.
DDT “SANSHIRO TAKAGI VS SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE ONE MATCH EVENT”, 26/06/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
As we get ever closer towards Sanshiro Takagi’s break from wrestling in matches, Super Sasadango Machine has emerged asking to wrestle him one on one. In order to fit the match into Takagi’s busy schedule the bout will take place as a one match show held inside Shinjuku FACE. If that is not enough of a unique selling point, there are going to be 50 types of tickets and seating options that will be put on sale for the show.
DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 1”, 16/05/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage 298 Fans
1. 3 Way Match: Keigo Nakamura defeated Soma Takao and Ilusion when Nakamura pinned Ilusion with a Modified Crucifix Pin (7:49).
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Akiyama defeated Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi when Takagi pinned Sumi with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (7:42).
3. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty NG Behaviour Penalty Match: Shunma Katsumata, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi defeated Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku when Iino was Disqualified for doing 3 NG acts (9:12).
4. Early Summer Beer Garden Specialty Doki Doki! Special Rules Match – 1 Count Fall Rules: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Takanashi pinned Hirata with a Cradle (0:39).
4a. Rematch – Falls Count Anywhere 1,000 Count Death Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Kazuki Hirata when Brookes pinned Hirata (66:03).
5. Smile Squash Vs DAMNATION T.A!: HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito defeated Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul when Akito pinned KANON with a Stepover Toe Hold (12:52).
6. Yuki Ishida Return Match ~ The 37KAMIINA Vs Harimao!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Ryota Nakatsu & Yuki Ishida when To-y pinned Ishida with the Kojima Impact (21:00).
Today was the return of Yuki Ishida to the ring after having a lower back injury that took him out for half a year. His team lost and he took the fall in the main event but that did not spoil the big news he announced after the show. Starting on 20th May he will be working for a sumo entertainment company called SUMO Agency and he’ll be relocating to Osaka to be part of a sumo show targeted towards foreign tourists. This new job means he will only be able to wrestle for DDT once or twice a month. He wanted to return to his roots in order to shine brighter and bring whatever momentum he makes back to DDT.
The Smile Squash revival is going to stick around a little while longer. After the trio defeated DAMNATION T.A in a non-title match Akito realized that Smile Squash never held the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles together. He made the challenge for a title shot, HARASHIMA agreed because he never held that championship before and Yasu Urano is joining along so he can get more DDT bookings. During the match itself Smile Squash almost gained a new member. They encouraged KANON to join them because he has a nice smile. He jumped sides until Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul force fed him beer to turn him back to his, er, normal self.
There was a secret special rule applied to Match #4. It took everyone under a minute to discover the rule was 1 Count Pinfalls when Masahiro Takanashi pinned Kazuki Hirata and immediately won the match. Hirata demanded a rematch and this time the winning team would be whichever one scores a combined total of 1,000 counts from pinfalls, countouts and DQ counts! CDK agreed and restarted the match. The total count went up to 34 when both teams fought too far away from the venue to follow so the show continued without them. They reappeared after the main event where the count was somewhere in the late 900s. The main eventers were still in the ring so Danshoku Dieno decided to give Ishida a Lip Lock just because. Ishida remained involved and hit Hirata with the Flame Palm. CDK then piled on top of them to score the 1,000th pin count and win the match.
Match #3 also had a rule built around secret. The referees determined that every wrestler would have one move or action be deemed NG or No Good for the match. If a wrestler performed a No Good action they would be sent off to the penalty area up in the balcony. They would only be allowed back in the match if one of their partners also did a No Good move and had to replace them in the penalty area. But if someone did a No Good move three times their team would be disqualified. The wrestlers were not told what the banned moves were so it was up to them to figure it out as the match went on. Yuki Iino was immediately sent off for shouting “BURNING!”. Shunma Katsumata was sent off for doing the NeppoWER pose. Toru Owashi was sent off for doing a Horizontal Chop. Makoto Oishi was sent off for clapping. Tetsuya Endo was sent off for doing a Swan Dive move. Yuya Koroku was sent off for doing a Brainbuster. In the end Iino was disqualified for saying “BURNING!” three times. He ended up getting confused which caused him to say “BURNING!” and “NeppoWER!” over and over.
Both Sanshiro Takagi and Akito didn’t let their CyberFight demotions ruin their wrestling performances. They both won their matches today. Takagi told the fans he will continue to be in charge of DDT and Tokyo Joshi Pro from his new Vice President position. Really the only problem he has to deal with is his Big President merch is now inaccurate and he will need to make a replacement shirt.
