DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND” Results

November 1, 2022

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND”, 01/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
411 Fans

0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Akito) ended in a No Contest (7:49).
1. Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida defeated Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi when Ishida pinned Sumi with a Spinebuster (9:03).
2. Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul ended in a No Contest (7:39).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: RSP (2) defeated Naomi Yoshimura (0) with the GTF (8:14).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: MAO (2) defeated Chris Brookes (0) by Countout (11:53).
5. Jun Akiyama Produce Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada when Akiyama pinned Masada with the Exploder Suplex (11:38).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino (2) defeated Yukio Naya (0) with the World’s Best German Suplex (13:04).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (2) defeated KANON (0) with the Brain Claw Slam (18:33).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (2) defeated Yuki Ueno (0) with the Burning Star Press (15:41).

A Block

1. Tetsuya Endo (2)
-. RSP (2)
3. Daisuke Sasaki (0)
-. Joey Janela (0)
-. Naomi Yoshimura (0)
-. Yuki Ueno (0)

B Block

1. Kazusada Higuchi (2)
-. Yuji Hino (2)
-. MAO (2)
4. Chris Brookes (0)
-. Yukio Naya (0)
-. KANON (0)

A minor ankle injury did over the last week does not seem to be much of a bother for Tetsuya Endo. His start to the D-Ou Grand Prix could not have gone any better. A big win over Yuki Ueno in today’s main event sent the message loud and clear. Endo is determined to win the Grand Prix and after that every DDT singles championship will be in his sights, even the DDT Universal Title held by Ueno! Endo’s next match in his block is another difficult one. He and Daisuke Sasaki have so much history together. Endo is feeling pain in his left ankle and admits he is not at his best, but he will be fine whenever he gets into the ring.

Maybe it’s not a good idea to spend so much time taunting Kazusada Higuchi. Sure, KANON got away with it once or twice heading into today’s match but here is where it all came back to bite him. KANON did show a good fight by getting a nearfall with the Sleepy Hollow. He also grounded Higuchi into the Cobra Twist but getting grabbed with a Brain Claw turned things around. Higuchi smashed him with a few Lariats and pinned him with the Brain Claw Slam. After the match Higuchi brought up KANON’s claim that he would be laughing over his corpse today. That didn’t happen and even if KANON could beat him, he would never die. Instead Higuchi is aiming for the top by winning the DDT Grand Slam! He already won King Of DDT and holds the KO-D Openweight Title. Now he just needs to win the D-Ou Grand Prix.

Friends and tag team partners Yuji Hino and Yukio Naya had to face each other in their opening block match. Naya is putting a lot of effort into convincing everyone he has taken a step up and is ready to win the tournament. He came out to new music and new ring gear to cap off a new version of himself. Unfortunately for Naya, Hino is still one of the strongest wrestlers around. There was the surprise of Naya kicking out of the Fuckin’ BOMB but he was done for once Hino hit the World’s Best German Suplex. Hino was happy to see how much his friend has grown and admitted the German Suplex was a last minute move he needed to win. Naya is not letting the loss get to him because he knows he can still reach the final if he wins his remaining matches.

In non-tournament action, the veteran team of Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA welcomed the challenge of Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada in a battle between the generations. The youngsters gave Akiyama a Double Brainbuster and Masada followed it up with a Triangle Kick for a nearfall. Akiyama cut him off with Running Knee Strikes then shrugged off Masada’s Elbow Strikes to hit some more Knee Strikes. The Exploder Suplex then put an end to the match. Akiyama praised Masada for showing guts and wonders if he will be in the D-Ou GP next year if he continues showing progress. Koroku however might be getting pushed around to easily if Akiyama is being honest.

Back to the Grand Prix where MAO attempted to avenge last year’s tournament loss to Chris Brookes. Last time MAO was counted out in embarrassing fashion and it has haunted him ever since. Both were fighting for the countout win, oddly enough. It led to them fighting up in the balcony before racing back to avoid the 20 count. MAO got ahead and leapt over the barrier, landing on one end of a wooden plank leaning over it. It caused a see-saw effect where the other end hit Brookes right between the legs! MAO made it back to the ring in time to win by countout. He said what we just saw is his ability to win by imperfect means. He only had to put in a 65% performance and he was able to win this way. MAO faces Naya next and he thinks he will have to go 100% just to match Naya’s improved performances.

The debuting RSP put a dampener on Naomi Yoshimura’s start to the tournament. Yoshimura is Kenta Kobashi’s pick to win the tournament but couldn’t find anything to put his American opponent away. Instead RSP got the win with his GTF finisher. RSP explained afterwards that even though Yoshimura’s attacks hurt, he is used to pain and could withstand all of it. Yoshimura is frustrated to lose yet can’t help but love fighting against big and powerful foreign wrestlers.

Some of the undercard matches went out of control a little bit. Joey Janela and Daisuke Sasaki are upcoming opponents so were put in a preview tag team match. Sasaki had good ol’ reliable MJ Paul with him while Janela found himself in an odd couple with Yukio Sakaguchi. Things went off the rails from the get go when Sasaki and Janela fought outside the ring. Chairs were brought into the brawl and Janela accidentally hit Sakaguchi with one. Sakaguchi stormed off in anger, leaving Janela by himself to fight off Sasaki & MJ Paul. Janela was able to give Sasaki a Low Blow and a chair shot before the match was called off by the referee. Janela said Sasaki crossed a line and swore revenge. He later asked interviewers why isn’t Jun Akiyama in the tournament? Janela has fought many old wrestlers from the ages of 50 to 75 so he wants to add Akiyama to the list!

A mixture of DDT talent among the different stables were put together for the opener. Yusuke Okada from BURING, Hideki Okatani from Eruption & Yuki Ishida from Harimao defeated Shunma Katsumata & Toi Kojima from The 37KAMIINA along with the unaffiliated rookie Kazuma Sumi. Ishida pulled out a Sitout Spinebuster on Sumi to get the win.

