Takao Joins DAMNATION, Audience 2018 Matches, The Rest Happening In May

May 12, 2018

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TOFU CHIKUWA~”, 12/05/2018
Tottori Yonago Industrial Gymnasium Sub Arena

1. Tottori Darazu Pro Wrestling Tag Match: Rey Falcon & Gaina Tiger Vs COW Saeki & DAISUKE
2. Takatimo Dragon & Hiratimo Dragon Vs Antonio Honda & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Kazusada Higuchi & Daiki Shimomura Vs Kota Umeda & Yuki Ueno
4. Konosuke Takeshita, Danshoku Dieno & Lowther Vs Toru Owashi, Shunma Katsumata & MAO
5. 4 Way Match: HARASHIMA Vs KUDO Vs Mad Paulie Vs Mizuki Watase
6. DAMNATION Vs Shuten-dōji!: Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
7. Yonago Specialty Irakuru! Special! Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid Vs Keisuke Ishii & Makoto Oishi

The big news happening in DDT this week is Soma Takao breaking up the remains of Smile Squash so he can join with DAMNATION. This was a plan that had been brewing in the background for a long time and Takao isn’t just joining the unit to be another one of Dasuke Sasaki’s pets. Maybe by teaming with Tetsuya Endo, Takao can make Endo focus more. Endo seems to be more interested in showing off his pet beetle than wrestling his best lately.

Kouki Iwasaki was supposed to be wrestling this weekend but had to pull out due to acute gastroenteritis. In other words he has diarrhoea.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TONKOTSU~”, 13/05/2018
Hakata Star Lane

1. Takatimo Dragon & Hiratimo Dragon Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
2. Toru Owashi & Yuto Aijima Vs Antonio Honda & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase Vs Makoto Oishi & Azul Dragon
4. P Playful Series: Danshoku Dieno Vs MAO Vs Yuki Ueno
5. Hakata Specialty Special 4 Way Match: Shigehiro Irie Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Kota Umeda
6. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Daiki Shimomura
7. DDT Extreme Title – Regular Rules: HARASHIMA (c) Vs KUDO

HARASHIMA is using the same logic for his DDT Extreme Title defence against KUDO as Yuko Miyamoto did for him. HARASHIMA wants to be certain he can beat KUDO in a fair fight with no extra rules needed. This comes from KUDO beating HARASHIMA in their previous singles match last September.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LET’S GO TO KITAZAWA IN THE SPRING, BRING YOUR FRIENDS TOGETHER!”, 19/05/2018
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Shoko Nakajima & Miu Vs Hyper Misao & Hinano
2. Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuki Aino
3. Miyu Yamashita Vs Raku
4. 3 Way Match: Yuka Sakazaki Vs Maho Kurone Vs Nodoka-oneesan
5. Saki-sama, Azusa Christie & Yuki Kamifuku Vs Yuu, Yuna Manase & Hikari
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Reika Saiki & Marika Kobashi (c) Vs Maki Ito & Mizuki

Yuki Kamifuku has been accepted into NEO Biishiki-gun as an apprentice. Everybody associated with the unit is against this idea except for Saki-sama. Whatever she wants, she gets.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “I HAVE NEVER SEEN 2018”, 19/05/2018
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Shimokita Super Mixed Battle: Brian Aki & HARUKAZE Vs Hagane & Koharu Hinata
2. Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs Katsumura-gun: Ken Ohka & Yukinori Abe Vs Takeshi Okada & Black Ribera
3. Ganbare☆Gift To Wrestling: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Jason Kincaid
4. Attitude Of The Imanari Revolution: Yumehito Imanari Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Shota

Jason Kincaid has been impressing a lot of people in DDT during his stay. Ganbare☆Wrestling gets him for a show so he’s going against their own indie specialist Shinichiro Tominaga.

BASARA “VAJRA 68 ~OSAKA CLUB SHOGETSUKI~”, 20/05/2018
Osaka Oyodo Community Center

1. Billy Ken Kid Vs Takato Nakano
2. Best Stretchman V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon Vs Yasu Urano & Fuminori Abe
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Yusuke Kubo Vs Manabu Hara & Akiyori Takizawa
4. Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Hercules Senga Vs X
5. Isami Kodaka, Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs FUMA, SAGAT & HUB
6. Union MAX Title: Naoki Tanizaki (c) Vs Takumi Tsukamoto

HUB is back to help out the IRON PRIEST half of the Metal Family.

