DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 28/09/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao & Rukiya defeated Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai when Rukiya pinned Kasai with the Proto Bomb (4:47).
1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Yuya Koroku with a Triangle Lancer Counter (8:04).
2. Survival 3 Way Tag Match: Akito & Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya and MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) (8:32).
2a. MAO & KANON eliminated Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya when MAO pinned Naya with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (6:55). *MAO wins Yukio Naya’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
2b. Akito & Kazuma Sumi eliminated MAO & KANON when Sumi pinned MAO with the School Boy (8:32). *Kazuma Sumi wins MAO’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida defeated Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Diego when Ishida pinned Honda with the Flame Palm (11:20).
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with a Jackknife Pin (0:08).
4a. Rematch: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA defeated Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno when HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with the Somato (5:43).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi defeated Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion when Takechi pinned Ilusion with a Swan Dive Forearm (18:47). *Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi become the 59th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated Takeshi Masada with the Sleeper Hold (13:06). *V5 for Minoru Suzuki.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) defeated Yoshihiko with an Avalanche Rolling Power Bomb (15:42). *V2 for Kazuki Hirata.
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazuki Hirata (c) with the WR (6:47). *Kazuki Hirata fails in V3. Yuki Ueno cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover. Yuki Ueno becomes the 88th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Kazuma Sumi with the WR (12:02). *V1 for Yuki Ueno. Kazuma Sumi cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
From this point on no matter what happens with DDT, we will always have the September of Kazuki Hirata. He had it all going for him today. He was headlining a packed Korakuen Hall show in a KO-D Openweight Title defence against his most unique rival Yoshihiko. The battle doll used multiple German Suplexes to throw the champion around and also strategically targeted his arm with submissions. But Hirata held on and started using Power Bombs to beat Yoshihiko to a pulp, putting an end to the match with a Somersault Power Bomb from the top rope as some over the top tribute to the Kobe World Liner spot. Things could not have been going better for our good pal Hirata. Yoshihiko even applauded his victory and brought a gift to congratulate Hirata on his victory.
Hirata was handed over a cardboard box and inside it was a special bag made out of Haribo packaging. Hirata grabbed a bag inside a pulled it out, slowly revealing the Blue Right To Challenge Arm Cover was attached to it. As Hirata started to realize what was happening, behind him the black shadow that normally accompanies Yoshihiko placed the doll out of the ring and unmasked himself to reveal it was Yuki Ueno and this was him cashing in his title shot! Ueno grabbed Hirata in a Sleeper Hold and then confirmed he was getting his title match right now. Hirata did his best to survive and was able to kick out of Ueno’s moves. He also pulled out the Miracle One Shot Cradle but this time Ueno kicked out of it. Hirata tried using the move again and again but each repeated use became less effective until he reached the point of exhaustion. Ueno held up Hirata in something of a hug before using the WR to pin him and win back the KO-D Title.
And yet it didn’t end there. While Ueno and Hirata were patching things over, Kazuma Sumi suddenly ran down to the ring and launched a Missile Dropkick towards Ueno. He was armed with the last remaining Right To Challenge sleeve and was cashing it in so everyone in attendance was getting a second bonus KO-D Title match! Sumi came close to winning with a Canadian Destroyer followed by the School Boy. He also used an Imploding 450 Splash but Ueno kicked out of that too. Ueno halted Sumi’s drive with Dropkicks to the face along with the Himawari Bomb. It took the WR for him to put Sumi away and already score his first title defence right after he just won the belt. Ueno said this match made him feel just as happy as any of the other opponents he has defended the KO-D Title against in the past. Sumi explained it’s been three years since he debuted and he always wants to immediately take any opportunity that presents itself. So today his body felt like it moved on its own and he poured everything he had into this chance to become the champion.
So that’s it for this year’s Right To Challenge series. All four arm sleeves have been used and in the end Ueno is the last man standing with the KO-D Title. However a new challenger did make himself known. Minoru Suzuki entered the ring carrying the DDT Universal Title. He doesn’t have any automatic title shots but he still wants to take the KO-D Title for himself! Ueno told him this must be a coincidence going on because he also wants to take back the Universal Title from Suzuki! The two talked about having a match straight away until Hisaya Imabayashi interrupted them. The GM told them the show was running out of time but if they really want to do this match then it should be a double title bout at Sumo Hall on 3rd November! Suzuki gave a warning that he is close to completely dominating DDT. Ueno spoke about his mistake of inviting Suzuki to DDT in the first place and ever since then one of his goals has been to avenge that loss. He’ll make sure Suzuki won’t dominate DDT and will be driven out empty handed.
Suzuki’s path of domination through DDT happened in the semi-main event (which at this point was now three matches ago) when he put Takeshi Masada through misery. Suzuki brushed off the challenger’s early attacks and knocked him dizzy with a steel post attack outside the ring. He also attacked Masada with chairs and even a wrench before Masada made a comeback which included using moves from the other members of SCHADENFREUDE International. However Suzuki grabbed him in a Sleeper Hold to drain the energy out of his opponent until Masada gave up. Suzuki added insult to injury after the match by telling Masada he better put his life on the line if he’s ever going to pick a fight with him. A beaten Masada tried to get back at Suzuki but got another Elbow Strike for his troubles before being taken away. Suzuki explained backstage that he cannot be beaten with just brute force alone. You need to put your soul on the line from the moment you step into the ring, just like he does. Meanwhile Masada said he isn’t giving up and will definitely have another go at Suzuki.
The rise of “The Rampage” continues although he picked up some more noticeable bumps and bruises along the way. Today Kaisei Takechi has won his first pro wrestling championship! He teamed with Ueno & To-y from The 37KAMIINA to fight DAMNATION T.A over the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. The belts were vacated by DAMNATION T.A when Daisuke Sasaki got injured but Sasaki was at ringside for the match looking over his team. Hideki Okatani is really trying to establish himself as Takechi’s main enemy by attacking him with the bamboo stick while Sasaki hit Takechi’s leg with a chair next to the corner post. Sasaki also saw fit to attack Takechi in the ring with a chair but things went wrong for the heels when Ilusion missed the Swanton Bomb and was then hit with Okatani’s bamboo stick by accident. Takechi took control while his partners held Okatani & MJ Paul back. Then with one Swan Dive Forearm strike, Takechi pinned Ilusion to become a champion! He called the match the toughest fight he ever had and he’ll bring his title belt back to the LDH HQ so his boss can touch it. His next match in DDT will be at Korakuen on 19th October and DDT are hinting it will be the champion team’s first title defence. Ueno also mentioned to To-y & Takechi that there’s a fun idea he wants to do with them and the titles but he’ll talk to them later about it.
Evil Uno’s DDT debut came and went before he could even get into the ring. As he was making his entrance, his tag partner Danshoku Dieno decided to attack HARASHIMA straight away only to get rolled up in a Jackknife and get pinned. Imabayashi was furious because it’s bad enough when Hirata matches end like this but now it’s spreading to the rest of the locker room! This was an AEW star making his first appearance in DDT so he isn’t going to let anyone ruin it! Imabayashi apologized to Uno and allowed him to complete his entrance before the rematch began. HARASHIMA almost pinned Dieno again but Uno was there to break it up this time. Dieno was later put in the Hell Gate position with his rear end exposed but when Uno was thrown face first into it, his mask protected him from the exposure. So Jun Akiyama grabbed him by the mask, pulled it up past Uno’s mouth and shoved him back into Dieno’s hell gate. This time Uno was in danger and he fled the ring while HARASHIMA pinned Dieno with the Somato. Uno was in disbelief backstage. He came to DDT wanting to fight HARASHIMA & Akiyama but all he got out of it was the taste of rotten cheese stuck in his mouth!
A visiting Diego joined SCHADENFREUDE International’s side for today so there could be three of them to take on Harimao in a 6-Man Tag Match. It was also a warm up for Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida to get ready for their KO-D Tag Team Titles shot on 19th October. Antonio Honda used Gongitsune to stun the Harimao team and then got his own partners to join in the Bionic Elbow. But all of Harimao dodged the move and made the other team flinch with hand claps. Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura hit Honda with a Cross Bomber but Ishida failed to follow up by missing the Dosukoi Splash. Chris Brookes & Diego dealt damage to Ishida and left things up to Honda. But Ishida blocked Honda’s Diving Fist Drop and eventually pinned him with the Flame Palm. Ishida said he isn’t going to let this momentum stop. He is definitely going to win the tag titles with Higuchi!