So much for the Pheromones Subjugation Squad. Akito’s first day in charge of keeping Danshoku Dieno and his buddies under control ended in complete failure. Or did it? Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata were rendered powerless to stop them until Akito revealed he had a secret plan. It was Akito stripping himself down to his underwear for some reason. Hisaya Imabayashi called off the match and told Akito there was no point taking his clothes off because there was already too much stripping going on. However that meant Pheromones didn’t win the match so in Akito’s mind his plan kind of worked!

Kenta Kobashi led the D-Ou opening ceremony where all of the entrants were introduced to the fans. He said he was looking forward to seeing exciting fights that would be worthy of the tournament and asked the fans to show their passionate support for the wrestlers.

The day began with Sanshiro Takagi promising to announce an important piece of news about DDT. First, footage was shown of Yuki Iino spending his one day as CyberFight President as promised. After that, Takagi came out and announced DDT has begun a business partnership with Sun Music to open up more entertainment opportunities for their wrestlers. Takagi then introduced everyone to Hiroyuki Oka, the vice president of Sun Music. The goal is to give DDT wrestlers more exposure in the entertainment industry while also bringing in comedians, singers and other talent who are interested in pro wrestling. Oka got in the spirit of things by complimenting the wrestlers in the dark match for all having beautiful butts… It was a Pheromones match, what did you expect?


DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-” Results

October 26, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-”, 26/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE
440 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Soma Takao, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani defeated Yusuke Okada, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Naya pinned Sumi with a Knee Lift (10:03).
2. HARASHIMA & Akito defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Akito pinned Iino with a Backslide Pin (7:11).
3. Ω Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Oishi pinned Hirata after the Fuckin’ BOMB from Hino (7:30).
4. CDK Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated MAO & Shunma Katsumata when Brookes pinned Takanashi after the Hair Of The Dog (14:25).
5. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Sasaki submitted Ishida with the Crossface Lock (14:23).
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR (19:41).

The show served as a preview for the opening day of the D-Ou Grand Prix taking place next week. Yuki Ueno scored the win in the main event, giving him momentum for the tournament opener against Tetsuya Endo. Ueno had him well scouted in the end, using a Missile Dropkick to cut off Endo’s Swan Dive Forearm aimed for Toi Kojima. Ueno then gave Yuya Koroku the WR for the victory. Afterwards Ueno said he has a responsibility to carry DDT on his back because he is entering the D-Ou GP as the DDT Universal Champion. Even if he wasn’t a champion he’s been thinking that way ever since last year’s tournament. Kojima said he will support Ueno and MAO in the tournament. He also wants to grow so he can enter the Grand Prix next year.

Kazusada Higuchi versus KANON is another match that was previewed here. KANON used their tag match to get under Higuchi’s skin. After the match KANON told Higuchi to smile more and have some fun because on 1st November KANON is going to laugh over his corpse! Higuchi’s response is he will have the last laugh. Naomi Yoshimura also warned Daisuke Sasaki that he will crush him in the tournament. Sasaki isn’t looking forward to working hard but understands there is no such thing as an easy tournament match.

How on earth can I describe the Hair Of The Dog that CDK used to beat MAO & Shunma Katsumata? First Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi positioned Katsumata on top of MAO and twisted them into doing a Yoshitonic. Then Takanashi rolled both of them over with a sideways Gedo Clutch and Brookes bridged himself on top of MAO. The result was Takanashi & Brookes pinning Katsumata with MAO unable to break the pin because he was underneath everything. Brookes Vs MAO us coming up in the Grand Prix and MAO is still haunted by last year’s match when he lost to Brookes by Countout.

Kazuki Hirata had a secret plan to try and beat Ω. He used a Paradise Lock on Makoto Oishi, incapacitating him for the rest of the match. Toru Owashi then challenged Yuji Hino to a chop off and suddenly covered Hino in his own t-shirt so his arms were trapped and unusable. Hirata found his courage to fight Hino in this state but found out his attacks were still harmless. Hino eventually freed himself and dropped Hirata with the Fuckin’ BOMB. He then lifted up Oishi who was still stuck in the Paradise Lock and placed him on top of Hirata for the pin. They have another match coming up for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Oishi wants to know who this “Second Doi” person is?

Akito is getting ready to take the captaincy role of the Pheromones Subjugation Squad on 1st November. It turns out HARASHIMA is also now a member of DDT’s disciplinary committee, but that is a role different from what Akito and Sanshiro Takagi are attached to. Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still did their lewd antics today with HARASHIMA getting the brunt of it. But Akito was able to get a Backslide Pin on Iino to get the win. He warned Pheromones that on 1st November he will do what Takagi couldn’t and subdue all of them in one shot!

The opening match had Yukio Naya pin the newbie Kazuma Sumi with a Knee Lift. The result gives Naya momentum for his opening GP match against Hino. The two are friends but both are willing to kill each other if they have to.

Cara Noir returns to DDT on 29th December. He will also be on the 3rd January show.


Nightingale In Japan, Pheromones Subjugation Squad, Matsuno Returns

October 25, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -OCTOBER-”, 26/10/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Soma Takao, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani Vs Yusuke Okada, Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
3. Ω Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
4. CDK Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
5. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima Vs Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku

Tomorrow’s show gives some of the D-Ou Grand Prix field more chances to prepare for the tournament. There are a few previews of upcoming group stage matches to look forward to here.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2022”, 29/10/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Nao Kakuta & Yoshiko Hasegawa
2. Miyu Yamashita & Juria Nagano Vs Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
3. Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Pom Harajuku Vs Mizuki, Suzume & Haruna Neko
4. Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Arai Vs Hikari Noa & Arisu Endo
5. Yuka Sakazaki & Willow Nightingale Vs Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku
6. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto

Willow Nightingale touches down in Japan where Yuka Sakazaki is there waiting for her. Together the two of them will take on MakiYuki Happy in Osaka. Also coming along for some fun is Yoshiko Hasegawa from Ganbare☆Pro.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND”, 01/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Akito)
1. Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida
2. Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
3. Jun Akiyama Produce Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki Ueno
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura Vs RSP
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs Yukio Naya
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs MAO

Now that Pheromones have won the war against Sanshiro Takagi, it is up to Akito to protect DDT from their scandalous ways. Takagi has “graduated” from the feud and selected Akito to take his place as Captain of the Pheromones Subjugation Squad. Akito feels like he’s been in that position for a while anyway but agreed to the idea. He’s not wrestling on this show but will be accompanying the opposing team to make sure Pheromones don’t fall out of line.