DDT “AUDIENCE 2018”, 20/05/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Rekka Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
1. 4 Way Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase Vs Kouki Iwasaki & Yuki Ueno
2. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Takatimo Dragon, Hiratimo Dragon, Rihotimo Dragon & Toru Owashi
3. Now Variety Group Vs New Variety Group – Summer Night Fever In Korakuen: Danshoku Dino, Antonio Honda & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Daiki Shimomura (w/ Yuki Iino)
4. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Kota Umeda
5. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Soma Takao
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Shigehiro Irie (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii

HARASHIMA gets his shot at revenge on Takao. But with Smile Squash pretty much done for, the numbers game is way against him now.

Kazusada Higuchi already defeated one half of the tag team No. 1 Contenders. Now he’s facing the other. Higuchi and Kota Umeda had a lot of battles against each other in the early years of DNA. It’s time to reginite that feud!

Makoto Oishi thinks the time for change has come. For too long DDT was built around men like Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda and Super Sasadango Machine. Oishi has found the next generation of wrestlers to take their place: Nobuhiro Shimatani, Daiki Shimomura, Yuki Iino and lastly of course himself. The two sides will battle for the future of DDT! At least that’s what Oishi wants to think.

We have another Lucha Libre superstar joining the ranks. Rihotimo Dragon makes her debut.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #5”, 22/05/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi (c) Vs Kota Umeda & Yuki Ueno

Popteen cover model Kumiko Funayama will be the special guest.

DNA “DNA 45”, 03/06/2018
Shinjuku Village Studio C 106

1. Great China Alliance Vs New Beijing Pro Wrestling!: Choun-Shiryu & Rekka Vs X & X
2. Yuki Iino Return Match: Kota Umeda Vs Yuki Iino
3. Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuki Ueno

The comeback rally by DNA has put Naomi Kingdom on the ropes. Yuki Ueno is winning more often and has become confident enough to challenge Naomi Yoshimura to a match.

Yuki Iino is making up for lost time by picking Umeda for his first match back.

Choun-Shiryu & Rekka have put aside their differences and are now strong allies again. Shiryu is confident that Rekka has what it takes to take part in New Beijing Pro Wrestling. China’s oldest wrestling promotion doesn’t want to be overshadowed by that fancy new stuff.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #8”, 12/06/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 3rd Match: Masato Tanaka Vs Kota Umeda

Umeda is 0-2 in his trial series so far and the matches are only going to get more difficult from here. Masato Tanaka is next on his list.


DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #4” Results

May 8, 2018

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #4”, 08/05/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
162 Fans – No Vacancy

0. NO TV Match: Kouki Iwasaki defeated Rekka with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (5:12).
0. NO TV Match: Mizuki Watase defeated Daiki Shimomura with a Jumping Cross Armbreaker (5:03).
1. Maji Manji Big Three Single Match: Soma Takao defeated Mad Paulie with the Official Endless Waltz (5:10).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Saki Akai (c), Toru Owashi, Masahiro Taknashi, Antonio Honda, MAO, Gorgeous Matsuno and Makoto (12:59).
2a. Makoto eliminated Antonio Honda by Ring Out (6:29).
2b. Saki Akai (c) eliminated Makoto by Ring Out (6:33).
*V1 for Saki Akai.
2c. Masahiro Takanashi eliminated Saki Akai (c) with a School Boy (6:38).
*Masahiro Takanashi becomes the 1,303rd champion.
2d. Gorgeous Matsuno eliminated Masahiro Takanashi (c) by Pinfall (9:32).
*Gorgeous Matsuno becomes the 1,304th champion.
2e. MAO eliminated Toru Owashi by Ring Out (10:18).
2f. Nobuhiro Shimatani eliminated Gorgeous Matsuno (c) by Pinfall (11:40).
*Nobuhiro Shimatani becomes the 1,305th champion.
2g. Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) eliminated MAO by Ring Out (12:59).
*V1 for Nobuhiro Shimatani.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) defeated Reina Fujie by Kickout (7:33 pm).
*V2 for Nobuhiro Shimatani.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) with the Big Boot (7:34 pm).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,306th champion.
3. Maji Manji Big Three Single Match: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yuki Ueno with the Doctor Bomb (6:21).
4. 3 Way Tag Match: KUDO & Keisuke Ishii defeated Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid and Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Ishii pinned Katsumata with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (5:30).
5. Men’s Soul Tradition – Loser Gets A Perm: Danshoku Dieno defeated Makoto Oishi with the Danshoku Driver (6:26).
6. Maji Manji Big Three Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Tetsuya Endo by Disqualification when Mad Paulie attacked HARASHIMA (4:15).
7. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 2nd Match ~ Hardcore Match: Ryuji Ito defeated Kota Umeda with the Dragon Splash (11:05).

