DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2021”, 26/09/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 713 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Under Match – Exhibition Match: Yuya Koroku Vs Yuki Ishida ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
0. Under Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Yumiko Hotta defeated Shinya Aoki & Mizuki Watase when Hotta pinned Aoki with the Pyramid Driver (7:04).
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) defeated Yusuke Okada & Hideki Okatani when Iino pinned Okatani with the Sexy Lariat (4:40).
2. Record Of Ragnarok Collaboration Match ~ Gods Vs Humanity~: Daisuke “Zeus” Sekimoto, Kazusada “Beelzebub” Higuchi, Yukio “Susanoo-no-Mikoto” Naya & “Apollo” Akito Vs Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Keigo “Adam” Nakamura (w/ Brynhildr) when Sekimoto pinned Nakamura with the Deadlift German Suplex (7:56).
3. Masahiro Takanashi DDT Return Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Saki Akai & Antonio Honda defeated Masahiro Takanashi, Toru Owashi & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Honda pinned Takanashi with the Diving Fist Drop (10:50).
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshihiko defeated HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata when Yoshihiko pinned HARASHIMA with the Reincarnation (10:09).
5. DAMNATION Dissolution Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Shuji Ishikawa, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani (w/ Yuji Hino) when Sasaki submitted Shimatani with La Mistica Crossface Lock (15:12).
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Chris Brookes with the Plus Ultra (29:51). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
The weeks leading up to today’s KO-D Openweight Title match was built around whether or not Konosuke Takeshita could beat Chris Brookes with the Plus Ultra. But first a lot of big bombs were dropped in and out the ring to get there. Takeshita did an Avalanche Power Bomb. Brookes fought back with the Praying Mantis Bomb and the Octopus Stretch. Takeshita stayed in the hold but was still able to stand up and climb the turnbuckles again, this time with Brookes on his back. Brookes turned it into his advantage and he did an Avalanche Crucifix Driver. He went for the Praying Mantis Bomb once more but Takeshita did his best to avoid it. Some Lariats from the champion took their toll and Brookes was soon bleeding from the mouth. He kept kicking out of pins so Takeshita finally put him in the Plus Ultra and got him to give up.
After the match Takeshita revealed that Brookes once said he doesn’t have any friends in Japan. Takeshita wants Brookes to take a look and see that he has made many friends in DDT and ChocoPro. In fact, Takeshita even calls Brookes his best friend! He thanked him for coming to Japan and for choosing DDT. After the two hugged, Takeshita said he was happy to have a main event like this in front of a sold out Korakuen Hall. There are still many empty seats because of social distancing but he is sure the day will come in the future when all of them are full again for a DDT show. Backstage Takeshita said next year will be his 10th year in wrestling. He will fight for the next 10 years to give back everything that he’s gotten over the last decade. In regards to his friendship with Brookes, they are two wrestlers who are enthusiastic wrestling fans. Takeshita thinks he can be seen as the Japanese Chris Brookes while Brookes can be seen as the British Takeshita.
It was time to say farewell to DAMNATION. The unit had been around since 2016 but is now forced to go their separate ways after losing the DRAMATIC SURVIVOR tournament earlier this month. The majority of the unit’s members gathered together for the final match. Hiroshi Yamato wasn’t here but recorded a message to be included in the pre-match video. The match itself wasn’t friendly with Shuji Ishikawa & Soma Takao both holding Daisuke Sasaki responsible for the split. They took their frustration out on him whenever he was in the ring while Yuji Hino got illegally involved outside the ring at certain points. However Sasaki had Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie to back him up and with their help Sasaki got the last laugh in the end by submitting Nobuhiro Shimatani. DAMNATION all got together after the match and Sasaki thanked the fans for following them over the last 5 years. All that was left to do is let DAMNATION perform karaoke one final time. Ishikawa then sang “Choo Choo TRAIN” by EXILE while Hino filmed everyone dancing. Sasaki stopped Ishikawa’s singing to remind everyone “We don’t conform, we don’t kiss ass and we don’t get married!” DAMNATION, forever!
The forbidden tag team has been put together! Jun Akiyama and Yoshihiko teamed together for the first time ever to beat HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata. It was a big deal but something Akiyama wasn’t 100% comfortable with. His only worry was if today’s special guest Riki Choshu was still in the building while the match went on. As long as Choshu didn’t see what Akiyama did today then everything’s ok! Akiyama & Yoshihiko performed stereo Exploder Suplexes before Yoshihiko pinned Hirata with the Reincarnation. Akiyama made sure once more that Choshu wasn’t around and said he had a lot of fun today.
The return of Masahiro Takanashi to DDT wasn’t the most glamourous of occasions. He was thrown right back into the wacky side of the company. He was also thrown right back into Danshoku Dieno’s backside but we’re getting ahead of things. Naomi Yoshimura wanted to beat up Takanashi because there isn’t enough room for two “orange” wrestlers in DDT. Even Saki Akai wasn’t shy in kicking Takanashi a little harder than she usually would. Toru Owashi didn’t even do much to protect him either. Takanashi almost had Antonio Honda set up for the Takatonic but he ended up getting a face-full of Dieno as mentioned above. Honda then gave Takanashi the TTD and got the three count with the Diving Fist Drop. A group photo was taken after the match with Yukio Sakaguchi joining it.
The Record Of Ragnarok pitted Gods against Humanity while Choshu watched from the commentary booth. The Humanity team were led to the ring by Brynhildr (played by Haruna Iikubo) but they quickly learned they were no match against the Gods led by Daisuke Sekimoto. One by one Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & MAO were picked apart by Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Akito. In one final desperate move, Brynhildr called forth the very first human Adam! Nakamura reappeared dressed as “Adam” but Sekimoto destroyed him to leave the Gods victorious. When the dust settled, Choshu & Brynhildr promoted the Record Of Ragnarok anime and stage show. Choshu said he wished he could have done a wrestling match like this in his era, especially against somebody like Sekimoto. Choshu also said if God really did want to destroy the human race then he would fight him!
The growing power of Pheromones was too much for Yusuke Okada & Hideki Okatani to handle. Yuki Iino has found a way to do a sexy version of the Lariat to make it a stronger move. This match aired live on DDT’s Youtube channel so Sanshiro Takagi was concerned the channel was about to get banned thanks to the lewd antics of Iino & Yumehito Imanari. Takagi decided it is up to him and Okada to stop Pheromones from damaging DDT any further. He booked himself, Okada and a third partner to face Pheromones at Ota Ward Gymnasium on 3rd November. Not only that but the match will be for the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles! Dieno accepted on the condition that if Pheromones wins then Takagi must let them continue doing whatever they want, even if it destroys DDT. Takagi promised he will beat them and break them up before that happens. Dieno then quipped that Takagi likes to break things up lately.
The two pre-show matches were also aired on Youtube in an attempt by DDT to add more importance to the earlier half of the show. One of the matches had Takagi team up with joshi legend Yumiko Hotta to defeat Shinya Aoki & Mizuki Watase. The result saw Hotta strike Aoki with a steel chain before pinning him with the Pyramid Driver. Hotta then challenged Aoki for the DDT Extreme Title. Aoki wants the match to take place at the RIZIN show on 2nd October but it will instead happen in DDT on 12th October.