GANBARE☆PRO “DIRTY HERO 2022”, 03/11/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Tsuyoshi Okada Vs Yuki Kanzaki
2. Mixed Tag Match: Ken Ohka & YuuRI Vs Yumehito Imanari & HARUKAZE
3. GanJo Special Tag Match: Yuna Manase & Yoshiko Hasegawa Vs Willow Nightingale & Moeka Haruhi
4. Kouki Iwasaki Send-Off Special Singles Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
5. Dirty Hero 2022 Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Mizuki Watase & Toi Kojima
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

Nightingale won’t just be at Tokyo Joshi Pro for this tour. She’s making a GanPro appearance too!

While Shuichiro Katsumura is in the main event championship match, his buddy Tsuyoshi Okada will also be at the show wrestling against Yuki Kanzaki in the opener.

BASARA “BASARA 203 ~GLITTER~”, 08/11/2022
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – A Block Final: FUMA Vs Fuminori Abe
2. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – B Block Final: Masato Kamino Vs Yasu Urano
3. Chouten ~Itadaki~ – Final: Winner Of A Block Vs Winner Of B Block

The final rounds of the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament are all set. Either FUMA, Fuminori Abe, Masato Kamino or Yasu Urano will end up standing on top of the mountain as BASARA’s strongest wrestler when all is said and done.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN OSAKA”, 12/11/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

0. Dark Match: Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
1. MJ Paul & KANON Vs Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Produce Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Aja Kong & HARASHIMA
3. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (c) Vs Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Joey Janela
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs RSP
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs MAO
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Yukio Naya

The new rookie Kazumi Sumi impressed with his debut match. Jae over at Dragongate revealed in a tweet that Sumi originally came from the dojo over there but dropped out. And that is how DDT is getting some of their new trainees. They start training at other companies, leave for whatever reason and end up over in DDT. Might be a little awkward if he bumps into Naruki Doi in the locker room then.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KYOTO”, 13/11/2022
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Joey Janela, Makoto Oishi & Yuki Ishida Vs RSP, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Pheromones Vs DISASTER BOX!: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Naruki Doi & Akito Vs Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
4. Saki Akai Produce Match: Saki Akai, Yukio Sakaguchi & HARASHIMA Vs Aja Kong, Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Naomi Yoshimura
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Chris Brookes
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya Vs KANON
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs MAO

Doi’s next appearance in DDT will be in Kyoto where he’s teaming with Tetsuya Endo & Akito against three of DDT’s younger wrestlers.

One of the non-tournament matches will feature Joey Janela against Rickey Shane Page on opposite sides. Not sure if there’s still bad blood between the two over the GCW Vs 44OH! feud from not so long ago but they don’t even need that excuse to do something crazy together. They’ll be facing each other in the D-Ou GP a few days later anyway so plenty of chances for them to wreck each other.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida
0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Ueno
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela Vs RSP
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Naomi Yoshimura
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs Yuji Hino

Last we heard from Gorgeous Matsuno he was in the early stages of preparations donating a kidney to his partner Junko Tashiro. He gave an update during the week that the kidney transplant has been delayed until next Spring. He explained in an interview that Tashiro’s recent blood tests showed she is in good health and her doctors suggested it might not be a good idea to get a transplant right away while her own kidneys are still functioning. The operation will have to happen eventually but right now Matsuno has been given extra time to go back to his different entertainment activities, including pro wrestling.

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki
2. Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
3. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi

A Team Drift reunion is on the cards over at Masahiro Takanashi’s show. He’s also added a bunch of teams to the Mixed Tag Gauntlet match. Takanashi has already apologised to Saki Akai for sticking her with the Brahman Brothers.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2022”, 29/12/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Special Tag Match: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai Vs Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs X

It’s very likely that the D-Ou winner will challenge Kazusada Higuchi for the KO-D Openweight Title at the end of the year. Or if Higuchi wins the tournament then he will likely nominate his challenger.

Two outsiders have come to challenge Reiwa AA Cannon. The duo of Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata both have histories with Saki Akai but they are completely brand new opponents for Yuki Arai.


DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022” Results

October 23, 2022

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Showdown FINAL ~ Dissolution Contra 1 Day President! 2 Vs 5 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito when Dieno pinned Takagi after a Chairshot from Hisaya Imabayashi (7:39).
*Yuki “Sexy” Iino gets to be CyberFight President for 1 day.
1. Kazuma Sumi Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Kazuma Sumi with a Crab Hold (8:48).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when KANON pinned Kojima with the Sleepy Hollow (12:08).
3. Special Tag Match: Soma Takao & Hikaru Machida defeated HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada when Machida pinned Masada with the Iai Punch (10:56).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida when Koroku submitted Ishida with the Triangle Lancer (10:39).
5. Road To D-Ou GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes defeated Tetsuya Endo, MAO & Yukio Naya when Brookes pinned Naya with a Roll Up (15:22).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda with the WR (15:24).
*V2 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Brain Claw Slam (16:12).
*V4 for Kazusada Higuchi.