The Survival 3 Way Match ended up playing a part in how the show ended the way it did. The rules allowed one wrestler from each team to be in the ring at all times and there were No Tag rules applied too for partners to swap in and out. The Apex were the first team eliminated despite being the KO-D Tag Champions. Strange Love Connection took out Yuki Iino with the Lariat-McEnroe combination but Yukio Naya gave KANON the Choke Slam. Sumi rolled up Naya with a School Boy only for KANON to push him away. MAO then pounced in and got Naya in his own roll up to get the three count! Since Naya was a Right To Challenge holder at the time that meant MAO had now won it off him. But the match was still continuing with SLC having to fight Akito & Sumi. MAO tried to vault over the referee to give Sumi a Cutter but Sumi instead turned it into a School Boy slam to pin him out of nowhere and win the Arm Cover!
The decision to have Yuya Koroku face Shinya Aoki one on one made more sense when it was announced the two of them would be teaming up at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” to take on a NOAH team led by Tetsuya Endo. This single match was Koroku and Aoki going tit for tat against each other with the two impressing each other along the way. Koroku countered the European Clutch into a German Suplex and then went for the Triangle Lancer. But Aoki used his grappling knowledge to cradle his way out of the hold and pin Koroku for the victory.
In the dark match Rukiya took his first step of progress since coming back from injury by picking up the win for his team. Soma Takao wanted to teach Hinata Kasai how to get the crowd excited for the first match of the show but got more than he bargained for when Daichi Sato stepped in to face him. Rukiya was able to beat Kasai for the win but it took him using the Proto Bomb twice to get the pinfall after Kasai kicked out of it the first time.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN VICTORY IN SHINKIBA”, 27/09/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Miyu Yamashita, Shoko Nakajima & Kaya Toribami Vs Yuki Arai, HIMAWARI & Mifu Ashida
2. 3 Way Match: Mahiro Kiryu Vs Raku Vs Shino Suzuki
3. Rika Tatsumi & Pom Harajuku Vs Suzume & Mahiro Kiryu
4. Mizuki Vs Chika Nanase
5. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Toga & Ren Konatsu
6. Miu Watanabe, Arisu Endo & Uta Takami Vs Yuki Aino, Haru Kazashiro & Kira Summer
This will be Haruna Neko’s graduation show. Her ceremony will take place during it but she will not be wrestling because of her injury.
DDT “DRAMATIC INFINITY 2025 ~3 HOUR SPECIAL~”, 28/09/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Soma Takao & Rukiya Vs Daichi Sato & Hinata Kasai
1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Yuya Koroku
2. Survival 3 Way Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Diego
4. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & HARASHIMA Vs Evil Uno & Danshoku Dieno
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Hideki Okatani, MJ Paul & Ilusion Vs Yuki Ueno, To-y & Kaisei Takechi
6. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs Takeshi Masada
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Yoshihiko
This is the match order for Sunday’s DDT show in Korakuen Hall.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN VICTORY IN SHINAGAWA”, 04/10/2025 Tokyo Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX
1. Next Generation Tournament ’25 – Round 1B: Uta Takami Vs Ren Konatsu
2. Next Generation Tournament ’25 – Round 1A: Kira Summer Vs Chika Nanase
3. Rika Tatsumi Vs Raku
4. Arisu Endo, Suzume & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Miyu Yamashita, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami
5. Yuna Manase & Toga Vs Yuki Arai & Mifu Ashida
6. Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara Vs Mizuki & Pom Harajuku
7. Miu Watanabe & Shino Suzuki Vs Yuki Aino & Haru Kazashiro
The next challengers for the Princess Tag Team Titles get a warm up match. It’s a chance for Yuna Manase & Toga to fine tune their gameplan and their opponents Kyoto Tag are a pretty new team as well.
Both Shoko Nakajima and HIMAWARI will be absent from the show because they will be wrestling each other in America for MLW that weekend. The MLW Women’s World Featherweight Title will be on the line too.
The Next Generation Tournament begins with the opening round. Losing here won’t eliminate anyone but it’s going to send those people down a harder path to reach the final.
GANBARE☆PRO “BAD LIEUTENANT 2025”, 13/10/2025 Tokyo Takashimadaira Kumin Center
1. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
After a brief delay over who should become No. 1 Contender, Shuichiro Katsumura gets his chance to win the Spirit Of Ganbare World Title for a second time. He will be waiting for Masaaki Mochizuki to come meet him at Takashimadaira.
FREEDOMS/GANBARE☆PRO “SHINKIBA NO JIN”, 16/10/2025 Shin-Kiba 1st RING
1. Dragon Libre & Reiya Igarashi Vs Shota Kawakami & Sentaro Motoshima
2. GENTARO Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
3. Violento Jack Vs Munetatsu Nakamura
4. Mammoth Sasaki, Daisuke Masaoka & Kenji Fukimoto Vs Keisuke Ishii, Takuya Wada & YuuRI
5. Takashi Sasaki & Toru Sugiura Vs Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase
6. Death Match: Jun Kasai & Tomoya Hirata Vs Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase
This is going to be fun. The rivalry between FREEDOMS and Ganbare☆Pro is now moving towards a full blown Battle Of Shin-Kiba! An entire show of FREEDOMS Vs GanPro matches will take place with one side of the arena being filled with FREEDOMS fans and the other being filled with GanPro fans. The scenario throws Ken Ohka & Mizuki Watase back into Death Match wrestling as the two will fight Jun Kasai & Tomoya Hirata with the weapon choices currently to be determined. Yuna Manase and YuuRI also get what they were promised by being put in matches against some of FREEDOMS’ hard hitters.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ADDITIONAL ATTACK ’25”, 18/10/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. International Princess Title: Arisu Endo (c) Vs Alice Crowley
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuki Kamifuku & Wakana Uehara (c) Vs Yuna Manase & Toga
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Yuki Aino
It’s an all Alice showdown for Arisu Endo’s first defence of the International Princess Title! Her challenger is a young American wrestler by the name of Alice Crowley. While she has made one or two appearances in many independents across the USA, you will usually find her in Juggalo Championship Wrestling or OVW. She used to wrestle a lot in IWA Mid South too. “Big Al” as she is nicknamed also competed in the infamous Power Slap contest earlier this year. As part of her title shot, Crowley will also be wrestling on the 12th and 19th October Tokyo Joshi Pro shows.
DDT “WRESTLING HARVEST ~UNDER THE RED SKY~”, 19/10/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida
Let’s see if some Dosukoi spirit can take a tag team up past The Apex. The Harimao pair of Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida have stepped up to become the next challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. For Higuchi it is a chance to win another championship so soon after losing the KO-D Openweight Title. Meanwhile Ishida has been picking up momentum, mostly from beating other wrestlers from the D GENERATION. Knocking down either Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya with the Flame Palm on route to a championship win will be a massive accomplishment for the little sumo.
DDT “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”, 03/11/2025 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Sanshiro Takagi Return Match – Special Single Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Shinya Aoki & Yuya Koroku Vs Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki
3. DDT Extreme Title: To-y (c) Vs Akito
4. Special Tag Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Kaisei Takechi Vs X & X
5. Dramatic Dream Match: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Chris Brookes
The N1 Victory is now over and done with so the next big event on Tetsuya Endo’s calendar is his one night return to DDT. He’s bringing some NOAH friends with him because HAYATA & Junta Miyawaki are coming along too. I think this will actually be Miyawaki’s first time teaming with Endo. They were opponents for all of the previous times in NOAH I could find. The opposition has a lot of BURNING in it because both Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku are there. Shinya Aoki fills up the remaining space.
1. Hideki Okatani defeated Hinata Kasai with the Skewered Claymore (7:37).
2. Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida defeated Ilusion & MJ Paul when Ishida pinned Ilusion with the Flame Palm (6:13).
3. KANON’s Birthday Commemoration Match ~ Special Tag Match: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Chris Brookes & Danshoku Dieno when KANON submitted Dieno with the Cobra Twist (16:27).
4. Soma Takao & Kazuma Sumi defeated Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda when Sumi pinned Hirata with the School Boy (8:25).
5. Special Single Match: Takeshi Masada defeated Akito with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (10:04).
6. Jun Akiyama 33rd Anniversary Commemoration Match ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Daichi Sato when Ueno pinned Matsunaga with the Frog Splash (12:35).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated To-y & Yuya Koroku when Iino pinned Koroku with the Spear (20:26). *V4 for The Apex.