The other pre-show match was an Exhibition bout for Yuki Ishida. The rookie will properly debut on 12th October and he got five minutes in the ring with Yuya Koroku to prepare for it. Ishida got to hit a big Jumping Shoulder attack and put Koroku in a Crab Hold. Koroku got a rope break and he held Ishida in a Cross Armbreaker until the time expired.
Yukio Sakaguchi appeared at the start of the show to talk about his back injury. He placed both his jacket and his Eruption robe onto the top rope before apologizing for being unable to wrestle today. He will be away from the ring for a while but when he comes back he will be wearing those outfits hanging over the rope again.
Takagi and Hotta had their post-match interview backstage interrupted. Riko Kawahata, who wrestles for Hotta’s T-HEARTS promotion approached Takagi asking if she could wrestle at the 12th October DDT show. Hotta was insulted to see Kawabata act out of turn and directly ask Takagi this way. She grabbed her out of anger but Takagi calmed things down and told Kawabata he will think about it.
The two blocks for the D-Ou Grand Prix 2021 II were both revealed during the show. Block A has Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino and Bodyguard. Block B consists of Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi, MAO, Chris Brookes and Yuji Okabayashi. Daisuke Sasaki was offered a spot in the tournament but he declined to participate.
2022 will be DDT’s 25th Anniversary so a project is being put together to celebrate it. The theme of this project is a “Dramatic Dream Tour” through the past, present and future of DDT. The “Past” is the Dramatic Dream Bout TOP 25 and Dramatic Dream Hall Of Fame TOP 25 where fans get to choose their favourite matches and wrestlers from DDT’s history.
The “Future” is the official debut of the DDT Teenage Project sub brand. It is renamed DDTeeeen!! and the first show is taking place in Shinjuku FACE on 17th October.
And then there is the “Present”. DDT will hold its 25th Anniversary show at Sumo Hall on 20th March, 2022! It will be the first time DDT is back in Ryogoku in three years.
DDT “TENJIN WARS 2021”, 12/09/2021 Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall 233 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. 3 Way Match: Akito defeated Yuki Ueno and Yukio Naya when Akito pinned Naya with a School Boy (8:50).
2. Special 6-Man Tag Team Match ~ DRAMATIC WARS: Yoshihiko, Mecha Mummy & Pokotan defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda when Yoshihiko pinned Honda with the Exploder Suplex (10:15).
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino defeated Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Koroku when Endo pinned Koroku with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (12:14).
4. Special Single Match ~ DDT Vs Ganbare☆Joshi Pro Wrestling: Saki Akai defeated Yuna Manase with the Rookie Award (11:19).
5. DDT Extreme Title – All Men Are Equal! Kazuki Hirata Death Match: Shinya Aoki (c) defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (12:20). *V2 for Shinya Aoki.
6. HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, MAO & Yuto Aijima defeated Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Azul Dragon when HARASHIMA pinned Okatani with the Somato (10:41).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles & Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata (T/c) defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (I/c) & Yuki “Sexy” Iino when Katsumata pinned Dieno after the MADMAX (19:34). *V2 for The 37KAMIINA. Shunma Katsumata becomes the 1,516th Iron Man Heavymetalweight champion.
The smell of victory was not coming from Pheromones today. Far from it. Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata were ready to defend against their shenanigans and isolated Danshoku Dieno. After a brief absence from the ring, Yuki Iino returned with “Taboo” music playing over the speakers and he stripped off his wrestling gear. Dieno made Takeshita & Katsumata Lip Lock each other and Iino climbed the ropes to set up the Badonkadonk. However, Katsumata used a Casadora to drop Dieno onto the canvas and then Buzzsaw Kicked him, positioning Dieno beneath Iino. Iino didn’t know who was below him so he Badonkadonked his own partner! The 37KAMIINA got rid of Iino with Sandwich kicks and pinned Dieno with the MADMAX.
The result is a second successful KO-D Tag Team Titles defence for The 37KAMIINA. Also since Katsumata pinned Dieno it means Katsumata is the new Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion so he is now a double crown champion just like Takeshita! Their next challengers came out when HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura entered the ring. HARASHIMA wants to take the Tag Titles back after Katsumata pinned him for it back in June. He was champions with Yuji Okabayashi then but this time he wants both titles to be with DISASTER BOX so Yoshimura will team with him. The challenge was accepted and will take place in Korakuen Hall on 12th October. Backstage Dieno warned that this is not the end of Pheromones because they will reveal the third member soon.
It was revealed that Yuto Aijima will be retiring from pro wrestling later this year and he asked DDT to host his final match in his hometown of Omuta, Fukuoka. Aijima’s been wrestling for over 25 years and now that he is in his mid-50’s it is time to hang up his boots. He had discussed these plans with Sanshiro Takagi for two years because of the Covid-19 restrictions prevented the show from taking place anywhere. But now they have a venue and when the date is cleared it can finally go ahead.
The rules of the DDT Extreme Title match forced Shinya Aoki to wrestle like Kazuki Hirata. So he literally became Hirata and wrestled in an identical costume. Hisaya Imabayashi and Toru Owashi were the judges and it was up to them to determine if Aoki was only using moves that Hirata could do. On the bright side this gave Hirata a fighting chance. On the negative side the judges spent the entire match insulting Hirata on the microphone while they described his abilities, or lack there of. Aoki put Hirata in a Sleeper Hold but was told to stop because Hirata would rather dance in this situation. Aoki put on the glasses and dance while Hirata put him in a School Boy for a nearfall. Aoki had to use the Miracle One Shot Cradle but Hirata kicked out of it. Hirata then used his authentic version of the move but Aoki used the momentum to roll back on top and sneak away with the win. Hirata praised Aoki for how accurate the imitation is and will challenge him again when Aoki spreads the image of Kazuki Hirata across the world!
Saki Akai got the win over Yuna Manase and told her how she felt afterwards. Manase is too loud and proud which annoys Akai. But they’re both from the same generation and their careers began around the same time. It is up to the likes of them to create new wrestling fans. If the passion of Ganbare☆Joshi works for Manase then she should continue down that path. Akai accepts it might not be the wrong way after all and if Manase ever becomes stronger, they will have a rematch. They had a pinkie swear to mark that promise.
Three of DDT’s most bizarre gimmicks were put together in a trio and the results were as weird as expected. Takagi noticed that Mecha Mummy was shorter than the last time it appeared. Yoshihiko didn’t do anything until it was provoked. Pokotan’s movement was familiar enough for Antonio Honda to think it was Mizuki Watase in disguise. Mummy was rendered useless thanks to cold spray and Yoshihiko was thrown out of ringside. But when Honda demanded Pokotan to give up, Pokotan shouted for help and Yoshihiko returned this time with a noticeably bigger “shadow” behind it. Yoshihiko cleared the ring and gave Honda the Exploder Suplex. The shadow then unmasked to reveal Jun Akiyama! He threw Yoshihiko on top of Honda for the pin to end the match. Akiyama had to join in with the team’s post-match interview backstage and had to ask if any of them could talk. Akiyama had to answer questions on their behalf until he got fed up and went home.