A fourth successful KO-D Openweight Title defence is in the books for Kazusada Higuchi and it was his most emotional one yet. Yukio Sakaguchi spent the build up to the match pulling the “big brother” card and reminding everyone that he is Higuchi’s senpai. It was all mind games to see if Higuchi has really moved on from Eruption or not. It added more danger to Sakaguchi’s kicks and choke holds. The attacks left Higuchi bleeding from the bridge of his nose. But Higuchi hit back with the Brain Claw Slam and several Horizontal Chops. Sakaguchi was spent by the end of it while Higuchi yelled at him to stand back up. Both of them knew the match was finished and a tearful Higuchi gave his “big brother” another Brain Claw Slam to get the win.

The aftermatch saw Sakaguchi praising Higuchi for being merciless and also as strong as ever. He told Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida that they are part of a good unit in Harimao and they should trust Higuchi as their leader. It also made Sakaguchi tell Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani that Eruption need to fire up even stronger from now on because they cannot lose. Higuchi thanked Sakaguchi & Akai for what they taught him in Eruption. He then gave Okatani a gift. It is Higuchi’s entrance gown he wore when he was part of Eruption. When they left, Higuchi said the D-Ou Grand Prix is a physically and mentally tough challenge but he is going to face it and break through. The next KO-D Title defence won’t be until 29th December.

Old allies from the DNA days turned into fresh rivals for the DDT Universal Title. The champion Yuki Ueno not only had to worry about fighting Koju Takeda but the rest of Pheromones too. However The 37KAMIINA were there to support Ueno and get Pheromones out of the way, although it took some dives from Takeda and Ueno to help clear out the interference. When it went back into a 1 on 1 match, Ueno pinned Takeda with the WR to defend the title. He told Takeda afterwards he is glad their match has gone from Kitasenju Theatre 1010 to Korakuen Hall. Ueno doesn’t want to face anyone from Pheromones again but he can’t help but feel jealous at them. Now he will move on to the D-Ou Grand Prix where he hopes to do one better than last year and win the tournament.

A lot of the D-Ou field used today’s matches to get ready and call their shots for the tournament next month. Chris Brookes declared after the trios match he was going to win the D-Ou GP. Yoshimura then cut off the music to say he would win it instead. Yuji Hino called the two of them idiots because he will win. Then Tetsuya Endo questioned all of their opinions and decided he was going to be the winner. MAO kept cutting in during this so everyone just heard the two of them talk over each other. Yukio Naya had enough and shoved them over to say he will win. They played his music to end the segment, which annoyed Brookes because Brookes beat Naya to win the match.

The wrestling politicians team came back. Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu teamed with Ishida to take on three members of BURNING. Kawamatsu was thrown right in there with Jun Akiyama which has to be both an exciting and terrifying experience for a long time wrestling fan. Maybe the same can be said for Yusuke Okada getting to fight Nishimura. But it was the two youngest wrestlers of the match who determined which side won. Yuya Koroku timed Ishida’s momentum well and drew him into a Triangle Lancer to get the submission victory. Okada criticized Kawamatsu’s performance in the post-match interview backstage. He said the politician should put more energy into his performance. Elsewhere Kawamatsu said he fell into the same trap as his last match. Whenever he gets into the ring, his mind goes blank and his body stiffens up. If he gets another chance to do a match he promises to devote himself into showing everyone a more solid performance.

A brand new challenge was presented to Takeshi Masada. How would he fare taking on a kickboxer like Hikaru Machida? The match also presented a big challenge for Machida because HARASHIMA was Masada’s tag partner. Masada held his own against both Machida & Soma Takao until Machida started getting the combos in. They took their toll on the rookie and he was done for once the Iai Punch found its target. HARASHIMA would like to team with Masada again but they need a better tag name. The suggestions they got were Pantaloon Tag and Harashimasada but HARASHIMA thinks both of them sound too dorky.

The two members of DAMNATION T.A entering the D-Ou GP are also looking in good shape going into it. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON were victorious along with Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul against a combined foursome of Eruption and The 37KAMIINA members. Sasaki and Shunma Katsumata had a close exchange but KANON got the win by pinning Toi Kojima. After the match Sasaki said he hates the D-Ou GP but will make sure he still wins it. He will see KANON in the final. KANON replied that the D-Ou GP will be covered in DAMNATION T.A’s colours. However things looked to get tense between the two so Fujita and Paul stepped in to keep things cool between everyone.

The debut of Kazuma Sumi gave Kazuki Hirata the opportunity to wrestle a mostly serious match without his wacky antics getting in the way. Sumi made it clear he is going to be a fast moving high flyer. Hirata stopped mid-match and asked Sumi what his goal is going to be. Sumi said he wants to win the match. Hirata asked for the answer to be bigger and louder. Sumi shouted he is going to be at the top of DDT! Hirata wanted an even bigger and louder answer. Sumi shouted he will become the KO-D Champion! Hirata shook his hand and then kicked him to continue the match. He got the rookie to submit to the Crab Hold, as is tradition in pro wrestling. Kojima said Sumi has a good mindset but there are a lot of young wrestlers now in DDT that Sumi has to compete with. Sumi said a week ago he fell into a slump and couldn’t sleep but his debut match was fun and he has Hirata to thank for that.

Perhaps the match with the greatest consequence today took place on the pre-show. The dark match featured Sanshiro Takagi leading a team of wrestlers against Pheromones in a 5 Vs 2 battle. It was kind of 5 Vs 3 because Yumehito Imanari was there at ringside to help his mates out. Still, Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno still had to fight Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito all at once. Takagi had Dieno beat with the Himawari Bomb and called Hisaya Imabayashi into the ring. He gave the DDT GM a chair and told him to finish Dieno off once and for all. Imabayashi hesitated until he finally swung the chair… at Takagi! Dieno jumped on top of Takagi to get the three count, meaning Yuki Iino now gets to be President of CyberFight for a day!