The challengers showed a little power of their own to put The Apex on the ropes in the main event. To-y was able to slam Yuki Iino with the Kojima Wonderland and Yuya Koroku followed up with the Moonsault Press. Koroku then tried putting Iino in the Chickenwing Arm Lock while To-y did a dive onto Yukio Naya outside the ring. However Iino got out of the submission hold, hit Koroku with a Lariat and then pinned him with the Spear. After the match Iino praised Koroku for giving a nice “BURNING” performance but Koroku wouldn’t shake his hand. Naya said The Apex would take on any challengers which caused Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida from Harimao to walk out to the ring. They challenged The Apex for the KO-D Tag Team Titles and the match will go ahead on 19th October.
Match #6 was to celebrate the anniversary of Jun Akiyama’s debut match but the spoils went to Yuki Ueno instead. Akiyama gave Tomomitsu Matsunaga the Exploder Suplex and was then blocked from doing the Wrist-Clutch version by Kazusada Higuchi. Ueno then blind tagged himself in and did a Frog Splash on Matsunaga for the three count. He called the match a fitting celebration of Akiyama’s 33rd Anniversary. Akiyama was a little bothered by Ueno stealing his moment but he took it as a lesson that every day is still a competition against everyone.
In something of an upset, Kazuma Sumi pinned the KO-D Openweight Champion! I mean he pinned Kazuki Hirata but still, pinning the KO-D champion is a big deal no matter who it is. After the match Sumi called for a KO-D Title shot but Hirata turned him down, explaining he already has a scheduled defence against Yoshihiko and there are still two Right To Challenge Arm Covers to be cashed in against him. Sumi however called out Hirata for wanting to defend the title against Hisaya Imabayashi next after Yoshihiko. Hirata eventually agreed to give Sumi a title match after he beats Yoshihiko. He then offered Sumi a bag of Alfort chocolate but when he opened them there were packs of Haribo sweets inside it instead, confusing everyone.
Everybody in KANON’s birthday match ended up having the back of their pants pulled down to expose their rear ends. The match ended up literally going dark with a single spotlight shining in the middle of the ring where KANON put Danshoku Dieno into the Cobra Twist for the victory.
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2025 IN SHINJUKU ~EXTRA TIME~”, 12/09/2025 Shinjuku FACE ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Takeshi Masada with an Inside Cradle (8:52).
2. Akito, Soma Takao & Rukiya defeated Daichi Sato, Yuki Ishida & Hinata Kasai when Akito pinned Ishida with a Modified Single Leg Cradle (8:40). *Akito wins Yuki Ishida’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. To-y, Yuya Koroku & Kazuma Sumi defeated Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul by Disqualification when Ilusion attacked the referee (9:09).
4. Our LariPro ’25: HARASHIMA, Keisuke Ishii & MAO defeated Yuki Ueno, Toru Owashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Ishii pinned Matsunaga with a School Boy (9:48).
5. Yukio Naya 8th Anniversary ~ Special Tag Match: Yukio Naya & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yuki Iino & Jun Akiyama when Naya pinned Iino with La Magistral Cradle (11:59). *Yukio Naya wins Yuki Iino’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
6. Enter Sandman Match: Antonio Honda defeated Kazuki Hirata, Danshoku Dieno, Chris Brookes and KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) when Honda pinned Hirata (19:09).
Today was the day Kazuki Hirata needed to choose his first challenger for the KO-D Openweight Title. There is a scheduled title defence at Korakuen Hall set for 28th September and Hirata’s request to fight a weak opponent like Hisaya Imabayashi kept getting denied by the GM. Hirata also had the problem of three Right To Challenge Arm Covers being active, two of which were being held by wrestlers who want to cash them in as soon as possible. To deal with that Hirata today brought along a masked, muscular bodyguard to protect him. Fans watching assumed it was Ryoma Tsukamoto under the mask but he went to Twitter to deny it, although he agrees they could pass for twins given their identical body shape (he then went on to retweet a lot of photos of the bodyguard).
As the show progressed there were two Right To Challenge movements. Akito pinned Yuki Ishida in the second match to win his RTC Arm Cover. Then in the fifth match Yukio Naya pinned Yuki Iino to take that Arm Cover. So when Hirata took part in the main event, Akito entered the ring midway through wanting to cash in his title shot. However the bodyguard was there to physically stop him. Then Naya entered the ring and successfully fought off the bodyguard. But when he tried to cash in his shot, Danshoku Dieno interrupted him by giving him the Lip Lock and Hirata then shoved Naya’s face into Dieno’s rear end. Just when Hirata thought he was safe and sound, the lights went out and the music stopped. The lights then came back on to show Yoshihiko was suddenly in the ring and it attacked Hirata using the Reincarnation. Antonio Honda tried to rescue Hirata but Yoshihiko send him head first into Dieno’s Hell Gate, knocking him out. Honda then collapsed onto Hirata with Yoshihiko on top of both of them while the ref counted to three.
Honda was officially the winner but Hirata knew Yoshihiko was the enemy. He came to the conclusion that the most worthy opponent to fight him for the KO-D Title is not a human being. It is Yoshihiko! Imabayashi accepted the nomination and announced the title match for 28th September. Backstage Hirata told reporters he is now at six successful title defences and everyone quickly figured out he is counting every avoidance of a cash in as a successful defence. Hirata also told the bodyguard he will continue to pay him well so he is counting on his continued protection in the future.
Naya showed everyone that even after eight years of being a wrestler he is still learning new things. He used La Magistral Cradle for the first time and it worked in pinning Iino for the three count in their tag match. Naya got on the microphone afterwards and told fans he will become a strong wrestler who can compete on the level of Iino, Kazusada Higuchi and Jun Akiyama in the future. Backstage The Apex switched to talking about their next KO-D Tag Team Titles defence. Iino warned Naya not to let his guard down because they can lose to To-y & Yuya Koroku if their challengers do indeed show their true strength.
The whole point of “LariPro” matches is to throw Lariats so Yuki Ueno kept getting booed for using other moves. When Toru Owashi complained to him about it, Ueno got on the microphone and said he wasn’t going to do a boring match where everyone does the same move over and over. He stormed out of the ring while Owashi admitted he didn’t want to use Lariats either. So Owashi decided to wrestle like Mil Mascaras instead! The match turned into lucha libre and HARASHIMA even dragged Yukinori Matsui into the action. That was when Ueno returned dressed just like Riki Choshu! He threw Choshu-style Lariats at the other team until MAO stopped him using the Takeshita Line followed by the Buckshot Lariat. However despite all of the Lariats being thrown by everyone, the match instead ended when Keisuke Ishii pinned Tomomitsu Matsunaga with a School Boy.
A contact signing for Sunday’s DDT Extreme Title match took place and To-y revealed the match rules to Ilusion. It is called a “Stop The Annoying Streamers!! Unicast Death Match!” Both wrestlers will stream themselves on Wrestle Universe while the match goes on. In order to win you must either pin or submit your opponent on-camera or switch off their stream! The usual rules still apply for fouls and there will also be no countout. During the signing Ilusion read out a prepared statement apologising for his recent streamer behaviour while also asking To-y to admit that both sides are to blame. To-y got mad over Ilusion’s insincere apology and said he came up with these rules to punish him. However he also showed his lack of knowledge about live streaming, telling reports he just needs to press a button on his phone so even an idiot like him can do it. Then later in the show their match ended in a DQ when Ilusion attacked To-y and the referee with his streamer equipment. He also stole the Extreme Title belt to add insult to injury.
On paper the result of the opening match doesn’t look good for Takeshi Masada but he and also his opponent think differently. He lost to Shinya Aoki in what was supposed to be a warm up match for his DDT Universal Title shot later this month. However Aoki was able to counter Masada’s finishing move into an Inside Cradle to get the win out of nowhere. Aoki still praised Masada for having a strong desire to do his best. He is rooting for him because he doesn’t want to see Minoru Suzuki going around doing as he pleases. Masada also told reporters he gained something amazing from this match so Suzuki better watch out!
Daisuke Sasaki made an appearance to give everyone some updates over his health as well as the “CHARISMANIAxMANIAxMANIA” happening on 2nd October. First he said if his injury forced him to miss the show then the show would have been cancelled. Lucikly his ribs are currently at 90% health thanks to taking vitamins, doing muscle training and praying to God. That means his return to the ring will be at that show. He then told Hideki Okatani he has a very early birthday present for him. Okatani is going to face Jun Kasai in a Hardcore Match at the show!