Takagi was also challenged to a singles match by Super Sasadango Machine. He was surprised to hear the earlier news about Takagi and felt there is limited time for them to have one more match together before Takagi takes a break from being a wrestler. Takagi’s schedule was full until Sasadango came up with an idea. Their match will be on a one-match show at Shinjuku FACE on 26th June! Fifty unique types of ticket deals for the show will be made available with more to be added if there is demand.
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 2ND ROUND”, 11/05/2024 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. 3 Way Tag Match: KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Akito Vs Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Poison Sawada JULIE, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno Vs Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi
3. Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata Vs Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Chris Brookes Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Sanshiro Takagi
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kazusada Higuchi
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 2: To-y Vs MAO
Here’s the match order for King Of DDT Round 2. The match pitting two of The 37KAMIINA against each other gets the main event spot. The semi final pairings will be decided with a lottery held at the end of the show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW LIVE TOUR 2024 SPRING”, 11/05/2024 Osaka Azalea Taisho Hall
1. 3 Way Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku Vs Uta Takami
2. Mahiro Kiryu Vs Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Shino Suzuki
4. Yuki Aino Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Shoko Nakajima, Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI Vs Maki Itoh, Haru Kazashiro & Runa Okubo
6. Miu Watanabe, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Mizuki, Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
A few changes to the undercard because Toga is too unwell to wrestle tomorrow. Yuki Aino is now facing Pom Harajuku. The tag match Harajuku was a part of has been changed into a 3 Way Match.
BASARA “BASARA 248 ~TAKAGARI 24~”, 11/05/2024 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Masato Kamino & Yasu Urano Vs Chicharito Shoki & Daiju Wakamatsu
2. Minoru Fujita Vs SAGAT
3. FUMA, KUBITO & Jet Bar Vs Lil’ Kraken, Leo Isaka & Takahiro Katori
4. Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Judomaster
5. Union MAX Title Next Challenger Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Daichi Kazato
More injuries to talk about. Takato Nakano dislocated his left shoulder during training this week so he is now out of action. He also tweeted about dealing with knee pain from time to time. He is hoping to recover from everything so and do his best to come back to the ring in perfect condition. Yasu Urano is moved into his spot in the opener of tomorrow’s BASARA show. Jet Bar (an alter ego of Thanomsak Toba) will be taking Urano’s place in the trios bout later in the show.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2024 IN MIYAGI”, 12/05/2024 Miyagi Yume Messe West Building Hall
1. Akito & Yuya Koroku Vs Makoto Oishi & Yukio Naya
2. Danshoku Dieno, Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
3. Special Single Match: Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul
4. Yuki Ueno & To-y Vs Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A!: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Daisuke Sasaki & KANON
No way was Yoshitatsu Vs MJ Paul going to be the bloody semi-main event!
DDT “EARLY SUMMER BEER GARDEN PRO WRESTLING – DAY 2”, 17/05/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Chris Brookes Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura
3. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Makoto Oishi
4. MAO & To-y Vs Toru Owashi & Akito
5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino Vs Yuki Ueno & Kazuki Hirata
6. Danshoku Dieno Birthday Eve Commemorative Match ~ Special 3 Way Match: Takeshi Masada Vs Kazuma Sumi (Special Referee: Danshoku Dieno)
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Antonio Honda
After getting examined, Rukiya’s injury has been diagnosed as a cervical sprain. He will be out of action for a while. The only change to this card is his removal from Danshoku Dieno’s match.