Imabayashi explained his actions after the match. He was not betraying Takagi to join Pheromones. Instead he was taking a stand towards Takagi for his abuse of power. A 5 Vs 2 Handicap match was unfair from the beginning. Takagi has too much on his plate as CyberFight president to keep worrying about Pheromones. DDT has a very important project coming up next year that Takagi needs to put his full attention on. Imabayashi won’t be able to feel at peace when he leaves DDT if Takagi doesn’t move on. Takagi understands and announced he his “graduating” from his feud with Pheromones. However he appointed Akito to take his place and keep the feud going. Akito complained that he always fights Pheromones anyway but he accepts the decision.

Midway through the show Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata were brought into the ring to be announced as the opponents for Reiwa AA Cannon on 29th December. Anou was carrying the ICEx∞ Title from Ice Ribbon with her. She said she will prove she is more attractive and strong than either Saki Akai or Yuki Arai. Kawahata said she lost to Akai the last time she was in DDT so she wants to mess up the faces of both Akai & Arai on 29th December. Later Akai said she had singles matches against Anou and Kawahata before. She wonders if anything has changed with Kawahata since their previous match. She also thinks it will be great experience for Arai to fight wrestlers from other promotions and see what they all have to offer.

The big project for next year seems to be DDT’s return to America! First, Takagi announced “DDT GOES HOLLYWOOD” will take place on 30th March, 2023 at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles! The show will be part of The Collective, a series of events spearheaded by GCW held during WrestleMania week. If that wasn’t enough, Joey Janela sent in a video announcing “GCW VS DDT” will take place in the same venue on 31st March! It will be the first time in 4 years DDT will be holding shows in America. Takagi said he’s been wanting to do it every year since the New York show in 2019 but the pandemic kept putting them back at square one. The Yen is weak against the Dollar right now so Takagi is aiming to make a lot of money while DDT is in the USA.

Soma Takao is now the store manager of the Dropkick Bar. So if you ever want to drink with Takao, he’ll be waiting for you at the Dropkick Bar!


Arisu’s Hometown Blues, D-Ou Undercards, Takanashi’s Rival Vs Takanashi’s Other Rival

October 18, 2022

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT AUTUMN ~ARISU ENDO LOCAL TRIUMPH~”, 21/10/2022
Fukushima Aizuwakamatsu City Cultural Center

1. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Haruna Neko
2. Yuki Aino Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Maki Itoh & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta
4. Rika Tatsumi Vs Raku
5. Miu Watanabe & Pom Harajuku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Moka Miyamoto
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo

The hometown girl Arisu Endo is feeling the pressure lately. No matter how much effort she puts into her matches she still loses in the end. She got words of encouragement from Yuka Sakazaki to evolve more because everyone else is also changing as Tokyo Joshi Pro grows bigger. For her homecoming Endo & Suzume are back together as Daisy Monkey to take on The Magical Sugar Rabbits. It’s a rematch of the Princess Tag Team Titles bout back in April. Mizuki pinned Endo to win that one.

Miyu Yamashita is wrestling in Spain this weekend for RCW so she is missing this show.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE MOUNTAIN TOP 2022”, 29/10/2022
Osaka Edion Arena #2

1. International Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Moka Miyamoto

One example of evolution in TJPW is Moka Miyamoto. She now has a new finishing move and gathered together the confidence to be Miu Watanabe’s first challenger for the International Princess Title.

Yuki Arai, Juria Nagano and Willow Nightingale will all be on the show. It will be Nagano’s first time wrestling in Osaka. Nightingale’s delayed tour of TJPW finally begins here.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 OPENING ROUND”, 01/11/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata
1. Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida
2. Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
3. Jun Akiyama Produce Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuki Ueno
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura Vs RSP
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs Yukio Naya
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs MAO

What an unlikely tag team Joey Janela & Yukio Sakaguchi is. Janela is currently on the indie run of his life defending the DDT Extreme Title around America and Mexico in Title Vs Title matches. He’s now a triple crown champion sharing a DDT championship with belts from GCW and Lucha Libre Vanguardia. However it sounds like he got a disgusting arm injury in a recent GCW and Zona 23 crossover show. No word yet on if it will effect his DDT bookings.

Once the trainee Kazuma Sumi has his debut match on 23rd October, he will move on to a few tag matches on the undercard of some D-Ou Grand Prix shows.

If Pheromones are forced to split up on 23rd October then the undercard matches may be changed.

GANBARE☆PRO “DIRTY HERO 2022”, 03/11/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Dirty Hero 2022 Special Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Mizuki Watase & Toi Kojima
2. Kouki Iwasaki Send-Off Special Singles Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
3. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura

Kouki Iwasaki has three shows left with Ganbare☆Pro before he has his farewell match at the end of the year. Shinichiro Tominaga is going to be one of his last opponents.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA DAY 1”, 03/11/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Soma Takao, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs RSP, Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
3. HARASHIMA Produce Match ~ Blindfold Breastfold Tag Death Match: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Shunma Katsumata
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs Joey Janela
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yuji Hino Vs KANON
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: MAO Vs Yukio Naya

DDT gets to see RSP team up with CDK when they all take on Harimao.

DDT “DDT FREE -NOVEMBER- D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA”, 05/11/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda
2. Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
3. Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Akito & Makoto Oishi Vs Hideki Okatani, Toi Kojima, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki Vs RSP
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura Vs Joey Janela
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: MAO Vs KANON

DDT’s new generation lines up to face a team of veterans.

Again the undercard could be changed if Pheromones are forced to split up.

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN YOKOHAMA DAY 2”, 05/11/2022
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Yukio Naya Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
2. Harimao Vs DAMNATION T.A!: Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul
3. Yukio Sakaguchi Produce Match ~ 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Pokotan & Gota Ihashi Vs Saki Akai, Hideki Okatani & Kazuki Hirata
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo Vs Joey Janela
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno Vs RSP
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yuji Hino
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes Vs KANON

Harimao and DAMNATION T.A are back to fighting each other in a tag match again.