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2”, 31/08/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Kazuma Sumi defeated To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai when Koroku submitted Sato with a Jumping Armbar (6:36). *Yuya Koroku wins Daichi Sato’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
2. ¥3,000 Match: Jun Akiyama, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito defeated KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO) when Akiyama pinned Honda with a Blockbuster (9:17).
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada defeated Hideki Okatani & MJ Paul and Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida when Masada pinned Ishida with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (18:59).
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki when Naya pinned HARASHIMA with The World’s Best Back Drop (11:37). *V3 for The Apex.
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) defeated MAO with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (17:50). *V4 for Minoru Suzuki.
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Danshoku Dieno with a Crab Hold (16:29).
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi (c) with the WR (20:42). *Kazusada Higuchi fails in V3. Yuki Ueno becomes the 86th KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (2:51). *Yuki Ueno fails in V1. Kazuki Hirata cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover. Kazuki Hirata becomes the 87th KO-D Openweight Champion!
The second day of “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” took place today in Korakuen Hall and by the end of it there was pandemonium over the KO-D Openweight Title going to the most unlikeliest wrestler in years! But first Kazusada Higuchi put the belt on the line against Yuki Ueno when just less than a day earlier he defended it against Jun Akiyama in a hard fought battle. Ueno pulled out the Sit Down Himawari Bomb for a nearfall and avoided the Claw Slam to hit Higuchi with a Dropkick to the back. Higuchi fought back using Lariats until Ueno blocked the fourth one and suddenly captured Higuchi in the WR to score the three count and become the new KO-D Champion! The two showed respect to each other after the match but then things took a wide swerve in a different direction.
Suddenly Kazuki Hirata made it down to the ring and he hesitated over whether or not he should cash in his Right To Challenge Arm Cover to get an immediate title shot against Ueno. He decided that since he held it on for so long, the audience’s expectations have grown too large. Hirata had also grown attached to the Arm Cover and didn’t want to lose it. He considered burning it in a shrine but that didn’t feel right so he’s going to use it for the title shot right away! The match began and although Ueno was tired from just wrestling Higuchi, he easily went on the offensive against Hirata. However Hirata kicked out of Ueno’s Frog Splash and suddenly rolled him up with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the upset of all upsets. Kazuki Hirata is now the KO-D Champion!
Hirata was just as shocked as everyone else that he won and admitted he didn’t mean to do that. Being the KO-D Champion is a heavy burden and he cannot think about what waits for him in the future but right now he is really happy. In his 15 years as a pro wrestler he’s had fun times, difficult times, injuries and a lot of other things going wrong. He persevered though and through hard work in all kind of forms he has made it to the top of DDT! He doesn’t feel any stronger though so he isn’t going to let his guard down. With that said, he promised the fans he will show them everything that is fun about the KO-D Title.
Hirata went back to the locker room where everyone was there in the hallway to give him applause. However Toru Owashi approached Hirata and gave him a slap across the face. He then led Hirata back out to the ring with everyone else was there waiting for him. Owashi then grabbed the title belt but it was only so he could wrap it around Hirata’s waist. The entire locker room took a group photo together and Hirata was given a pair of Hirata GO! glasses so he could do his complete dance routine uninterrupted in front of everyone. Backstage Hirata told reporters he would rather defend the KO-D Title against Hisaya Imabayashi or Daisuke Kiso instead of Higuchi or Ueno. The thought of being the defending champion at Sumo Hall on 3rd November sounds hellish to him. However it will never intentionally lose a match when a championship is on the line so he will give it his all to win every time, even if his first defence will probably be a tough one. Ueno said he has no excuses for losing to Hirata. He warned the new champ to be careful on his way home because everyone now has their eyes set on him! Higuchi said he is satisfied with how his weekend went because he gave it his all on both days. He’ll keep working hard to show his spirit with the rest of Harimao.
On paper a matchup between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Danshoku Dieno sounds like the most two opposite forces of pro wrestling colliding with each other. But look deep into the layers and you will find both men have a similar past background. Both are from the Kansai region, are nearly the same age and made their starts in wrestling by joining student pro wrestling clubs in college. It turns out this match was fate all along. Dieno couldn’t help but burst into tears when the match began. He needed all of his seconds at ringside to slap him across the face to psyche him up. As he went toe to toe against Tanahashi, he used moves from other DDT wrestlers like the nose grab from Masahiro Takanashi, the Stunner from Sanshiro Takagi, the God’s Right Knee from Yukio Sakaguchi and the Buzzsaw Kick from KUDO. He even added in the Kamigoye from Kota Ibushi for good measure. The Danshoku Driver couldn’t keep Tanahashi down so Dieno went for a Moonsault and missed it. Tanahashi went to town on Dieno with his signature moves ending with the High Fly Flow. But rather than pin Dieno, Tanahashi encouraged him to get back up so he could give him the Lip Lock! It took Dieno off his feet and when Dieno grabbed onto Tanahashi to try and pull himself back up, he instead pulled down Tanahashi’s wrestling tights to reveal he was wearing a Danshoku thong underneath this whole time! Tanahashi then tripped Dieno to the canvas and put him in the Crab Hold, forcing Dieno to tap out.
After the match Tanahashi talked to Dieno about their university routes. Their upbringings ended up being completely different but pro wrestling is what brought them together. Tanahashi really got a sense of what Dieno has achieved as a pro wrestler. So even though Tanahashi is retiring on 4th January, he encouraged Dieno to keep going because he still has a lot going for him. He then told Dieno if there’s any young wrestlers in New Japan that he likes, just let him know (his second at ringside Katsuya Murashima had a flustered look on his face when he heard that). Dieno was a little annoyed to have earned Tanahashi’s acceptance so quickly because he’ll have nothing to reach for if the top of the industry now recognizes him. This match wasn’t about winning or losing to Dieno, it was his chance to have a fun fight with Tanahashi and he wasn’t going to apologise for that if it went wrong. He will never forget what he felt today and he told Tanahashi he loves him. Backstage Tanahashi explained that passion is just the matter of where you direct it. He put his passion into training his boy while Dieno put his passion into DDT. It is all about heart and Tanahashi thinks it is good for NJPW to cooperate with companies like DDT and NOAH. With today done he believes he has settled of of his ties with DDT before his retirement. Now he has to wait and see what everyone will say to him about the Danshoku thong tomorrow.
Not even MAO’s craziness can surpass Minoru Suzuki when it comes to the DDT Universal Title. Suzuki lured MAO out of the ring so he could attack his leg using the steel post and also strike the limb with a chairshot. Suzuki then got his hands on KIMIHIRO and knocked him over with an Elbow Strike. KIMIHIRO got a little bit of revenge later in the match when MAO knocked Suzuki out of the ring and KIMIHIRO used his tie to strangle Suzuki on a chair so MAO could run over and hit a Cannonball into the champion. Back in the ring Suzuki tried to counter the Michinoku Driver II into a Front Neck Lock but MAO completed the move and also hit the Iai Kick. However Suzuki only fell down to one knee from the blow and immediately popped back up to put MAO in a Sleeper Hold. MAO got a rope break and tried fighting back with Palm Strikes until Suzuki caught him with a Dropkick, wore him down with another Sleeper Hold and pinned him with the Gotch-Style Piledriver.
Suzuki told MAO after the match that he had fun. He also found something he wants to do in DDT and that is keep the DDT Universal Title all to himself. It’s not like there’s anyone here that can take it away from him, right? Takeshi Masada felt otherwise and he got into the ring to challenge Suzuki. Unfortunately for Masada, Suzuki ignored him then threw him out of the ring when he wouldn’t get out of the way. He called Masada a brat who isn’t strong enough to deserve a title shot so he should just go home. Masada then accused Suzuki of running away. Suzuki grew furious over the comment and headbutted Masada before accepting the challenge. The title match was confirmed for the 28th September Korakuen Hall show. Masada promised that he isn’t afraid of Suzuki but Suzuki warns he is really going to kill Masada!
Unlike Higuchi there were a pair of heavyweights who survived the weekend with their championships still intact. The Apex were victorious against the pairing of HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki, meaning they achieved a successful KO-D Tag Team Titles defence for the second day in a row. Yuki Iino stuggled at first against Aoki’s grappling along with HARASHIMA targeting his back. The challengers also held the champions in stereo Cobra Twists. But when HARASHIMA went to go do the Somato on Yukio Naya, Iino cut him off with the Spear. Naya then used a Running Knee Lift on HARASHIMA before pinning him with The World’s Best Back Drop.