GANBARE☆PRO “EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE 2024”, 18/05/2024 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Shota Kawakami Debut Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shota Kawakami
2. Ken Ohka, Banny Oikawa & Gabai Ji-chan vs Hartley Jackson, Choun-Shiryu & Yuna Manase
3. Ken Ohka & Baliyan Akki Vs Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase
4. Yumehito Imanari Vs Tyson Maeguchi
5. Spirit Of Ganbare World Tag Team Titles: Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada (c) Vs Shinichiro Tominaga & Daisuke®️
6. Kitsune World Title: Sayaka Unagi (c) Vs YuuRI
7. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Kouki Iwasaki
It wasn’t meant to be this way but Ken Ohka is going to wrestle three times on this show! Munetatsu Nakamura pulled out because he is sick and HARUKAZE can’t show up because of a scheduling conflict. Apparently Ohka told management he is willing to work twice and step in to fight either Shigehiro Irie or Mizuki Watase. He didn’t expect to be given a tag match against both of them. He also didn’t expect to be put in a third match either! That right there is a lesson in being careful if you offer to do extra work at your job.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 11 ~ YUKINORI MATSUI REFEREE 30TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE ~ MAKING THE SQUARE WORLD INTERESTING”, 19/05/2024 Osaka City Sumiyoshi Civic Center
1. Future Is Here!: Yuni Vs Ilusion Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Staggered Entry Tag Battle Royal “Surprise! Tag Rumble”: Keisuke Ishii & Akito Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Soma Takao & Shota Vs KANON & MJ Paul Vs Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida Vs Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re Vs X & X
3. An Absolutely Outrageous Tag Match Between The Four Heavenly Kings Of The Variety Team: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Co., Ltd. Presents Mixed Martial Arts Battle: Bushimasa Vs Thanomsak Toba
5. THE Non-Stop Action Battle! ~Three High Speed Crows Vs Naniwa Pro Wrestling Three Musketeers~: Naruki Doi, Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura Vs Yuto Kikuchi, Harutoki & Kohei Kinoshita
6. Seisho Kogyo Co., Ltd. Presents Battle Between Generations! Legends Vs Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Korku
7. Tsuji Dental Clinic & Yasuda Dental Clinic Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match – “20 Years Ago THE OSAKA”: Magnitude Kishiwada, HUB & Kengo Takai Vs Tsubasa, Billy Ken Kid & Shoichi Uchida
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Everyone Is Superhuman!~: HARASHIMA, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya
9. PANTASIA Presents Special Tag Match Wrestling Masters Vs Let’s Go 40’s ~With The Bolivian Wind~: Dick Togo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda
10. Triple Main Event Kagoshima no Dancho Presents Special Single Match Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro & Yukinori Matsui, Everyone’s 30th Anniversary, Add Them To Get 90th Anniversary(!) Commemorative Match ~Laughing Fukuraimon~: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
11. Triple Main Event Ondo Metal Co., Ltd. Presents Special Tag Match ~DDT PRIDE~: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO & Tetsuya Endo
12. Triple Main Event – From All Over The World, Arriving In Osaka. Special Singles Match ~THE ALPHA Vs King Of Pro Wrestling~: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Minoru Suzuki
A disagreement broke out between Bushimasa and Thanomsak Toba over what rules they will use for their match. Toba wanted to use MMA rules but Bushimasa wants the match to be a Tire Boxing fight! They eventually agreed to do one round each of both. Round 1 will be an MMA fight with a 3 minute time limit, submissions allowed and a 10 count for Knockout. Round 2 is Tire Boxing where both fighters keep a foot in the middle of a tire and box each other. Victory is achieved by knocking the opponent out of the tire 3 times or knocking them out with a 5 Count. If there is no winner after both rounds then the fight will be ruled a draw.
Here are the names of each of the tag teams entering the Rumble match. Keisuke Ishii & Akito are “Wakamori Generation!“, Masahiro Takanashi & Makoto Oishi are “Team Sneaky People“, Soma Takao & Shota are ROMANCE DAWN of course, KANON & MJ Paul are “DAMNATION T.A Special Attack Team“, Yuki Iino & Yuki Ishida are “Dosukoi BURNING ~100% Yuki~” and Toru Owashi & Black Menso-re are “El Dorado Brother Combination?“.
Rukiya’s injury removes him from the opening match. The tag bout is now a 3 Way.
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TAKASHIMAYA VOL. 2”, 01/06/2024 Tokyo Shinjuku Takashimaya 1st Floor JR Exit Special Venue
1. Shinjuku Takashimaya Half Day Promotional Ambassador Contest Staggered Entry Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yuni Vs Keigo Nakamura Vs Kazuma Sumi Vs Pokotan Vs X
2. HARASHIMA, Kazuasada Higuchi & Soma Takao Vs Chris Brookes, Yukio Naya & Takeshi Masada
3. Yuki Ueno, MAO & To-y Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
The event will have these three matches spread out across the day with different activities going on in between them. Saki Akai will be there to do a talk show for example.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PRISM ’24”, 09/06/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Vert Vixen
A video message was sent by Vert Vixen from America to Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier today. She is coming back to Japan this summer and has levelled up to the point where she wants to challenge Miu Watanabe for the Princess Of Princess Title!