After intermission Takagi announced a new addition to the DDT Teenage Project. It is Vent Vert Jack from the MY WAY promotion in Kyushu. Jack is 16 years old but has been wrestling with his father Vent Vert Negro for almost a decade. He has been in DDT before and is even a former Iron Man Champion. He isn’t the only one joining the brand though. Jack said his MY WAY classmate and rival Yousei☆Estrella will also be joining the project. Backstage Takagi joked about knowing several child wrestlers across Japan and name dropped Mr. #6 from Nagoya.
MUSCLE “HIRAGANA MUSCLE 5 TOKYO PERFORMANCE ~NO MORE SPECIAL MOVES ANYMORE~ ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE DAY TIME”, 10/09/2021 Kitazawa Town Hall
MUSCLE “HIRAGANA MUSCLE 5 TOKYO PERFORMANCE ~NO MORE SPECIAL MOVES ANYMORE~ ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE NIGHT TIME”, 10/09/2021 Kitazawa Town Hall
The Hiragana Muscle show that was held in Korakuen Hall last week is having two repeat performances at Kitazawa Town Hall tomorrow. The shows should be a largely identical story to the first one. Any differences will come from audience participation and the fan voting sections.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LIVE WITH YOUR TIME”, 11/09/2021 Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall
1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Kaya Toribami
2. Maki Itoh Vs Nodoka Tenma
3. Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Hyper Misao & Yuki Kamifuku
4. Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Nao Kakuta & Haruna Neko
5. Hikari Noa & Pom Harajuku Vs Raku & Suzume
6. Shoko Nakajima & Arisu Endo Vs Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai
7. Miyu Yamashita Vs Yuki Aino
Two last minute changes. Rika Tatsumi has pulled out of the show due to family circumstances. She tweeted she will be taking a break from shows and social media for a while.
Marika Kobashi misses the show with a rib injury.
DDT “TENJIN WARS 2021”, 12/09/2021 Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall
1. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino Vs Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Koroku
2. 3 Way Match: Yuki Ueno Vs Akito Vs Yukio Naya
3. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Azul Dragon Vs HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, MAO & Yuto Aijima
4. Special 6-Man Tag Team Match ~ DRAMATIC WARS: Yoshihiko, Mecha Mummy & Pokotan Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda
5. Special Single Match ~ DDT Vs Ganbare☆Joshi Pro Wrestling: Saki Akai Vs Yuna Manase
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino
7. DDT Extreme Title – All Men Are Equal! Kazuki Hirata Death Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata
Normally it is the DDT Extreme Champion who chooses the match stipulation for title defences. However Shinya Aoki allowed Kazuki Hirata to pick the match gimmick this time. They agreed to an “All Men Are Equal!” match. Hirata explained that Aoki’s fighting power is 530,000 while his own power is just 20 (he promises to level up to 25 in time for the match). To make it a fair fight Aoki has to fight at Hirata’s level and only use moves that Hirata would do. For example, Aoki is not allowed to use a Cobra Clutch because Hirata never used that move himself. The match will be stopped if Aoki doesn’t fight like Hirata. Two referees, Hisaya Imabayashi and another person will be at ringside to judge what Aoki can and cannot do. This also means Aoki must learn to dance like Hirata because that is inevitable.
Shunma Katsumata is getting annoyed by the behavior of Pheromones. His button was pushed even more when he signed the contract for the match and noticed a funny smell coming from the pen. He found out the pen was in Yuki Iino’s mouth and covered in his drool. Konosuke Takeshita isn’t bothered by the mind games because as the champion of DDT he is prepared for everything his opponents will throw at him. Katsumata doesn’t have that patience and tried to attack Pheromones. Danshoku Dieno stopped him in his tracks with the Lip Lock.
Yuna Manase is as fired up as she’s ever been to promote her match against Saki Akai. It makes her angry that Akai hasn’t been putting in the same amount of effort and will make it all the sweeter if she beats her. Akai is surprised to see Manase act like this. She always assumed she was the older sister type. Instead Akai thinks she is trying to hide how smaller and weaker she actually is.
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2021 TOUR IN SAPPORO DAY 1”, 22/09/2021 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Antonio Honda & Yusuke Okada
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Akito, Kazuki Hirata & MAO
3. Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs Tomoya & Yuya Koroku
4. Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino Vs Chris Brookes & Keigo Nakamura
5. Sapporo Specialty Special Single Match: Jun Akiyama Vs Noriyuki Yoshida
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DISASTER BOX!: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura
The experience of survival breathes new life into The 37KAMIINA and DISASTER BOX. Where do they go from here?
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2021 TOUR IN SAPPORO DAY 2”, 23/09/2021 Hokkaido Sapporo ii-one Stadium
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Tomoya Vs Antonio Honda & Naomi Yoshimura
2. Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Saki Akai
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Keigo Nakamura
4. Yuji Hino Vs Hideki Okatani
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Noriyuki Yoshida Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
6. Sapporo Specialty Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno Vs Chris Brookes & Akito
Jun Akiyama goes from fighting Noriyuki Yoshida on Day 1 to teaming with him on Day 2.
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2021”, 26/09/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuya Koroku
0. Under Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Yumiko Hotta Vs Shinya Aoki & Mizuki Watase
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Pheromones X Vs Yusuke Okada & Hideki Okatani
2. Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno, MAO & Keigo Nakamura Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Akito, Yukio Naya & X
3. Masahiro Takanashi DDT Return Match: Masahiro Takanashi, Toru Owashi & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Antonio Honda
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshihiko Vs HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata
5. DAMNATION Dissolution Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Yuji Hino, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Chris Brookes
Seven members of DAMNATION gather together for the unit’s final match. Shuji Ishikawa unfortunately will not get his wish to sing karaoke with DAMNATION at the Tokyo Dome. However Hiroshi Yamato is missing from the lineup too but I don’t know what his schedule is.
DDT wants to put more effort into the early matches of their shows to make up for the shorter run times enforced by the pandemic. Putting together the undercard under these conditions is a problem Sanshiro Takagi is trying to figure out. The restrictions prevent DDT from filling venues with fans so DDT have decided to stream the first three matches (the two pre-show matches and Match #1) live on their Youtube channel for those who cannot attend shows.
Normally the early matches are for the young wrestlers but Takagi wants to get creative. So he’s putting Yumiko Hotta and Shinya Aoki on opposite teams. Both of them fought in RIZIN and Takagi wants to see how they would fare against each other for that reason. This is also surprising because Hotta was publicly upset over Natsumi Maki leaving Actwres girl’Z for Tokyo Joshi Pro at the end of 2018. If she held any grudge with DDT over that then it looks like it is all water under the bridge now.
DDT “DRAMATIC SURVIVOR 2021”, 04/09/2021 Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall 220 Fans
1. Mad Paulie defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Reverse Splash (6:13).
2. DRAMATIC SURVIVOR ~ Losers Advance 8-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino when Hirata pinned Takao with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (12:25).
3. DRAMATIC SURVIVOR ~ Losers Advance 8-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada, Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & MAO when Okada pinned MAO after a Running Knee Butt from Akiyama (13:27).
4. Kazusada Higuchi & Saki Akai defeated Akito & Yukio Naya when Higuchi pinned Naya with the Brain Claw Slam (9:19).
5. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Antonio Honda when Iino pinned Takagi with the Badonkadonk (12:40).
6. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes defeated Yukio Sakaguchi by Referee Stoppage with the Modified Ground Octopus Stretch (14:55).
7. DRAMATIC SURVIVOR ~ Losers Advance 8-Man Tag Tournament – Decision Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino when Ueno pinned Sasaki with the WR (22:16). *DAMNATION are forced to disband. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino vacate the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles.
It’s all over for DAMNATION. After over five years as a powerful force in DDT, the unit is now forced to disband after becoming the ultimate losers of the first ever DRAMATIC SURVIVOR tournament. The “final” came down to DAMNATION against The 37KAMIINA. Both units have tag team champions within them so a championship was also guaranteed to be vacated due to the rules of the tournament. MAO was the immediate target for DAMNATION because he was the one pinned in 37KAMIINA’s earlier match and was identified as the weak point. He had a chance to end the match with the Hollywood Star Press but Soma Takao moved out of the way. DAMNATION then switched over to Shunma Katsumata after Daisuke Sasaki hit him with the DAMNATION signboard. Katsumata held on and turned the tables with Konosuke Takeshita’s help. Tetsuya Endo was almost pinned but he tagged out to Yuji Hino to carry the load. The match came down to Sasaki and Yuki Ueno fighting for survival. Endo tried to help by doing the Springboard Overhead Kick but Ueno dodged it and Sasaki got kicked instead! The 37KAMIINA ganged up on Sasaki while keeping the rest of DAMNATION away. They hit the MADMAX and Ueno followed up with the BME but Hino broke the count. Another clearing of the ring allowed Ueno to give Sasaki the WR and win the match, killing off DAMNATION in the process.
The result means Ueno gets some measure of revenge on Sasaki over what happened at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”. Ueno said The 37KAMIINA couldn’t be defeated in the end because everyone in the group has evolved. Sasaki said DAMNATION was going to break up in 2025 anyway so they will wait until then to officially do it. Hisaya Imabayashi then immediately corrected Sasaki and said DAMNATION’s final match will happen on 26th September. Also Endo, Takao & Hino now have to forfeit the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Ueno closed out the show by saying The 37KAMIINA will continue to be brighter, happier and hotter that anyone else in DDT!
Backstage MAO apologized for always needing to be saved by the others. Katsumata assured him it is no one’s fault and the power of all four combined is why they won. That cheered MAO up and made him want to run over Sanshiro Takagi with a car because this entire tournament was his idea in the first place. MAO also wonders what Endo will become now he will be on his own. He wants to reach out to his fellow countryman but Takeshita does not. The mood was bad over in DAMNATION. Mad Paulie cried, Takao doesn’t know what to do, Sasaki kind of blamed Endo but swore revenge on Ueno, Hino blamed Takao, Endo calmed everyone down and then Sasaki finally took responsibility for what happened. Even Sanshiro Takagi admits that losing DAMNATION will hurt DDT because they were a popular unit. But Takagi doesn’t want DDT to be stuck in a rut so a shakeup like this was necessary. If something bad happens because of this, he will take care of it.
In the earlier round, DISASTER BOX and Junretsu defied expectations and both won their survival early. DISASTER BOX were the favourites to disband so they threw everyone for a loop from the get go. Kazuki Hirata pulled off the miracle by cradling Takao for the three count. HARASHIMA was relieved with the result and gave Hirata credit for doing his best. Toru Owashi admitted to feeling despair when the match came down to only him and Hirata against DAMNATION. Naomi Yoshimura saw the funny side and called Hirata the main character of today’s show. Hirata said everyone in DISASTER BOX loves being here because the unit gives them all a home to go back to. Everyone then wished Hirata luck in going after the DDT Extreme Title next weekend.
Junretsu were safe after a good moment of timing. MAO had Yusuke Okada beaten with the Michinoku Driver II until Jun Akiyama rushed in and hit MAO with the Running Knee Butt. Okada then rolled MAO over and scored the three count for the win. Mizuki Watase said their unit was able to win because they have the best bond and unity in the world. He is now confident that Junretsu can become the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Champions. The rest of the unit aren’t as enthusiastic about the idea but Makoto Oishi thinks the only reason they won today was to avoid splitting up. So maybe they can win the 8-Man Tag Titles if they have to risk disbanding the unit again. Akiyama told the other four to go do that because he would rather team with Yoshihiko.
Chris Brookes is working on his submission game to keep Takeshita on his toes. He used a grounded version of the Octopus Hold to beat Yukio Sakaguchi by TKO. What’s remarkable is Sakaguchi attempted to use the Plus Ultra hold that Takeshita created but Brookes countered it into the Octopus Hold. However Brookes is expecting Takeshita to study this match in preparation for the KO-D Openweight Title bout and will learn how to avoid that counter. He knows he can’t reveal his full hand before then.
The Badonkadonk used by Yuki Iino is a Banzai Drop but with most of Iino’s clothing missing. After Pheromones won their match, Danshoku Dieno teased that the team will soon get a third member. They can sniff this mystery wrestler’s presence in the air but think now is not the time to identify who it is.
DDT will return to Nagoya Congress Center on 18th December.
MUSCLE “HIRAGANA MUSCLE 5 TOKYO PERFORMANCE ~NO MORE SPECIAL MOVES ANYMORE~”, 01/09/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 565 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Pro Wrestling “Kata” Group Final: Federal Republic Of Isubekistan (2) defeated Republic Of Creatord Tobago (1) and United States Of Finish (1).
1a. Single Match Section: Takaku Karahiko defeated Kazusada Kokuyo and DJ Nira by Audience Judgment.
1b. Tag Team Match Section: Itoki Oyoshi & Shota Okamura defeated Totaro Omoiki & Baseball Bat Swing and Yuki Rock & Minamikawa by Audience Judgment.
1c. 3 Way Match Section: Amon Tsurumi defeated Knee Cross Kinya and Herman Miller Mao by Audience Judgment.
1d. Backstage Comment Section: AK Racing Yoshimura, Eames Watase & Human Chair Imanari defeated Marume Komimatsu and Hondusty Rhodes by Advisor Judgement (Honorary Advisor: Danshoku Dieno). *Gold: Federal Republic Of Isubekistan, Silver: Republic Of Creatord Tobago, Bronze: United States Of Finish.
2. Remote Pro Wrestling: Tetsu Inada defeated Shota Okamura with the Last Ride (23:47). *Gold: Tetsu Inada, Silver: Haruo Murata, Bronze: Super Sasadango Machine.
United States Of Finish: Totaro Omoiki (Konosuke Takeshita), Takaku Karahiko (Yuki Ueno), Baseball Bat Swing (Shunma Katsumata), Knee Cross Kinya (Akito) & Marume Komimatsu (Kazuki Hirata)
Federal Republic Of Isubekistan: Kazusada Kokuyo (Kazusada Higuchi), Herman Miller Mao (MAO), AK Racing Yoshimura (Naomi Yoshimura), Itoki Oyoshi (Choun-Shiryu), Shota Okamura (Shota), Eames Watase (Mizuki Watase) & Human Chair Imanari (Yumehito Imanari)
Republic Of Creatord Tobago: Yuki Rock, Minamikawa, Amon Tsurumi, DJ Nira, RAM RIDER & Hondusty Rhodes (Antonio Honda)
The latest adventures of Hiragana Muscle began with a PowerPoint presentation from Super Sasadango Machine. It was called “What Is Public Awareness?” and he talked about his struggles to make Muscle famous around the world. His hopes for 2.9 Dimensional Pro Wrestling catching on fell on deaf ears and his mood got worse when he found out Super Delfin is successfully putting together a similar idea with his own musical pro wrestling show. To solve this problem, today’s special guest is famous voice actor Tetsu Inada. The idea already paid off with evidence of The Great O-Kharn allegedly tweeting about the show.