“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022
Shinjuku FACE

1. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
2. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi

A battle between two of Masahiro Takanashi’s rivals has been added to his show. He started treating MAO as a rival after their DDT Universal Title match happened in June. He also thinks of Mei Suruga as a rival whenever he watches her matches but kept that opinion secret from everybody until now.


Power Of Dream, Itoh & Arai Duet, Sumi Debut Match

September 26, 2022

GANBARE☆PRO “NERAWARETA GAKUEN 2022”, 02/10/2022
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Toyama & India Vs Ota Ward & Nakano All-Out Battle!: Shinichiro Tominaga & Baliyan Akki Vs Soma Takao & Mizuki Watase
2. Union Alumni Assocation In Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Ken Ohka Vs Daichi Kazato
3. Nerawareta Gakuen 2022 Special Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Thanomsak Toba Vs Keisuke Ishii & Yumehito Imanari
4. Power Of Dream Class Reunion In Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Yuki Kanzaki
5. England x Makai x GanJo! Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Nightshade, Moeka Haruhi & HARUKAZE Vs Ram Kaichow, YuuRI & Yoshiko Hasegawa
6. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Hartley Jackson (c) Vs Yuna Manase

Makai wrestler Yuki Kanzaki wants to stick around in Ganbare☆Pro and compete more often on their shows. He is linked to Kouki Iwasaki because they both train at the same gym called Power Of Dream.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “WRESTLE PRINCESS III”, 09/10/2022
Tokyo Dome City Hall

1. Aja Kong, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Aino & Max The Impaler
2. Mizuki Vs Hyper Misao
3. International Princess Title: Alex Windsor (c) Vs Miu Watanabe
4. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Rhia O’Reilly & Nightshade
5. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

The show will be set up for 50% capacity to allow fans to cheer.

Maki Itoh was a guest performer at the SKE48 14th Anniversary concert in Nagoya yesterday. She did a duet with Yuki Arai on stage, singing “Ookami To Pride” together. At the end of the song Itoh Headbutted Arai and gave the crowd a thumbs up.

DDT “GOD BLESS DDT 2022”, 23/10/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match – Pheromones Vs Takagi-gun Complete Showdown FINAL ~ 2 Vs 5 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Akito
1. Kazuma Sumi Debut Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Kazuma Sumi
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku Vs Osamu Nishimura, Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida
4. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Takeshi Masada Vs Soma Takao & Hikaru Machida
5. Road To D-Ou GP Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Chris Brookes Vs Tetsuya Endo, MAO & Yukio Naya
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi

There is more confidence surrounding Kazusada Higuchi as the KO-D Openweight Champion after yesterday’s result. He defeated Konosuke Takeshita and now has his “big brother” Yukio Sakaguchi waiting for him next. Sakaguchi knows Higuchi inside and out from their days together in Eruption. Higuchi admits that Sakaguchi probably knows his weaknesses but he still wants to face him head on. He is also waiting on Shinya Aoki to make his move with the Right To Challenge NFT.

Yuki Ueno is still feeling the love from his match with Cara Noir yesterday. He has a lot of respect for the English wrestler to come over and fight him. It’s motivating him to do his best and become more confident. The next challenger for the DDT Universal Title is Koju Takeda. The newest member of Pheromones used to team with Ueno when they were both in DNA together. Their peak was winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles together with Kota Umeda. Ueno is happy to take on the challenge but is a bit worried about Takeda’s new “Shining Ball” persona.

19 year old Kazuma Sumi is the second wrestler from this year’s trainee class to make his debut. He was born in Tsu City, Mie on 27th March, 2003. He is 163cm tall and weighs 65kg. His background is in karate and gymnastics.

The final dramatic must-see battle between Sanshiro Takagi and Pheromones is relegated to the dark match. Takagi has the advantage because he made it a 5 Vs 2 Handicap match. However Pheromones will still have Yumehito Imanari in their corner and you deserve what you get for relying on Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda in this day and age so it’s an evenly matched contest once you think about it.


DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022” Results

September 25, 2022

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2022”, 25/09/2022
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
701 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match: Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima defeated Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida when Okatani pinned Ishida with the Double Arm Suplex (6:37).
1. MAO, Asuka & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award (6:44).
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Shunma Katsumata and Yuki “Sexy” Iino (w/ Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno) when Aoki pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch (6:58).
3. Special Tag Match: Akito & Yukio Naya defeated Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu when Naya submitted Kawamatsu with the Torture Cobra Twist (11:41).
4. Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & KANON (w/ MJ Paul) defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when Sasaki submitted Oishi with the Crossface Lock (11:21).
5. Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Soma Takao defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Takeshi Masada when Sakaguchi pinned Okada with the God’s Right Knee (11:18).
6. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Cara Noir with the WR (13:01).
*V1 for Yuki Ueno.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Buchikamashi (18:57).
*V2 for Kazusada Higuchi.

A hard headed effort from Kazusada Higuchi withstood the challenge of Konosuke Takeshita, preventing the KO-D Openweight Title from leaving Japan once Takeshita goes back to America. Higuchi’s iron toughness was on show when Takeshita pulled him by the arms, driving him head first into the steel ring post. Higuchi took a second long pause to register what happened and calmly fired back with a Headbutt that drew some blood from Takeshita’s forehead. Higuchi later attempted a big Choke Slam from the top rope but it was countered into a Frankensteiner followed by the Zahi. Higuhci kicked out of that and also the German Suplex before catching the Jumping Knee. More big bombs were thrown between the two and Takeshita finally hit the Jumping Knee. What he didn’t see coming was Higuchi standing firm and then charging in with the Buchikamashi sumo tackle. That put Takeshita down for the three count and Higuchi remains the champion.