DDT “KING OF DDT ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~ 1ST ROUND”, 05/05/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,025 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku defeated Yuni, Ilusion & Kazuma Sumi when Nakamura pinned Sumi with the Diving Headbutt (9:25).
0. Dark Match: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (0:09).
0a. Rematch: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (4:43).
1. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: MAO defeated Poison Sawada JULIE with the Iai Kick (9:16).
2. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: To-y defeated KANON with a Frankensteiner (11:09).
3. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Yuki Ueno with the Stone Cold Stunner (11:09).
4. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Iino with the Standing Crossover Face Lock (11:15).
5. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya with the Buchikamashi (14:12).
6. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Shuji Ishikawa defeated HARASHIMA with the Giant Slam (13:58).
7. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo defeated Danshoku Dieno with the Burning Tanetsuke Press (18:26).
8. King Of DDT 20th Anniversary – Round 1: Chris Brookes defeated Takeshi Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb (15:53).
2004 was the year when DDT held its first King Of DDT tournament. It was not held on an annual basis until 2009 but the history of the tournament is filled with winners who have gone on to accomplish many things in DDT and pro wrestling as a whole. This year is the 20th anniversary of the first King Of DDT and the 18th edition of the event. The main show began with all of the 16 participants lining up in the ring for the opening ceremony.
The main event was all about SCHADENFREUDE International as two of its members faced off in the last of the Round 1 matches. Brookes had a special guest with him because Zack Sabre Jr. was there to be in his corner. Takeshi Masada wanted to win badly and tried using the Takatonic and the KOBU Mukimuki. He even tried to withstand the pain from taking an Avalanche Tiger Suplex but at that point Brookes just had to keep up the attack until he won. Masada had one last chance left when he countered the Praying Mantis Bomb but Brookes countered the Mukimuki, hit two Somatos and pinned Masada with the Praying Mantis Bomb. After the match Brookes told Masada that any bad things he said about him at the press conference was lies and he really wanted him to do his best today. Backstage Brookes and Sabre talked up the tag match they are having at “ALL TOGETHER” tomorrow.
Meeting Brookes in the next round is Tetsuya Endo. He had to dig in deep to beat Danshoku Dieno because Dieno was ready to avoid the Burning Star Press at any opportunity. One of the counters Dieno pulled off was a top rope Frankensteiner! He also had Makoto Oishi interfering when the two of them gave Endo the 3D after the referee was knocked out with a Lip Lock. Dieno went into the Hell Gate position over the turnbuckles but it was Oishi who got a face full of the Gate. Endo then grabbed Dieno by the crotch and Headbutted his butt! When Endo climbed the top rope to finally hit the Burning Star Press, Dieno had one last idea to defend himself. He rolled over and stuck his butt into the air daring Endo to jump in. Endo did exactly what Dieno wanted except first he pulled off Dieno’s tights and then hit the Burning Star Press! He was able to turn Dieno over and pin him without exposing anything further to the crowd.
After the match El Desperado unexpectedly entered the ring while Oishi was getting Dieno’s trunks back on him. He has a lot to look forward to this summer but he isn’t here to talk about the Best Of The Super Juniors or his next DDT appearance at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”. Instead he pulled out two invitations for the “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” event he is holding at Korakuen Hall on 10th June. The two invitations are for Dieno and a wrestler of his choice. If it was up entirely to Desperado he would have wanted his main event to be Pheromones Vs House Of Torture just so he could see Dieno chase EVIL around the ring. Dieno confirmed to him that Pheromones have disbanded and cannot be brought back. Desperado will give him the invitations anyway and trusts Dieno to find a suitable partner so they can do something similar to Pheromones at the show. Dieno asked if that means his partner does not have to be anybody from DDT? Desperado said yes, the choice is all up to Dieno and no one else.
One of the former King Of DDT winners Shuji Ishikawa returned with a bang by eliminating HARASHIMA in Round 1. HARASHIMA was able to kick out of the Splash Mountain, Running Knee Lift, Fire Thunder and also the Kamigoye. But he was a beaten man at that point and was finally put away with the Giant Slam. He will be facing Kazusada Higuchi in the next round and Higuchi met him in the ring after the match to give him a Headbutt! Backstage Ishikawa admitted he needs to improve his own conditioning. When he fights Higuchi he will either strike out or hit a home run. If the latter happens then nothing will stop Ishikawa from winning the tournament and then the KO-D Openweight Title!