Inada narrated the story while the producers Yuki Rock and Minamikawa introduced everyone to the show. Amon Tsurumi then came out and gave a huge announcement. A big sports festival is taking place today and they’re hosting it! This event only happens every 40 years because of the toll it takes on the athletes taking part. The opening ceremony began with a speech from Yuriko Koikebukuro, who looks like the Governor Of Tokyo. Rock got bored and started arguing with Koikebukuro. Each of the producers were then fired because Rock implied he has taken illegal drugs, Minamikawa previously made inappropriate TV shows and Tsurumi was caught looking at porn on the company laptop. The producers all swore revenge.
Meanwhile The Finisher Boys were busy training when they found out about the sports festival. Most countries declined to participant due to the pandemic leaving only three teams. The Finisher Boys will be there representing the United States Of Finish. Their enemies The Steel Chair Boys from the Federal Republic Of Isubekistan will also compete. Last but not least is the Republic Of Creatord Tobago consisting of all the creative types. The Finisher Boys had the least members on a team until a trainee named Secondotti Tetsuji (played by Inada) approached them asking to join. They accepted him but only when he said everybody in DDT are his favourite wrestlers.
Suddenly, The Steel Chair Boys entered the scene. Shota challenged The Finisher Boys to a fight in the form of pictograms. They easily defeated him but it was all a distraction so The Steel Chair Boys could kidnap Tetsuji! If our heroes want to rescue him, they need to win the sports festival! Luckily for Tetsuji he is being played by a famous voice actor so the villains actually took good care of him while he was captive.
It was time for the festival to begin. Every team would take part in several rounds of Pro Wrestling “Kata” against each other. Each participant would perform no contact pro wrestling against an invisible opponent and fans would vote for the best performance. The master of ceremonies Danshoku Dieno oversaw the proceedings and would give the deciding vote if any audience poll ended in a tie. In the Singles Match Section, Yuki Ueno won the vote with his rendition of a midcarder wrestling in the second match of the third show during a tour outside of Tokyo. It beat Kazusada Higuchi’s performance of a heavyweight double down spot and DJ Nira doing the standard opening moments of a wrestling match.
Round 2 was in the Tag Team Section. Yuki Rock & Minamikawa performed the Tetsuya Naito & SANADA tag team. Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata choreographed a tag team style that will become popular in the American indies some day in the future. But the winners were Choun-Shiryu & Shota Okamura who bounced around the ring as if they were getting beaten up by Strong BJ.
Round 3 was fittingly the 3 Way Match Section. Akito, MAO and Amon Tsurumi worked together to tell the story of a 3 Way Match that has a complete amateur also involved. Tsurumi was that amateur but he tricked Kinya & Mao into linking their arms together while back to back. He then pushed both of them over upside down onto their shoulders for a double pin. That won him the support of the crowd, tying the medals table at one victory a piece.
It all came down to the final round. The Backstage Comment Section. The remaining participants from each of the teams went backstage and gave post-match interviews for famous moments in wrestling. Hondusty Rhodes did a promo based on the aftermath of Wrestlemania III. Next was Kazuki Hirata throwing a chair around like a mentor pushing around his student. Finally Naomi Yoshimura, Mizuki Watase & Yumehito Imanari did a reenactment of Tatsumi Fujinami’s “Dragon Revolution”. It’s a famous scene where Fujinami confronted Antonio Inoki for not stepping aside and letting his generation step up. Watase committed to the bit and cut off bits of his hair just like Fujinami did. It was worth it because that won his team the gold!
The sports festival ended and the next scene was Sasadango recording his radio show with Inada. Things took a turn when Inada realised this is a wrestling show and he has a chance to live out his dream of becoming a pro wrestler. Sasadango refused because he doesn’t want to deal with any trouble caused if Inada gets hurt. RAM RIDER came up with a solution. They can do a Remote Pro Wrestling match with Inada shouting out orders to his team of wrestlers. Inada and Sasadango agreed to it and they went down to the ring.
The match itself is 5 Vs 5 with Inada coaching The Steel Chair Boys while Sasadango ordered around The Finisher Boys. Things went south when Sasadango was hit over the head several times with chairs. He needed to be replaced so Haruo Murata took his spot. The Steel Chair Boys continued to dominate under Inada’s commands until Tetsuya Endo made his mandatory run in and cleared the ring. He then gave a motivating speech to Murata before leaving. Inada and Murata then spoke to each other about each of them living their dreams. They both agreed it was time for them to wrestle! They begun their match when suddenly, Shota ran in with a chair ready to attack Murata. Inada stopped Shota with a Lariat and, with the help of everyone else, delivered the Last Ride to win the match!
Inada and Murata embraced after the match. Inada then received the gold medal from Yuriko Koikebukuro. The show ended with Inada talking about his love for pro wrestling. He also wished both Tsurumi and Yuki Ueno a happy birthday.
DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2021 TOUR IN SENDAI”, 29/08/2021 Miyagi Sendai PIT 192 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Lucha Libre Rules: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Shunma Katsumata & Antonio Honda when Owashi pinned Honda with La Magistral Cradle (8:17).
2. Akito & Yuna Manase defeated Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when Akito submitted Okatani with the Ankle Package Hold (8:20).
3. DDT Teenage Project Special Single Match: Ilusion defeated El Unicorn with the Modified Pedigree (9:40).
4. Soma Takao, Yuji Hino & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Kazuki Hirata when Yamato pinned Hirata with the Northern Lights Bomb (13:16).
5. DAMNATION Vs Junretsu!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Mizuki Watase when Sasaki submitted Watase with the Cross Facelock (14:10).
6. Sendai Specialty Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yukio Naya when HARASHIMA pinned Naya with the Somato (14:25).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi & Keigo Nakamura when MAO pinned Nakamura with the Cannonball 450 (21:40).
There is a month for Konosuke Takeshita and Chris Brookes to fight and prepare for their KO-D Openweight Title match. Today’s first warm up match saw The 37KAMIINA defeat Brookes’ team. After the match Brookes (in Japanese) told Takeshita that there will be no friends between them on 26th September. Takeshita (in English) then told Brookes it will be just only them in the ring. MAO thanked the fans in Sendai for continuing to see DDT whenever they stop by although this time none of his friends came to see him. He praised Keigo Nakamura and said they both know what it’s like to be lonely moving from the countryside over to Tokyo. They support each other and work hard together, even when they are opponents.
HARASHIMA gave Chihiro Hashimoto the credit for their team beating Yukio Sakaguchi & Yukio Naya. Hashimoto said she was happy to be invited by DDT to wrestle on the show. She wants the fans to see her wrestle the men to show that it was nothing different for her. It is human versus human and she wants to do it again!