After the match Takeshita gave his approval to Higuchi for being the champion and told him to do his best. He will be in America for around two and a half months before coming back for a DDT booking at the end of the year. Shinya Aoki then came down to ringside but rather than tease cashing in his title shot, he reached through the ropes to give Higuchi a fist bump instead and left. Yukio Sakaguchi then came out during Higuchi’s victory speech. He said Higuchi understands why he came out and he still does not understand true fear the likes of which Sakaguchi is capable of. Higuchi accepted his challenge and the two former “brothers” will fight for the KO-D Title on 23rd October.

You ever hear when wrestling commentators joke about how “it ain’t ballet”? Isn’t that in reality an insult backfire when you think about it? I’ve watched footage of ballet training and that stuff looks like hell on Earth even when compared to pro wrestling drills. Okay, okay, I’m getting distracted because I don’t want to make the usual theatre puns when writing about Cara Noir. The English wrestler performed his big entrance for the fans and then jumped Yuki Ueno with a John Woo Dropkick. Ueno was able to defend himself and escape from the Blackout Sleeper. He then returned with a Dropkick of his own, hitting Noir right in his face. The WR afterwards got Ueno the win and a successful DDT Universal Title defence under his belt.

There is a language barrier between the two but Ueno thanked Noir for coming to Japan after their match. It is a difficult time for Ueno to do what he wants and defend the Universal Title abroad, so he appreciates foreign opponents coming to DDT to challenge him. The three main members of Pheromones then entered the ring. Yuki Iino stepped over to Ueno and then turned around, revealing Ueno’s iPhone sticking out of his butt. Ueno pulled out his phone and found out he got a message from Koju Takeda. He read the message containing accusations that he does not have enough Pheromones. Takeda wants to measure their hormone levels together and so challenges Ueno for the Universal Title on 23rd October. Ueno accepts and wants to see how much Takeda has changed since their days in DNA together.

Sakaguchi cemented his claim for a KO-D Title shot by grabbing the win in Match #5. He was part of a DDT all veteran team against three members of BURNING along with the rookie Takeshi Masada. For some reason Sanshiro Takagi was a target for the opposing team. Tetsuya Endo got some ring time with HARASHIMA but Masada in particular wanted to beat Takagi. Jun Akiyama explained to the reporters backstage it’s because pro wrestling is the only place where it is acceptable to beat up the company president. It’s also acceptable to kick the heck out of Yusuke Okada like Sakaguchi did to win the match. Soma Takao was just kind of there. Even he noticed that he isn’t in any of the match pictures on DDT’s website.

DAMNATION T.A gave some of their next KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles opponents a taste of what’s to come. Minoru Fujita & KANON had their hands full with Naomi Yoshimura & Yuji Hino until MJ Paul got into a brawl with Hino out of the ring and up towards the balcony. Daisuke Sasaki had Makoto Oishi right where he wanted him from there. DAMNATION T.A benefited from the numbers game and Sasaki ended up tapping out Oishi with the Crossface Lock. Sasaki mocked Oishi for being so weak and wanted to injure him with a chair. Suddenly Shiori Asahi’s music began playing and he ran out to rescue his friend, fighting off Sasaki with a skateboard. Together, Oishi & Asahi then gave KANON the Cactus Flower. Asahi said it’s been a long time since he showed up as X on DDT shows. Hino said Ω is getting closer to a complete recovery. They will show DAMNATION T.A what real evil looks like when they take the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles from them!

The politician tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu were back at it again, this time wrestling against Akito & Yukio Naya. Two two are becoming more cohesive by doing double team moves together. However Naya was able to break them apart and submit Kawamatsu with the Cobra Twist. Nishimura gave advice to Kawamatsu by comparing a wrestling career to an election. Elections are the accumulation of everything politicians do day by day. Kawamatsu admits that every time he steps into the ring to wrestle his head goes blank and everything happens at a blink of an eye. Akito thinks this won’t be the last we see of Kawamatsu. Naya meanwhile has more important matters to get ready for.

Aoki had no choice but to put his Right To Challenge NFT on the line against Shunma Katsumata and Yuki Iino in a 3 Way Match. Katsumata dealt with Iino by sticking party poppers into his backside and setting them off. What he couldn’t have anticipated was Aoki turning into a Pheromones gimmick! He reappeared wearing very little and pinned Katsumata with the European Clutch. He still hasn’t publicly told people when he wants to cash in the NFT for a KO-D Title shot. The only hint he gives is it will happen soon.

Romance was unexpectedly in the air during the opening bout. Toru Owashi and Antonio Honda’s grappling gradually turned into them slowly embracing each other for a kiss. That was interrupted by the others but soon some unintentional hugging led to Saki Akai wanting to kiss Asuka and MAO wanting to kiss Kazuki Hirata. Before they could almost all of them snapped back to normal and Akai pinned Honda with the Rookie Award. Asuka was left in a frozen state with her eyes closed, still waiting for Akai to kiss her. Yukinori Matsui woke her up causing Asuka to scream at the sight of him and leave.

The dark match saw Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima beat Yuya Koroku & Yuki Ishida in a tag battle between the young generation. Ishida kicked out of Okatani’s Northern Lights Suplex so Okatani had to pull out the Double Arm Suplex for the win.

19 year old trainee Kazuma Sumi will make his debut against Kazuki Hirata on 23rd October. He spoke to the crowd and called Hirata a very talented person so he will do his best. Sumi has a background in karate and gymnastics. He is the second of the trainee class introduced in May to make his debut, the first being Takeshi Masada.

Danshoku Dieno has written a book to celebrate his 20th Anniversary in pro wrestling. He said he lied to the publisher about making a self-help book to convince them to sell it. However he will be covering topics about the pro wrestling business from his point of view based on his two decades of experience. It will be available in December and Dieno is hosting a special event at Korakuen Hall on the 21st to commemorate the release. Attendees will receive a copy of the book but the cost of it will be added on top of the ticket price.