After the match Naya called The Apex the strongest tag team in DDT. Yuya Koroku then entered the ring wearing the Right To Challenge Arm Cover he won earlier in the show. To-y then entered from the opposite side to ambush Iino with a dive from the top rope. However he ruined the surprise by encouraging the fans to chant “T-O-Y” and Iino easily caught him. Luckily for To-y, Iino’s back was still hurt from the match so he couldn’t drive him into the turnbuckle like he did to Daisuke Sasaki yesterday. To-y said he and Koroku want to challenge for the titles. Iino refused because he is tired but he did show interest in taking the RTC Arm Cover from Koroku. Imabayashi decided a tag title match will go ahead between the two teams in Osaka on 23rd September. Iino agreed to it but said he will cancel the match if Koroku loses his Arm Cover before then.
The injury Daisuke Sasaki suffered in yesterday’s KO-D Tag Titles match was revealed to be a fractured rib. MJ Paul replaced him as Hideki Okatani’s partner in the 3 Way Tag Match. When Okatani was held in the Schadenfreude Tower by Chris Brookes & Masada, Yuki Ishida jumped on top to pull off a Dosukoi pose. Masada encouraged all of SCHADENFREUDE International to do a train attack on Naomi Yoshimura but Yoshimura knocked everyone down with Shoulder Blocks one by one. He then grabbed Bunbun and gave him the Coconut Crush, literally knocking the puppet out of its pants! Okatani attacked other wrestlers with his bamboo stick but ended up accidentally hitting Paul with it. Paul then tried to break up Yoshimura pinning Okatani but ended up squashing his partner by mistake. The match then came down to Ishida missing the Dosukoi Splash, giving Brookes & Masada the opportunity to double team him until he was pinned with Masada’s finisher.
If only we knew during the second match what was to come. Hirata was part of a 6-Man Tag Match teaming with KANON & Antonio Honda. This was also the match where Akiyama was placed for losing in yesterday’s main event, teaming with Super Sasadango Machine & Akito. Everyone in the match was still feeling tired from yesterday’s show so Imabayashi promised the winning team would get 3,000 yen as their prize. That fired everyone up to levels above even their normal standard. When Akiyama won the match for his team, they were overjoyed to receive the 3,000 yen.
The wrestlers from D GENERATIONS were put into the opening 8-Man Tag Match. Rukiya and Kazuma Sumi started off while Ilusion would get in To-y’s way when the opportunity presented itself. Ilusion didn’t stop there because he pushed his own tag partner Munetatsu Nakamura off the top rope just so he could do the Missile Dropkick instead. In the end, Koroku used the ropes to give Daichi Sato a Tornado DDT and he then made him submit to a Jumping Armbar, winning his RTC Arm Cover in the process.
Just like yesterday, NωA Jr. members Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi kicked off the show by singing “Going my ωay!!!!! ~You Are Not Alone~” for everyone.
Sanshiro Takagi made an appearance during the show to give everyone an update on his return to the ring. He has been cleared by his doctor to have his official return match at “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November and his opponent will be against someone he has never fought before. It will be Hinata Kasai! Takagi congratulated the rookie on debuting yesterday and explained to him that the first match on a show is the second most important bout after the main event. It will be up to them to set the stage for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025”. Kasai asked how can a promising young talent like him lose to an old man who lost his breath from simply getting to the ring? He is going to beat Takagi at Sumo Hall! Backstage Takagi said that while Kasai has the obvious connection with his father Jun Kasai, there is something else about Hinata that draws him in and makes him excited for this match to happen. Kasai meanwhile is looking forward to winning in his Ryogoku debut. Later in a brief interview with Tokyo Sports, Takagi revealed that the actual reason for his absence was because he got diagnosed with angina. However it was detected early and he eventually made a full recovery.
Akito told the reporters some behind the scenes details about this weekend’s shows. “WRESTLE PETER PAN” this year was originally planned to take place as one show in Sumo Hall but the venue was unavailable around this time period due to renovations. He also thanked New Japan for giving them miracles like Zack Sabre Jr. while he is the reigning IWGP World Heavyweight Champion as well as what is likely to be Tanahashi’s final match in DDT before he retires. Akito couldn’t have imagined things like that happening if it wasn’t for NJPW and President Tanahashi agreeing to it.
DDT announced Kaisei Takechi’s remaining appearances for this year as well as his first booking for 2026. He is already announced for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November. He will also be at the Korakuen Hall shows held on 28th September, 19th October, 21st December and 3rd January.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025 Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Hinata Kasai Debut Match: HARASHIMA defeated Hinata Kasai with the Somato (10:24).
2. Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida defeated Soma Takao & Rukiya when Ishida pinned Rukiya with the Flame Palm (6:32).
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuki Hirata and Antonio Honda when Dieno pinned Honda with the Danshoku Driver (9:19).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba defeated Akito, Naomi Yoshimura & Daichi Sato when Ilusion pinned Akito with the Swanton Bomb (12:21).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: MAO, KANON & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & Kazuma Sumi when MAO pinned Sumi with the Ultra Big Tone (12:11)
6. DDT Extreme Title – Earn Your Own Life!! Pro Wrestling Life Or Death Death Match!: To-y (c) defeated Yuya Koroku by TKO (9:20). *V2 for To-y.
7. Muscle Sakai 15th Anniversary Of Retirement Match ~ Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Muscle Sakai with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (7:42).
8. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita defeated Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada when Sabre submitted Masada with the I’ve Mistakely Run To Windsor (19:49).
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani when Naya pinned Sasaki (16:01). *V2 for The Apex.
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Jun Akiyama with the Claw Pin (17:41). *V2 for Kazusada Higuchi.
Two days of “WRESTLE PETER PAN” has begun and with it comes the biggest challenge of Kazuzada Higuchi’s reign as KO-D Openweight Champion. There are two title defences scheduled for this weekend, the first of which saw Higuchi face Jun Akiyama in a title rematch from 2021. Akiyama was the defending champion back then and Higuchi had the chance to get revenge on the legend for that match. Akiyama took a page out of Naomi Yoshimura’s book by using the Harai-goshi to break out of the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex. Akiyama got a big blow in with the Jumping Knee Strike but Higuchi kept kicking out of the Exploder Suplex, including the Wrist-Clutch variation. When Higuchi kicked out of the Wrist-Clutch Exploder, he immediately grabbed Akiyama in the Claw and gave him the Claw Slam. Akiyama kicked out of that but Higuchi put him back in the Claw and used all his strength to pin Akiyama to the mat for the three count.
After the match Higuchi thanked Akiyama for the match. He said Akiyama is as strong and fearsome as ever no matter how old he gets. Akiyama told Higuchi not to call him old because he is a role model to everyone out there in their mid-50s. He encouraged Higuchi to do his best in tomorrow’s defence and if he wins, Akiyama will wrap the KO-D Title belt around his waist. Higuchi then called for tomorrow’s challenger Yuki Ueno to come out to the ring. Ueno apologized for being late and talked about the first time he met Higuchi ten years ago. He called Higuchi an incredible champion that DDT can be proud of. Ueno wants to carry the dreams of everyone in DDT along with everyone who loves DDT so he will go all out to win the KO-D Title tomorrow.
A rough KO-D Tag Team Titles match took its toll on one of the competitors. The Apex and DAMNATION T.A took the fight out of the ring where chairs were used as weapons. MJ Paul then brought the chairs into the ring to attack the champions with. Daisuke Sasaki pulled off one of the corner pads but that proved to be a costly mistake when Yuki Iino drove Sasaki back first into the exposed buckle. Sasaki held onto his side after impact and couldn’t get back up. So when Yukio Naya Choke Slammed Hideki Okatani and snapped his bamboo sword in half, he noticed Sasaki was injured and simply pinned him to win the match. DDT later confirmed that Sasaki suffered an injury to his side and will not be wrestling on tomorrow’s show. Paul will take his place in the 3 Way Tag Match. Meanwhile The Apex will now defend the KO-D Tag Titles again tomorrow because their match with HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki now has the belts on the line.
Some New Japan involvement is taking place on both nights of “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. The first show had Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita from TMDK coming over to face Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada from SCHADENFREUDE International. It was a chance for one pair of friends Sabre and Brookes to wrestle each other for the first time in years while the other pair of friends Masada and Fujita got to wrestle each other for the first time ever. Antonio Honda and Bunbun both got in the way when Honda climbed to the top of the Schadenfreude Tower spot while Bunbun gave Sabre a Headbutt! Sabre got revenge by turning the rubber band spot against Brookes (but only when Yukinori Matsui ordered him to let go of the band) and kicking Bunbun out of the ring! Brookes and Sabre later faced off while putting each other’s partner in Octopus Holds next to each other. Later Fujita took out Brookes with a Suicide Dive while Sabre locked Masada in the I’ve Mistakely Run To Windsor submission hold to win the match.