Tetsuya Endo pointed at Jun Akiyama and called for his attention after their match.
The Pheromones team showed off what it is that powers them up. Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino pulled off dandy and sexy poses. Later when Dieno went into the Hell’s Gate position, Iino was shoved face first into his backside and it turned out to power him up! The opposite then happened with Dieno pressing his face into Iino’s backside to charge up the Lip Lock, turning it into the deadly Earth Kiss! Unfortunately the Earth Kiss missed and caught Kazuki Hirata by accident, rendering him helpless enough for Hiroshi Yamato to beat him. Dieno & Iino admitted there were probably too much pheromones today.
Ilusion defeated El Unicorn in the first singles match of the DDT Teenage Project. Unicorn did a Satellite Headscissors and a Springboard Moonsault out of the ring. Ilusion focused on his opponent’s arm and trapped him in a Modified Cobra Twist. He later avoided the Dragonrana, hit a Pop Up Diamond Cutter and pinned Unicorn with the Modified Pedigree. Ilusion is happy with the win but it bothers him that he hasn’t figured out a signature style yet. Unicorn is already establishing himself as a high flyer while Ilusion isn’t sure what he can do well. He thinks he will find out by wrestling more.
The growing tensions between Saki Akai and Yuna Manase was on show for the intergender match. Manase spent the early portion of the match demanding to face Akai even though Hideki Okatani and Akito were the legal men wrestling. She did get to fight Akai and they exchanged strikes. The men tagged back in but the women continued fighting outside the ring. Akai went for the Running Penalty Kick along the apron but Manase blocked it and held onto Akai’s leg for the rest of the match. That stopped Akai from saving Okatani and he tapped out to Akito’s Ankle Hold. Manase still wouldn’t let go after the match until they were forced apart. She then taunted Akai on the microphone and closed out the segment by getting the fans to shout “We are Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling!” The two of them had another confrontation backstage when Akai said she had wanted to fight Chihiro Hashimoto instead. Manase overheard that and they got into a fight. Akai got the better of Manase and she said she will beat her in Hakata.
Takeshita announced he has given a name to the Modified Chickenwing Facelock he used to beat Akiyama. The submission move is now called Plus Ultra.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”, 21/08/2021 Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki 1,336 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura defeated Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when Naya pinned Koroku with the Choke Slam (10:38).
0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh defeated Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa when Onita pinned Kuro-chan after a Current Blast Bat Attack (9:35).
1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn defeated Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion when Unicorn pinned Ilusion with the Modified Double Knee Stomp (11:44).
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi defeated Antonio Honda with a School Boy (0:11).
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuki Hirata with a School Boy (0:11).
2a. Rematch: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda ended in a No Contest (1:28).
2a. Rematch: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (1:28).
2b. Another Rematch: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Daisuke Kiso defeated Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Yukinori Matsui when Kiso pinned Matsui with a Cradle (2:53).
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai defeated Shunma Katsumata & MAO when Brookes pinned MAO with the Praying Mantis Bomb (14:03).
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai when Hino pinned Akai with the Fuckin’ BOMB (11:34). *V3 for DAMNATION.
5. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with La Mistica Crossover Facelock (17:20). *Yuki Ueno fails in V7. Daisuke Sasaki becomes the 5th DDT Universal Champion!
6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Jun Akiyama (c) with the Modified Chickenwing Facelock (24:43). *Jun Akiyama fails in V4. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 77th KO-D Openweight Champion!
The first outdoor “WRESTLE PETER PAN” saw Konosuke Takeshita finally beat Jun Akiyama and reclaim the KO-D Openweight Title. They fought back and forth with Exploders and German Suplexes one after the other while Kenta Kobashi watched from ringside. Both also tried to win with their submission finishers. Akiyama with the Front Neck Lock and Takeshita with the Modified Chickenwing Facelock. When all else failed they went to their Knee Strikes until one stayed down. Takeshita pulled down his knee pad before hitting more Zahi Knee Strikes but Akiyama wouldn’t stay down. He had to throw Akiyama with the Cross-Arm German Suplex and then apply the Modified Chickenwing Facelock once more. The move Takeshita invented to Akiyama finally achieved its purpose and the champion tapped out!
When Takeshita was given the KO-D Title belt, he said today was not the end. He will defend the title with all of his might, become stronger and have a rematch with Akiyama this time so he can beat him as the champion. Akiyama accepted defeat but said he will get it back, just you wait and see. Chris Brookes then entered the ring and told Takeshita he hasn’t beaten him one on one in over two years. Brookes wants a shot at the title! Takeshita accepted the challenge and it will take place on the 26th September Korakuen Hall show.
Daisuke Sasaki entered Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki holding the DDT Universal Title and he gets to leave with it. Except now he actually is the Universal Champion. After weeks of theft, cheap shots and violence Yuki Ueno couldn’t get revenge for everything Sasaki had done to him. Sasaki busted him open with a belt shot. Later Mad Paulie pulled the referee away when Ueno had Sasaki pinned after a Shining Wizard. Ueno Dropkicked Paulie and Moonsaulted onto both of them outside the ring. Everything was going so well for Ueno he was even avoiding Sasaki’s cheating. But Sasaki countered the WR into La Mistica Crossover Facelock and forced Ueno to give up. Backstage Ueno admitted that Sasaki has stolen everything from him. Now it is his turn to take away everything that Sasaki cherishes. For now that threat is falling on deaf ears. Sasaki heard the guest commentator Sumire Uesaka praised him a lot during his match. He wants her address so he can mail her a marriage certificate.
Tensions were high when DAMNATION and Eruption fought for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. From the start they were ready to fight when Soma Takao threw his belt down at Yukio Sakaguchi. Meanwhile Saki Akai kept posturing at Yuji Hino, demanding he take her seriously and throw his strong Chops at her. Hino overpowered Akai but Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi were there to break the pins. Tetsuya Endo wiped out nearly everyone with a Swan Dive Shooting Star Press out of the ring. That left Akai and Hino alone to fight. Akai kept chopping and kicking Hino until he finally threw the Chop her way. Akai kicked out of the pin so Hino hit her with a Lariat. Akai kicked out of that too and still tried to fight back. Hino had to put her away with the Fuckin’ BOMB to end the match. Afterwards Hino reminded Akai of all the jokes he previously made about her being a woman. Well now he can say she is also a pro wrestler!
Jun Kasai got a taste of hardcore wrestling The 37KAMIINA style. It involves Lego. Lots and lots of Lego. Shunma Katsumata & MAO filled the ring with the toy blocks and smashed a few plastic cases along the way. Katsumata even decided to wrestle barefoot, daring Kasai to follow his lead. Kasai told him he is a man and he would but couldn’t get his wrestling boots off in time before Katsumata attacked him. Katsumata did a Moonsault Double Stomp but Kasai rolled out of the way, making him land bare feet first onto the Lego! Brookes then threw him into a ladder with the Tropical☆Yahoo. The 37KAMIINA fought back by digging skewers into their opponents’ heads. Kasai then turned the danger up a notch by blocking a Katsumata dive with a knife! He then gave Katsumata the Reverse Tiger Driver while Brookes pinned MAO with the Praying Mantis Bomb, all on the Lego for the finish. Afterwards Kasai admitted the “relaxing” hardcore matches The 37KAMIINA put together are actually fun, like a good memory from a summer vacation.