Higuchi already got rid of one big boy to advance into Round 2. He beat Yukio Naya by wearing him down with the Brain Claw inbetween the moments of high impact moves between them. Naya finally went down to a series of Headbutts and struggled to get back to his feet to beat the 10 count. When he did stand back up, Higuchi was already in position to run him over with the Buchikamashi for the victory. As mentioned above, Higuchi is eager to face Ishikawa next.
Yuki Iino was almost unstoppable against Daisuke Sasaki but “Charisma” found a way to beat him eventually. Chair shots over the head and interference from MJ Paul didn’t work. Even trying to Spear Iino just had Sasaki bounce off of him. What did work was countering the Spear into a Pedigree in midair. It wasn’t enough to pin Iino but Sasaki was able to give him La Mistica Crossover Face Lock from there. Iino used his power to stand back up but Sasaki would not let go of the hold, keeping it on tight so Iino had no choice but to give up from the pain he was feeling in his shoulder. Sasaki bragged about showing off his power as the strongest wrestler in DDT.
There were a couple of upsets in Round 1. The biggest of perhaps the entire tournament is the KO-D Champion Yuki Ueno losing to Sanshiro Takagi! This year’s King Of DDT looks to be Takagi’s last stand before he takes a break from being a wrestler and he could not have sent out a louder message for everyone to hear. They fought in the crowd so Takagi could knock Ueno down the stairs. Ueno fought back with a Moonsault out of the ring and also a Frog Splash in the ring. But he missed the BME, landing on his feet right there for Takagi to give him the Stunner for the shock three count! Takagi later said if he wins the tournament then he will challenge Ueno for the KO-D Title. Ueno does not want to end this with a loss and thinks Takagi must come challenge him for the title eventually.
The other big upset in the opening round is To-y advancing past KANON. He kept on getting hit with K-Spikes but fought back using the Kojima Wonderland. KANON avoided the Kojima Impace but got caught with a Frankensteiner for the upset loss. He heard KANON’s comments about Hideki Okatani during the week and is sure Okatani was supporting him rather than KANON. All he needs is a 1% chance of winning to turn it into a 100% chance! Meanwhile KANON can’t believe he lost in the first round again. After three years of trying he has never gotten past Round 1 in the King Of DDT.
It was a battle of magic and danger when MAO took on the very first King Of DDT winner Poison Sawada JULIE. The dreaded Snake Magic is Sawada’s main weapon. Using it causes the victim to raise their rattling hand in the air to show that Sawada can then make them do whatever he wants. However it turns out MAO has been learning the same dark magic and used his own version to fight back. The spells ended up knocking out Yukinori Matsui after they were deflected into his direction. MAO then summoned invisible baseball bats rigged with explosives that had its own warning siren to go with it. He and Sawada both hit each other with the bats, causing an invisible explosion every time. Sawada then blinded MAO with Poison Mist but couldn’t get the three count with the Choke Slam or the Maoi Of Easter. MAO had to defend himself from the magic and did so by spitting his own Mist in Sawada’s face. Sawada was then powerless to block the Iai Kick, ending the match and eliminating him from the tournament.
The King Of DDT Round 2 matches on 11th May will be MAO Vs To-y, Sanshiro Takagi Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shuji Ishikawa and Tetsuya Endo Vs Chris Brookes.
One of the dark matches ended before Jun Akiyama could even enter the ring so they had to restart it on his orders. His team did their entrance again and the same thing almost happened a second time. However Akiyama was there to stop Oishi from quickly pinning Kazuki Hirata again so everyone could get a chance to wrestle. Later in the match everyone began to fight over the Hirata GO! Glasses. When Akiyama was the last man standing he decided to put them on. Right when he was about to dance Oishi pinned Hirata to cut the music and end the match.
The other dark match had Keigo Nakamura winning the bout for his team. Yuni & Ilusion both did dives onto Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku outside the ring. But Kazuma Sumi couldn’t follow up for his side and got pinned by Nakamura’s Diving Headbutt.
There were a few announcements for some of DDT’s upcoming shows. Minoru Suzuki will be at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” on 21st July. There will be a Street Pro Wrestling match held inside a sauna on 21st June with Sayaka Unagi as one of the participants. Unagi will also be at the 20th July Beer Garden show.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 