Brookes thanked Sabre for coming to DDT but brought up how Sabre has always been stronger than him in the 18 years they’ve known each other. Sabre mentioned the last time they had a singles match together was seven years ago in Revolution Pro and they haven’t fought one on one in Japan yet. Brookes then brought up the idea of finally doing that match at Sumo Hall for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2025” on 3rd November! Hisaya Imabayashi asked Sabre if New Japan would be okay with that and he assured them both the company and its president Hiroshi Tanahashi will be fine with the idea. Backstage Sabre said today was so much fun and he’s looking forward to the match featuring the best foreign wrestler in DDT against the best foreign wrestler in NJPW. Fujita said he could feel the pride that DDT wrestlers have for their company. He’d love to fight Masada again in either a New Japan or DDT ring. Masada said if Brookes is going to get a singles match with Sabre, then he would like to get a singles match with Fujita!
Before Muscle Sakai could go out and fight Minoru Suzuki, he decided first to do a PowerPoint Presentation as Super Sasadango Machine to explain why the match was taking place. Sakai originally retired in 2010 to go run the family business in Niigata and his final match was with Suzuki. But in 2012 he got the bug to wrestle again and created the Sasadango gimmick to do it on a local level. The gimmick caught on which led him to working with DDT again more and more then before he knew it, it was like he was a regular again. He heard Suzuki was upset over him breaking his retirement so this match was put together on the 15th anniversary in the hopes that he could clear the air with Suzuki. With that said, the plan to win to the match is for Sakai to hit Minoru Suzuki in the groin.
He also relied on Danshoku Dieno interfering in the match but that only made Suzuki mad. It was all part of the plan though because soon several wrestlers wearing Sasadango masks all entered the ring so Sakai could hide among them. Except they all wore different clothes and Suzuki could easily tell which one was Sakai. He put Sakai in the Sleeper Hold but intentionally stopped him from giving up. Sakai briefly turned the tables with a Low Blow and a few nearfalls but Suzuki blocked the Lehmann Shock, twisted the mask over Sakai’s head backwards to blind him and then gave him the Gotch-Style Piledriver for the win. Suzuki continued to attack him after the match, chasing him backstage with a chair. Suzuki then told reporters he accepts Sakai’s return to wrestling on the condition that Sakai fights him in 100 consecutive matches! He then mocked DDT fans for expecting MAO to beat him for the DDT Universal Title tomorrow. Sakai tried to save face by acting like he was able to push Suzuki to his breaking point today and he is the only one in DDT who was ever able to do so. He also said that since Sasadango debuted in 2012 that means he is part of Konosuke Takeshita’s generation. That generation will lead the pro wrestling industry and he will be part of it!
Life Points were the name of the game for this DDT Extreme Title defence. In the weeks leading up to the match To-y and Yuya Koroku went to social media to try and go viral. For every post they made that made at least 10,000 impressions they would receive one Life Point. Then when they wrestled today the goal was to reduce the opponent’s LP to zero. Points were lost for every pin count, rope break, giving up to a submission hold and getting thrown out of the ring. Leaving the ring also counted towards this as proven when Koroku threw money to the floor and To-y ran out to get it, losing a point. When the match began To-y had 23 LP while Koroku had 20 LP. Koroku quickly used some Cradles to whittle down To-y’s LP so To-y resorted to constantly throwing Koroku in and out of the ring from the floor to do the same. More cradles led to points getting lost until To-y won by using the Kojima Impact for a two count, removing Koroku’s two final points.
It turned out both wrestlers enjoyed the match and had fun fighting each other. To-y said he was glad he didn’t give up because he knows lots of fun still awaits for him in the future. But when he was about to praise Koroku, he was suddenly attacked from behind by Ilusion! He quickly declared himself the next challenger and To-y has no reason to turn him down. If he does decline then Ilusion will beat him up and the footage will be seen all over the world! To-y said there was no reason for Ilusion to ambush him, he could have just challenged normally and To-y would have accepted. Imabayashi confirmed the title match will happen in Sapporo on 14th September. Backstage To-y and Koroku talked about how they are always there for each other to solve their problems together so maybe the time is now for them to start teaming up? Meanwhile Ilsuion talked about how belt collecting became his recent hobby and the purple Extreme Title belt will suit him. He is going to save the title after he found out To-y went gambling with it!
Kumadori and the Strange Love Connection had big entrances for their match. Kumadori performed a dance along with the rest of O-MENZ while MAO & KANON had KIMIHIRO rap them down to the ring. The trio proved to be in sync with each other because they went on to beat Ueno, Aoki & Kazuma Sumi. Kumadori landed a Tornillo Press on Sumi while MAO followed it up with the Hollywood Star Press. Ueno broke the pin and took out KANON with a Plancha but the match returned to MAO against Sumi. MAO ended up using his AI finisher the Ultra Big Tone to pin Sumi. KANON said everyone on their team had the same vibe today because SLC became a little more street style to match with O-MENZ. Well, MAO said he was his usual self but he didn’t like wearing Calvin Klein underwear because that’s not a street brand. KANON promised to get a different brand next time. MAO also said Kumadori might start wrestling on a regular basis soon and could be appearing on DDT’s regional shows as well as the big events. Ueno told Sumi that he should start acting braver so Sumi said he is willing to fight Kumadori more and more to prove he is better and more popular than him!
DAMNATION T.A brought “The Monster” back to DDT and he was again a force to be reckoned with. Haruto Sakuraba proved to be a big challenge for Naomi Yoshimura to try and overcome. Chops and Lariats couldn’t knock Sakuraba off his feet but Yoshimura was able to throw him down with the Harai-goshi. However Ilusion did damage to Akito & Daichi Sato by giving them Low Blows and Sakuraba came back to cause more pain for the opponents. It resulted in DAMNATION T.A picking up the win with Ilusion claiming that nobody can stand a chance against Sakuraba! He’ll be back anytime he is called upon which is good because Sato wants to fight him!
Dieno has a very important match against Tanahashi coming up tomorrow so the last thing DDT needs was for him to get hurt somehow. Imabayashi told the participants of the 3 Way Match to take things likely in order to ensure Dieno will be 100% for tomorrow’s match. He even told Dieno he didn’t have to do anything and should just let the other two fight each other as if it was a singles bout. Dieno wanted to take part in the match but Imabayashi kept trying to stop him. He eventually got fed up and grabbed the microphone to say even if he got injured right now and the Tanahashi match got cancelled, he would not regret it because he lives for today! Imabayashi understood and allowed the match to continue as a 3 Way. He stayed involved anyway and gave Kazuki Hirata a Stunner. Honda used Dieno’s Hell Gate to charge up Gongitsune and poked Imabayashi in the eyes with it. But Dieno blocked the Shining Gongitsune and gave Honda the Danshoku Driver for the win. Afterwards Dieno said that unless he has an accident while taking his pet dog Haku out on a walk, his match with Tanahashi will absolutely happen tomorrow. This will be his last chance to beat Tanahashi before Tanahashi retires and he is going to grab the opportunity!
In Match #2 Shinichiro Kawamatsu got to hit Soma Takao with the Axe Bomber that was passed down to him by the late Hulk Hogan. After that Yuki Ishida hit Rukiya with the Flame Palm to win the match for his team.
The first match of the show was Hinata Kasai’s debut match. He is the son of Jun Kasai and was pitted against HARASHIMA for his first bout. Kasai got off the blocks early with an Arm Lock, Chops and a Missile Dropkick. HARASHIMA took control with Middle Kicks and the Falcon Arrow but Kasai caught one of the kicks and knocked HARASHIMA back with a punch. HARASHIMA held him down with a Crab Hold after that and then pinned him with the Somato. Backstage Kasai said there were times he considered quitting during his training but he is glad he didn’t. The thoughts of his first win, his first championship or when he achieves his dreams all excite him so he wants to continue being a pro wrestler. HARASHIMA said one of the things that makes him happy to have wrestled for so long is he gets to have matches with people he has known since they were a child. He noticed Kasai does not have much skill but he does have passion so he looks forward to seeing what he does in the future.