The D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 lineup was revealed. The A Block consists of Yuki Ueno, Naomi Yoshimura, Joey Janela, Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki and Rickey Shane Page. The B Block consists of Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes, MAO, Yuji Hino, KANON and Yukio Naya.


DDT “DDT FREE -MAY-” Results

May 11, 2022

DDT “DDT FREE -MAY-”, 11/05/2022
Shinjuku FACE
349 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Saki Akai & Soma Takao defeated Maya Yukihi & Kazuki Hirata when Akai pinned Hirata with the Rookie Award (9:45).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Toru Owashi & Akito when Iino pinned Akito with the Yoropean Clutch (10:25).
3. HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yuji Hino & Toi Kojima when Yoshimura pinned Kojima with the Harai Goshi (10:15).
4. Special Single Match: Yuki Ueno defeated Yukio Naya with an Inverted Hurricanrana (11:08).
5. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida when Paul pinned Ishida with the Death Valley Bomb (11:35).
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama defeated Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku when Akiyama pinned Koroku with the Exploder Suplex (15:38).
7. Road To Audience 2022! Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, Asuka & Shunma Katsumata defeated Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Antonio Honda when MAO pinned Honda with the Michinoku Driver II (21:11).

The spotlight currently shines brightly on the scenario involving CDK, MAO, Asuka, the KO-D Tag Team Titles and the DDT Universal Title. It draws in more people because Shunma Katsumata and Antonio Honda joined in the fun too. ShunMao gave Honda a Double Stunner and then got Asuka to get involved in a Triple Miracle Ecstasy. CDK broke the count but both were taken out with dives from Katsumata & Asuka. Honda got his second wind by doing a Lou Thesz Press and Super Kick to MAO. But MAO cut him off and grabbed the win with the Michinoku Driver II. MAO said this match is an example of DDT being on the cutting edge because they do not use any divided weight class or big name guest today.

Backstage ShunMao described the match like it was a sauna. Asuka says she can’t go to saunas because she has a tattoo. Katsumata invited her to go visit his business the Sea Sauna Shack where that wouldn’t be a problem. Asuka talked about how Chris Brookes pissed her off during the match. Katsumata warned her he can be dangerous so the best way to deal with him is to accuse him of making violent threats so his Twitter account gets banned. Asuka said she would rather take the KO-D Tag Titles from him. She then started asking Katsumata questions about Carousel❤️Shun. Over on the other side, Masahiro Takanashi admitted CDK weren’t prepared for how strong and aggressive Asuka is.

BURNING Vs BURNING had the expected result of BURNING beating BURNING. Did you get all of that? Jun Akiyama pinned Yuya Koroku and along with Tetsuya Endo praised him for the hard work he’s been doing. His advice to him is to think for himself more and more. Think about how he can rise to the top. It doesn’t need to be as massive as Koroku imagining himself carrying the company on his back. He just needs to imagine how he will move up the ladder. If he can do that then DDT will move up with him. Yusuke Okada thinks he has always been stuck in the same position Koroku is in now so he knows he has to continue working hard too.

Hideki Okatani and KANON targeted each other a lot in their match and kept fighting after it was over. Daisuke Sasaki mocked Okatani for thinking he can beat KANON and had threats aimed towards Yukio Sakaguchi, who wasn’t there today. Okatani called DAMNATION T.A goofy and undeserving of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. His growing attitude is approved by Kazusada Higuchi, who himself is confident that Eruption will win the vacant titles on 22nd May.

Even though Yuki Ueno won his match against Yukio Naya, he thought Naya showed more growth and it is only a matter of time before Naya breaks out in DDT. Ueno’s current position means he can’t afford to let other wrestlers use him as a springboard. There are no weight divisions in DDT so no matter how big his opponents are, Ueno can’t lose to them if he wants to be champion.

Danshoku Dieno asked if Akito wants to join Pheromones because they will be all teaming together at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. Akito refused, calling them the most vile unit in DDT. His point was proven when Pheromones found ways to make Akito do lewd things to Toru Owashi before Yuki Iino pinned him with the Yoropean Clutch. After the match Dieno complained about Akito sending mixed signals. He doesn’t want to join Pheromones but he still joins in on their fun? They left the ring and Akito demanded to be pulled out of the match. Sanshiro Takagi apologised for putting the CyberFight VP into the match without his permission. He explained the reason is somebody has to team with them to make sure they don’t cross the line during the live broadcast of a mega show like “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL”. Akito asked why couldn’t Takagi team with them and Takagi’s answer was Pheromones would figure out it is a trap right away. Takagi has grudges with them but Akito is a neutral who gets along with everybody. Takagi then talked about having a shoulder problem that could prevent him from doing his job as CyberFight President. If Akito does a good job keeping Pheromones under control then maybe he could replace Takagi as President! Akito suddenly had a change of heart and offered to team with Pheromones for a few warm up matches before “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL”. He will trick Pheromones into letting him join the unit and destroy them from within!

Maya Yukihi continues to fit in with DDT, even when she doesn’t want to. She declined Kazuki Hirata’s offer to wear the Hirata GO! glasses so he knocked her out with the Tegatana Chop and placed the glasses on her face anyway. That backfired when Yukihi’s dancing attacks targeted him as well as their opponents. Soma Takao gave Hirata the Perfect Driver and Saki Akai then pinned him with the Rookie Award. Akai can see Yukihi is having fun in DDT but she worries she is not taking full advantage of her surroundings. She hopes their upcoming rematch will set Yukihi back on track. Yukihi promised to avenge the singles loss to Akai and conquer more of DDT.

Midway through the show five new trainees were introduced to the fans. A tryout was held by DDT in March looking for new recruits aged 18 to 23 years old. They new trainees are Kazuma Sumi from Mie, Yuya Takaki from Shiga, Rukiya Ikeda from Osaka, Shogo Hamaguchi from Aichi and Takeshi Masada from Osaka.