DDT’s first ever Double Ring Double Singles Matches both ended in eleven seconds. Toru Owashi immediately pinned Antonio Honda and Danshoku Dieno immediately pinned Kazuki Hirata with the same moves at the same time. Hisaya Imabayashi wasn’t sure what had happened because he couldn’t see both matches at once. So he called for both matches to restart but this time to keep them in the same ring. The rematches fell apart when the referees Yukinori Matsui and Daisuke Kiso kept getting in each other’s way. They soon started fighting each other and the wrestlers had to keep them apart. Imabayashi then had an idea to turn everything into a 3 Vs 3 match: Owashi, Honda & Kiso Vs Dieno, Hirata & Matsui with Imabayashi as the ref. Matsui’s team put Kiso in the Kaientai pose and Dieno applied the Lip Lock. Kiso then suddenly countered Matsui’s Brainbuster into a Small Package to grab victory from the jaws of defeat.
The opening match was the debuts of El Unicorn and Ilusion from the DDT Teenage Project. They were given a chance to shine and literally wrestle on top of everyone else. While the other 8 participants were locked up in a multi-man suplex struggle, Unicorn and Ilusion climbed on top of them to fight each other. It ended with Ilusion Suplexing Unicorn onto the pile below. Yuji Okabayashi’s team then won out on the multi-man Suplex spot. Ilusion Dropkicked Yusuke Okada and then joined in with Mizuki Watase to dive onto everybody outside the ring. Unicorn came back and hit a Dragonrana to Ilusion then pinned him with a Modified Double Knee Stomp. Backstage Ilusion swore to avenge his loss when he faces Unicorn in a singles match on 29th August. Yuki Iino went around searching for Naomi Yoshimura to continue fighting him. HARASHIMA and TAMURA both praised the young wrestlers for their efforts. Raimu Imai asked if he could wrestle in DDT again.
The pre-show match a a calm affair. Just a Current Blast Death Match, no biggie. Everyone was dressed for battle except for Akito, who wrestled in a suit. Kuro-chan used Hikari Noa as a shield to prevent Atsushi Onita from swinging the blast bat at him. Tetsuhiro Kuroda grabbed the bat and handed it to Kuro-chan so he could blast Onita with it. Onita got revenge by Piledriving Kuroda onto a table. Super Sasadango Machine tried to fight off everyone with a chair. Maki Itoh and Noa had a standoff with each holding blast bats. They swung at each other causing a big explosion. When the dust cleared the match came down to Onita and Kuro-chan. Onita hit his Kuro-chan with the blast bat and got the three count. After the match Onita poured water over him and with Sanshiro Takagi’s help, aided in carrying him out of the ring. Kuro-chan begged for forgiveness until Onita told him he has the qualities of a pro wrestler. It’s time for him to enter Mr. Onita’s office for a talk…
The other pre-show match saw Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura beat Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku. The least experience wrestler of the four Koroku kicked out of Naya’s Scrapbuster and Running Knee Lift. But he was put down with a Choke Slam, giving Naya’s team the win.
At the end of the show, Takagi revealed one last gift for the DDT fans. The final major DDT event of 2021 will take place at Yoyogi Gymnasium #2 on 26th December. It will be DDT’s first time in the venue.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”, 21/08/2021 Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki
0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh Vs Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa
1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn Vs Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai
5. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
As danger and uncertainty over the pandemic remains around the world, the wrestling industry is determined to chug along and to stick to their plans. This weekend more than any other is proof of that. In America, the next couple of days will no doubt become a landmark period for the modern era with massive shows from two companies along with the long awaited return of a certain hockey fan from Chicago. Japan isn’t taking it easy either as some companies begin to head outdoors for major shows held at sports stadiums. That’s what DDT is up to for “WRESTLE PETER PAN” this year. They will be at Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki, the former home of FMW’s most legendary battles. The actual venue is different because it went through renovations in the 2000s and also a name change in 2014. Hopefully the spirit of those famous shows still remains when DDT takes their crack at it. Pandemic restrictions are in place so the card is shorter than usual. Plus the risk of last minute cancellations can rear its ugly head. At this point we just have to keep our fingers crossed. There is something extra added to the show. Two wrestling rings will be set up in the stadium. The reason why will be explained in the related matches below.
0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
Let’s see how the low tier of DDT’s undercard has been doing lately. Yukio Naya is slotted into the novelty matches. He’s there when DDT needs a heavyweight so he’ll always have a place on the card. His family ties also means he will be a regular for any matches built around product placement. Keigo Nakamura stepped up a level by being part of the new KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Champions in Team Olympian. He has new ring gear too which is usually a sign of a wrestler moving onto the next stage of his career. He is still often the butt of jokes but when he gets the chance to be serious in the ring, he takes it. Hideki Okatani is probably the one out of this lot who advanced the most over the last year. He should have, given who he is learning from in Junretsu. He is still far away from being a polished product but he definitely moved up to No. 3 in his unit in the last few months. Yuya Koroku debuted in DDT back in April and comes from the highly regarded Animal Hamaguchi Gym. His work so far has been promising but he had a slight setback earlier this month that made him miss a few shows. That’s the problem with rookies. They break easily.
0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh Vs Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa
Here is how loaded this weekend is. DDT has to blow up a ring at Kawasaki Stadium during the dark match to get any sort of attention! If you’re doing a major wrestling show inside Kawasaki Stadium then you have to have Atsushi Onita in an Exploding Ring Death Match. Those are the rules. That is why DDT is setting up two rings, one for the regular matches and one for Onita to blow up. As soon as Onita found out about the second ring he got in touch with DDT and demanded his match take place on the pre-show! His reasoning is it takes a lot of time and dedication to set up the explosives so he wants it to be over and done with before the main show even begins. It also sneakily moves the match over to the main ring instead of the side ring because DDT now has time to clean up the mess after the pre-show. That Onita really is a sneaky git. He has promised to use three to five times the amount of gun powder for explosions than these matches usually use.
The match itself has a lot to unpack. Onita’s run in DDT over the last year has seen him feud with a pervy comedian named Kuro-chan. Onita gets the win most of the time but their last match in December ended in a massive upset. Kuro-chan pinned Onita one, two, three! He stole Onita’s jacket, called himself the new “Evil Ways” and left thinking that was the end of it. Demands for a rematch were ignored by Kuro-chan until his manager got wind of it and decided “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021” would be the perfect time and place for it to happen. The two went to put their teams together. Onita has DDT’s crazy president Sanshiro Takagi, the not yet crazy Vice President Akito and the right amount of crazy Maki Itoh. Kuro-chan has to team with Super Sasadango Machine because they both have the same agent. However his also gets Hikari Noa and FMW alumni Tetsuhiro Kuroda, which improves his team’s chances. Sasadango had to lie about Noa thinking Kuro-chan is cute to convince him to finally accept the match. Noa in particular has been wanting to do death matches for ages. Her goal is to either run over Takagi in a truck, blow him up in an explosion or do both. The stage is set and one last factor has been added to the match. Kuro-chan wants sole ownership of Exploding Ring Death Matches if his team wins! He also wants Onita to retire when he loses but we all know what that is worth so just ignore that bit.