The show began with two members of NωA Jr. performing a song for everyone. Shunma Katsumata and Kazuma Sumi went out there to sing “Going my ωay!!!!! ~You Are Not Alone~” to welcome the fans to the big weekend of shows.
I don’t have the time to write up full previews for this weekend’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025” shows but there was a press conference held during the week where several wrestlers talked about their matches.
The current Right To Challenge Arm Cover holders going into the weekend are Kazuki Hirata (Yellow), Daichi Sato (Green), Hideki Okatani (Blue) and Soma Takao (Red).
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 1”, 30/08/2025 Tokyo Higashin Arena Main Arena
1. Hinata Kasai Debut Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hinata Kasai
2. Soma Takao & Rukiya Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Yuki Ishida
3. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ilusion, MJ Paul & Haruto Sakuraba Vs Akito, Naomi Yoshimura & Daichi Sato
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno, Shinya Aoki & Kazuma Sumi Vs MAO, KANON & Kumadori (w/ KIMIHIRO)
6. DDT Extreme Title – Earn Your Own Life!! Pro Wrestling Life Or Death Death Match!: To-y (c) Vs Yuya Koroku
7. Muscle Sakai 15th Anniversary Of Retirement Match ~ Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki Vs Muscle Sakai
8. Dramatic Dream Tag Match: Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani
10. KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
There are two KO-D Openweight Title matches guaranteed to happen this weekend with the first day going to Kazusada Higuchi defending the belt against Jun Akiyama. The challenger said it’s been four years since he last attended a press conference for a big event in this position and he’s excited to be competing at the highest level again. He aims to win the title without getting injured so he can have a good match with Yuki Ueno the next day. He would have wanted to be Higuchi’s first challenger but HARASHIMA beat him to the punch. When Akiyama saw how hard HARASHIMA worked in the match it motivated him to get next in line for a title shot before anyone else.
Higuchi talked about challenging Akiyama for the title four years ago and losing. It remains the most frustrating time of his wrestling career but time has passed long enough for him to develop respect for Akiyama. It is with that respect that he will beat him this time. He also hasn’t put any thought towards any Right To Challenge title shots getting cashed in on him. What motivates Higuchi right now is to make it to Sumo Hall on 3rd November as the KO-D Champion because he never got to have a title defence there during his previous reign.
When Muscle Sakai originally retired after wrestling Minoru Suzuki 15 years ago, Suzuki thought Sakai completely disappeared from the industry. So when he discovered that Sakai quietly returned to the business as Super Sasadango Machine, he decided he will make him pay for going back on his decision to retire! If you get Minoru Suzuki as your final opponent you should never take your decision to retire lightly.
The result of the KO-D Tag Team Titles match on Day 1 will have an effect on Day 2’s card. If The Apex successfully defend the tag titles against DAMNATION T.A then their match against HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki the next day will also be a title match. But if Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani win the titles then they will defend the belts on Day 2 in the 3 Way Tag Match. Sasaki said all that Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya are good for is being big. They aren’t funny, the tag belts don’t suit them and they’re both too ugly. Iino said he can’t tell if Sasaki is ugly or not because he covers 80% of his face with his sunglasses.
At the time when the press conference took place To-y had 15 life points and Yuya Koroku had 14 for their DDT Extreme Title match. Social media numbers are what determine how many Life Points they can get before the match starts. Life Points will be lost in the match after every One Count in a pin, every time someone gives up, every rope break and every time someone is thrown out of the ring. First wrestler to reduce their opponent’s Life Points to zero will be the winner. To-y admits he needed help in his previous title matches and has no shame in admitting he will continue to rely on the help of others from now on. If he can get 100 Life Points before the match begins then he thinks he will can win easily. One of the things Koroku did to prepare for this match is meet up with Animal Hamaguchi at the gym he trained at before going to DDT. The rules of the actual wrestling isn’t any different from a normal match so Koroku thinks he just has to avoid getting pinned while he whittles down To-y’s LP to zero.
The debuting Hinata Kasai wasn’t at the press conference but did an interview online to talk more about himself. His favorite wrestlers are CM Punk and Ric Flair because he loves American wrestling of all shapes and sizes. He wants to be the kind of wrestler who leaves an impact that people will never forget once they see him. It was Sanshiro Takagi’s idea to debut Kasai while he is still a college student because a debut match in a big building like Higashin Arena would draw a lot of attention. Kasai admits he currently does not have a lot of skill and is more of a clumsy type but what sets him apart from others is his mentality. He wants his debut match to stir the audience’s emotions with all of the passion and feelings he has held for pro wrestling ever since he was a child. He would like it if his goal was to win the KO-D Title but he thinks he should win support from the fans and trust from the company first to build himself up to that goal.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025 – DAY 2”, 31/08/2025 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. D GENERATIONS Special 8-Man Tag Match: To-y, Daichi Sato, Rukiya & Hinata Kasai Vs Ilusion, Yuya Koroku, Munetatsu Nakamura & Yuki Ishida
2. Loser Of 30/08 KO-D Title Match, Super Sasadango Machine & Akito Vs KANON, Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda (w/ KIMIHIRO)
3. Special 3-Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hideki Okatani Vs Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
4. Special Tag Match: Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki
5. DDT Universal Title: Minoru Suzuki (c) Vs MAO
6. Double Main Event I ~ Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Danshoku Dieno
7. Double Main Event II ~ KO-D Openweight Title: Kazusada Higuchi (c) or Jun Akiyama Vs Yuki Ueno
Ueno cannot predict who he will be facing for the KO-D Title on Day 2. He thinks he has made progress during his time without the championship and he’s been watching Konosuke Takeshita win the G1 Climax. If Ueno becomes champion again he does not want to compare himself to others. He would rather focus on raising DDT and one way to do that is to wrestle Takeshita when both are at the height of their powers! He’ll have to beat either Higuchi or Akiyama to move that plan forward. He knows he’ll have the stamina advantage going into the match because his opponent won’t even have 24 hours to rest after Day 1’s main event ends.
It took Minoru Suzuki becoming the DDT Universal Champion to make MAO feel it is time for him to win the title back for a fourth time. He cannot help but get excited over the thought of beating Suzuki for the belt in front of a packed Korakuen Hall. It’s all he can see in his mind right now. He even said it doesn’t matter if the win is clean or dirty, he will beat Suzuki doing whatever it takes! Suzuki is also looking forward to the match because he’s been wanting to fight MAO ever since they first met. With that being said he’s not here to play around. He’s going to kill MAO!
Matches #3 and #4 may swap places on the card depending on who wins the KO-D Tag Titles on Day 1. The tag title match will be placed as the 4th match. Iino approves of the idea because he wants The Apex to rack up title defences. Sasaki complained he will be too busy celebrating the title victory on Day 1 to defend it on Day 2.
DDT “DRAMATIC BEER GARDEN NEVERLAND IN UENO – DAY 2”, 20/08/2025 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. Special Tag Match: Soma Takao & Yuya Koroku defeated Aero Boy & Rukiya when Takao pinned Rukiya with the Official Endless Waltz (9:34).
2. 3 Way Match: Daichi Sato defeated Kazuki Hirata and Daichi Sato when Sato pinned Sumi with the Mad Splash (9:46). *Daichi Sato wins Kazuma Sumi’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida Vs Yuki Ueno & To-y when Akiyama pinned Ishida with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (10:48).
4. Yuki Iino 8th Anniversary Match ~ Pro Wrestling & Personal Training Match: KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Yuki Iino (w/ Kazuma Sumi) when Kazuma Sumi was unable to continue training.
5. Crocodile Death Match THE FINAL: Daisuke Sasaki, Hideki Okatani, Ilusion & MJ Paul defeated Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda, Bunbun’s Big Brother & Munetatsu Nakamura when Ilusion pinned Honda with the Wani Wani Splash (16:38).
6. MAO 10th Anniversary Match Vol. 2 ~ Falls Count Anywhere 4 Match: HARASHIMA, Danshoku Dieno and Akito defeated MAO (w/ KIMIHIRO) when HARASHIMA, Dieno and Akito pinned MAO after the Danshoku Driver (17:57).
If there is one thing MAO wants to do most during his 10th Anniversary celebrations it’s to have a match that is as chaotic as possible. Shortly after the 4 Way Match began, MAO shouted into the microphone that is was now Falls Count Anywhere and he wants music to be played over it too! “Ikenai Taiyou” by ORANGE RANGE then started playing while everyone brawled into the crowd. The ring itself got stripped apart as the match went on and planks of wood from it were used as platforms for the wrestlers’ attacks. Danshoku Dieno chased after KIMIHIRO at one point up to the scaffold. Then down in the crowd HARASHIMA gave MAO the Somato, Akito dropped MAO onto the planks with a Gourdbuster and Dieno gave him the Danshoku Driver. All three then piled on top of MAO for the pin to all be declared the winners.
After the match MAO said what a promotion he ended up joining! Before he knew it 10 years has gone by and he’s already 28 years old. He remembers apologizing to his parents when his debut was decided and he never thought he would say it again a decade later. But he wants them to know their son is so happy to be here! He loves how crazy DDT is, how the young guys don’t have any cares in the world and he loves the fans. In 10 and even 20 years time he will keep doing this and never change. He came here to follow Sanshiro Takagi and hopes future DDT wrestlers will follow him the same way.
Takeshi Masada was having trust issues during the day and decided he would not wrestle on the show. Bunbun had to replace him in the Crocodile Death Match but it turns out he wasn’t alone. He brought along his Big Brother to do the fighting for him! Ilusion disappeared during the match only to show back up dressed like a crocodile to dive onto his opponents in the pool. Whatever was going on with Masada, his trust issues went away shortly after the match ended and he was present for the autograph session.
The rules of Yuki Iino’s match with KANON was after every round a “client” for a wrestler would need to pass an exercise routine. The length of the routine would be extended for every 2 Count and rope break that happened in the previous round. Kazuma Sumi was Iino’s client while KIMIHIRO was KANON’s client. Sumi broke first and couldn’t finish off his exercises so KANON was declared the winner. Iino then took his frustration out by giving Sumi and then KIMIHIRO The Apex Elbow.
Things continue to get intense between Kazusada Higuchi and Jun Akiyama but this time Yuki Ueno was in the mix too because it was a 3 Way Tag Match. Higuchi feels more fired up for his KO-D Openweight Title defence with Akiyama while also noticing that Ueno is in good shape for the next title match the day after. Akiyama said Higuchi won’t see just how capable he is until they face each other one on one.
All of a sudden Daichi Sato got his hands on one of the Right To Challenge Arm Covers after he pinned Soma Takao. Sato believes Akiyama will beat Higuchi for the KO-D Title so he is looking forward to using this title shot to challenge Akiyama for the belt.
DDT “OSAKA VS TOKYO – DREAM EAST VS WEST PRO WRESTLING BATTLE 2025”, 17/08/2025 Osaka Edion Arena #2 ??? Fans – Unannounced
1. East Vs West Vs Unknown All-Out Competition ~ Rukiya Return Match: Yuya Koroku (Chiba) & Daichi Sato (Kanagawa) defeated Yuki Ishida (Kumamoto) & Rukiya (Osaka) when Koroku pinned Rukiya with an Elbow Butt (8:47).
2. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 4 Way Match: Soma Takao defeated Akito, Naomi Yoshimura and Shota when Takao pinned Shota with a School Boy (5:46). *Soma Takao wins the Red Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
3. East Vs West All-Out Competition ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan (Tokyo), To-y (Saitama) & Kazuki Hirata (Tokyo) Vs Danshoku Dieno (Hiroshima), Shigehiro Irie (Osaka) & Mikiya Sasaki (Osaka) ended in a Double Knockout (13:46).
4. Western Army Offer Match: Jun Akiyama (Osaka) defeated Miyu Yamashita (Fukuoka) with the Running Knee Butt (10:49).
5. Eastern Army Offer Match – Kansai-Style Three Can Anywhere Match: Yuki Ueno (Osaka) defeated MAO (Miyagi) (w/ KIMIHIRO (Tokyo)) and Super Sasadango Machine (Niigata) (13:32).
6. East Vs West Vs Unknown All-Out Competition ~ 3 Way Tag Match: Chris Brookes (UK) & Takeshi Masada (Osaka) defeated Yuki Iino (Tokyo) & Yukio Naya (Tokyo) and Ilusion (Unknown) & MJ Paul (Unknown) when Masada pinned Ilusion with the Masada no Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (10:06).
7. East Vs West All-Out Competition ~ Special Elimination 8-Man Tag Match: Yuki Ueno (Osaka), Hideki Okatani (Kochi), KANON (Ishikawa) & Kazuma Sumi (Mie) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (Hokkaido), Daisuke Sasaki (Tokyo), HARASHIMA (Tokyo) & Antonio Honda (Tokyo) (23:46).
7a. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated HARASHIMA by Ring Out (13:01).
7b. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated KANON after the Skewered Claymore from Hideki Okatani (16:08).
7c. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Hideki Okatani by Ring Out (16:49).
7d. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Daisuke Sasaki by Ring Out (16:49).
7e. Kazusada Higuchi eliminated Yuki Ueno by Ring Out (22:41).
7f. Kazuma Sumi eliminated Kazusada Higuchi by Ring Out (22:57).
7g. Kazuma Sumi eliminated Antonio Honda with the School Boy (23:46). *Kazuma Sumi wins Antonio Honda’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Arm Cover.
For DDT’s visit to Osaka this weekend they decided to book a series of East Vs West matches based on the different hometowns of every wrestler involved on the card. It was an idea they started last summer and wanted to try again. It led to a strange bedfellows style Elimination Tag Match in the main event. Daisuke Sasaki and Hideki Okatani were on opposite teams but didn’t want to let geography determine who they should team with so Sasaki first tried to take a fall for Okatani and then he purposely threw his own partner HARASHIMA out of the ring to eliminate him. Okatani also betrayed his own team by knocking over KANON with the Claymore Kick so Sasaki could pin him. Kazusada Higuchi got fed up with their behavior and Clotheslined both of them out of the ring for a double elimination. He then got one over on Yuki Ueno by Shoulder Blocking him from the apron to the floor but he got eliminated soon after by Kazuma Sumi kicking him out of the ring. That left Sumi and Antonio Honda as the final two and Sumi pinned Honda with the School Boy to win the match for the West Army. He also got to take Honda’s Right To Challenge Arm Cover in the process. Sumi was so excited over the result he asked if he could become the leader of the West Army. Ueno decided he could have it. Sumi then announced his dream as leader is to have a homecoming show in Tsu City, Mie!
Not all of the matches were West Vs East. Each side provided their own matches on the undercard. The East Army came up with a stipulation where Super Sasadango Machine, MAO and KIMIHIRO all hid biscuit tins around the venue and the first person to find the opponent’s tin and drop it into the ring three times would become the winner. At first the match just resembled a treasure hunt around the room but when it came down to the final points, Sasadango and MAO started wrestling each other over the last tin. KIMIHIRO also got involved in the action when Sasadango lost his temper and tried to fight him. He then wanted to win the match for himself so he turned on MAO by spraying him in the face. While this was happening, Kazuma Sumi showed up to give MAO a Low Blow while Yuki Ueno climbed the top rope and threw some tins into the ring. Ueno then did a Frog Splash onto everyone and was declared the winner. KIMIHIRO then revealed he and Ueno betrayed MAO because they are actually from Kagoshima in the far west of Japan! The rest of the East Army rushed down to the ring and chased them away while Sasadango told them they must avenge MAO.
The West Army match caught the most attention in the lead because it was Jun Akiyama taking on Miyu Yamashita from Tokyo Joshi Pro! Today just so happened to be the 12th Anniversary of Yamashita’s pro debut too. She threw everything she had at Akiyama including the Attitude Adjustment and the Skull Kick but couldn’t put him away with any of those moves. Akiyama hit back with his coveted Knee Strikes as well as the Exploder Suplex but Yamashita also refused to be beaten like that. Akiyama had to pull down his own kneepad and hit Yamashita with a Raw Knee Strike to finally defeat her. He offered to shake her hand after the match but Yamashita brushed it off. She said backstage that she never imagined she would face Akiyama one on one and is incredibly frustrated that she couldn’t win.
Now all four RTC Arm Covers are activated and currently in play. Soma Takao won a 4 Way Match by pinning his ROMANCE DAWN teammate Shota to earn the prize. Shota had given Akito the Frog Splash and was about to win when Takao rolled him up with La Magistral Cradle to steal the win. Takao reminded everyone that at one point last year he held two RTC prizes at the same time but lost both of them. His plan this year is to hold even more all at once and auction them all off at high prices!
Rukiya made his return to the ring after a lengthy injury. He lost his match but that was to be expected. He told everyone he is starting again from scratch and will do his best to catch up with everyone.