1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn Vs Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion
DDT looks to the future with the introduction to the DDT Teenage Project. They have spent the last year training four teenagers in secret to become pro wrestlers. Two of them are ready to have their official debut match. On one team is the 13 year old, El Unicorn. On the other is Ilusion, 18 years old. The project is meant to be for those aged 15-18 but there is a reason El Unicorn is there. Not to spoil the kid’s identity but he was already under DDT contract before this project began. Both rookies are eager to fight the larger wrestlers like Naomi Yoshimura and Yuji Okabayashi. There’s another teenager in the match too. Raimu Imai from HEAT-UP is 16 years old and still in his first year of wrestling. His claim to fame is his mother Eriko Imai is a former pop singer and current member of Japan’s House Of Councillors. Raimu’s master TAMURA is on the opposite team. He marvels over how quickly the new generation of wrestlers get to make it to the ring. HARASHIMA and Okabayashi were last seen together as Smile Pissari but they are opponents here. Yusuke Okada and Yuki Iino get to collide with stronger opponents. Last but not least there is Mizuki Watase, who recently returned from injury and finds himself restarting his wrestling progression from scratch again.
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
Look, spots for this show are sparse this time around and DDT isn’t able to produce two dozen matches in one night. This isn’t an AEW taping. With the card filling up, the groups of wrestlers nicknamed the DDT Variety Team all began to squabbling with one another. This resulted in them all challenging each other to singles matches, no doubt earning two of them coveted main event spot. That wasn’t going to happen. Hisaya Imabayashi told the wrestlers there was room left on the show for only one more match. They can do Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda or Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata but not both. Hirata then had a brilliant idea. There will be two rings available so why not do both matches at the same time? Imabayashi loved the idea and put forth DDT’s first ever Double Ring Double Singles Match! Just don’t be surprised if the two matches still interact and get mixed up with each other. Oh and I think Dieno is currently the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. I lost track of that.
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai
The main card gets some of the violence left over from the pre-show. Is there anything you can do to Jun Kasai that would hurt him? He’s been through it all, literally if the thing is made out of glass. He sees the hardcore matches DDT have been doing over the last year and they left him feeling lukewarm. The weapons used and the atmosphere surrounding the matches are a bit too relaxed for his tastes. Relaxed is the accurate word to use given these matches have involved Shunma Katsumata & MAO from The 37KAMIINA (The Sauna KAMIINA). Their obsession with saunas rose to new levels ever since the DDT Sauna Club was formed. They aren’t pushovers though. Katsumata is wrestling death matches in Big Japan more often and MAO always has fucked up ideas for things to do in the ring. They want to show Kasai they can dish him the worst pain he has ever felt and they know just what to use. They found out that Kasai doesn’t like the pain you get from stepping on Lego. It’s his biggest weakness! Kasai refuses to confirm if that’s true or not, explaining that he never feels pain from anything when he wrestles in front of his fans. During all of this, Chris Brookes began feeling like the odd man out. He doesn’t even appear in the advert for the match! All the attention is on the other three and he doesn’t like that. He’ll take his anger out on Katsumata to feel better.
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai
DAMNATION’s most successful ventures over the last half year have been in the trios division. After Tetsuya Endo was finally knocked off the top of the mountain, he rallied together Soma Takao and new member Yuji Hino to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Endo was then able to defend the belts in his hometown. He has felt invincible ever since and thinks he has the power to banish those he defeated from his hometown. The big challengers coming in are Eruption. They held the titles before and Saki Akai in particular thinks it is time to take them back. The build up has seen Kazusada Higuchi reignite his rivalry with Endo. Yukio Sakaguchi and Takao has come to blows several times too. But the spotlight shines brightest on Akai along with Hino’s reaction to her being in the match. Hino thinks Eruption are fighting with a handicap because a woman is on their team. He also refuses to throw any Chops at Akai because he is convinced they would legit murder her. All this attitude has done is fire Akai up even more to prove her doubters wrong. She’s been wrestling for 8 years now and has shown she is not a one trick pony. It also created an unusual situation where Akai slaps around her partners because they haven’t been as determined as she is to win! Keep in mind this is when Sakaguchi is constantly getting into fights with Takao.
5. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
DAMNATION’s second most successful venture over the last half year is Daisuke Sasaki stealing the DDT Universal Title belt from Yuki Ueno. I didn’t say winning the championship, I mean literally stealing the belt. That’s not to say Sasaki hasn’t brought it in the ring. He has won several big matches in the King Of DDT tournament by cheating like hell throughout the whole thing. That includes a quick win over Ueno. Another quick win in a later tag match resulted in Ueno giving Sasaki a title shot in order to win back his pride. Big mistake. That is what caused Sasaki to blindside Ueno, steal the title belt and promise to humiliate him even further. The last month has seen Ueno chasing after Sasaki only to see him get away with the belt time and time again. Their last confrontation inside a ring ended with Sasaki beating Ueno bloody. What has been a breakout year for Ueno has since turned sour and could take a turn for the worse if he can’t get his title back.
6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Talk about a deal paying off big time. Jun Akiyama to DDT could not have worked out any better if I do say so myself. He is now six months into his KO-D Openweight Title reign with three defences under his belt. He has also taken to the player/coach role in Junretsu rather well (just remember Makoto Oishi is the official leader). The likes of Endo, Higuchi, Dieno and HARASHIMA have all failed to beat him. And then there is Konosuke Takeshita. What a journey this guy has been on. He went through two singles losses to Akiyama in back to back months at the end of 2020. Those results made him self reflect. For the first time he began to question the DDT style he so proudly represented. Things had to change in 2021.
But does it, really? When this year began, Takeshita’s Sauna Club with his friends turned into The 37KAMIINA. What followed has been a year of hot matches and aurora skies. He took a sabbatical to AEW in April, winning over a new audience of fans abroad by being himself and wrestling how he always does. When he returned, success came his way in the tag team division with his sauna buddies. He and Ueno successfully represented DDT against NOAH at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021”, he and Katsumata won the first Ultimate Tag League and then followed it up by winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles. To cap it all off Takeshita rose even further back to the top by winning the King Of DDT tournament. His redemption is almost complete. All that is left to do is finally beat Akiyama one on one.
Easier said than done, right? There’s also one other thing that makes it that little bit more difficult. Kenta Kobashi will be at the show as a special guest to witness the main event. Everytime Kobashi has played this role for a Jun Akiyama singles match, Akiyama has won. Endo learned that the hard way back in “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” back in February. Akiyama’s previous two victories over Takeshita have both been by submission as well. It’s all well and good to make it three submissions in a row but Akiyama doesn’t care for that kind of stuff. If he has to win by pinfall then so be it. This is the man who comes from King’s Road. He learned that the Giant Baba style has all the right answers for pro wrestling. That is why he is the champion! Takeshita wants to prove there is no correct answer for pro wrestling that applies to everybody. The DDT style he proudly represents can be just as effective for him as King’s Road is for Akiyama. If this match is the end of his journey, we’ll find out which answer is the right one.