Kota Umeda’s journey of challenges entered it’s second phase with a Hardcore Match against the “Death Match Dragon” Ryuji Ito. Umeda was hit with chairs and a barbed wire baseball bat. However he got to return the favour by jumping off a ladder and splashing Ito through a table. Ito dodged the Penalty Kick and stunned Umeda with the Dragon Kick. A Superplex onto a pile of chairs got Ito a nearfall. Umeda couldn’t recover and was pinned with the Dragon Splash. Umeda learned after the match that his next opponent as part of his trial is Masato Tanaka! When the surprise of that announcement went away, Kazusada Higuchi challenged Umeda to a singles match at the 20th May Korakuen Hall show.

The match between HARASHIMA and Tetsuya Endo ended with Mad Paulie attacking HARASHIMA. Daisuke Sasaki entered the ring but needed a cane to move around because of his injury. He swung it at HARASHIMA but he ducked and Paulie took the blow. Soma Takao ran out to rescue HARASHIMA with a chair in hand. Takao was ready to attack when he turned around and hit HARASHIMA instead! Soma gave him the Gin And Tonic then removed his Smile Squash shirt to reveal a red lettered DAMNATION shirt underneath! Sasaki told everyone the big news. Soma Takao is DAMNATION’s fifth man! Takao told Sasaki he is not his pet. Takao was sick of HARASHIMA being selfish and this turn had been in the works for a long time.

A viewer poll determined the stipulation for Danshoku Dieno Vs Makoto Oishi. The loser would have to either get hit in the butt with a baseball bat, kiss Hisaya Imabayashi or get their hair styled into a perm. The AbemaTV audience chose the Perm option. Dieno won the match and asked Oishi to help him search for like minded souls. However Oishi has other plans. He thinks guys like Dieno, Antonio Honda and Super Sasadango Machine are now too old for DDT and it’s time for a new generation of wrestlers to replace them. Oishi will look for two young wrestlers to team with so they can destroy Dieno, Honda & Sasadango on 20th May.

Keisuke Ishii’s plan of targeting Shigehiro Irie’s right knee is working perfectly so far. Ishii won another match over Irie today. He said that exploiting Irie’s weakness has made him become more confident. Irie on the other hand is getting more and more furious over the situation. Over on the other end Shunma Katsumata is beginning to figure out what his own problem is. He reckons his heart is weak. Konosuke Takeshita agreed and told him that he has guts but that is different from having heart. His advice to Katsumata is not to be afraid of criticism or of getting beaten up more.

It looked like Yuki Ueno got the better of Higuchi when they brawled outside the ring. Ueno placed Higuchi on a table but by the time he got back into the ring and climbed the turnbuckle Higuchi sat back up, gave Ueno a look and got off the table. Ueno almost got lucky when he countered the Doctor Bomb into a Hurricanrana but Higuchi recovered and hit the Doctor Bomb properly for the win.

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title was defended on “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI” for the first time. Saki Akai went into the Battle Royal as the champion but the belt went to Masahiro Takanashi then Gorgeous Matsuno and ended with Nobuhiro Shimatani. When he walked up the ramp to leave he was attacked and Body Slammed by Sanshiro Takagi. The guest commentator Reina Fujie covered him but he kicked out, which counts as a successful title defence. Akai then kicked Shimatani in the face and pinned him to win back the title. Akai said her goal is to make the Iron Man Title recognisable around the world.


DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM CLOCK TOWER~” Results

May 6, 2018

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM CLOCK TOWER~”, 06/05/2018
Hokkaido Sapporo Susukino Mars Gym
565 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Takatimo Dragon, Hiratimo Dragon & Toru Owashi defeated Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Daiki Shimomura by Disqualification when Shimomura unmasked Hiratimo (8:26).
2. Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase defeated Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Kincaid pinned Shimatani with the Philosopher’s Stomp (8:34).
3. Koji Yoshida & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Konosuke Takeshita & MAO when Iwasaki pinned MAO with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (9:44).
4. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated HARASHIMA, Tomoya & Makoto Oishi when KUDO pinned Oishi with the Diving Double Knee Drop (12:45).
5. Dirty Single Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Antonio Honda with a Finger Lock Armbar (14:06).
6. Special Single Match: Soma Takao defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Gin And Tonic (9:57).
7. Sapporo Specialty From The Northern Countries Special 4 Way Match: Keisuke Ishii defeated Shigehiro Irie, Kazusada Higuchi and Kota Umeda when Ishii pinned Irie with the Kneel Kick (10:22).

Shigehiro Irie was left in bad shape when Keisuke Ishii defeated him in the 4 Way Match. At first Irie was dominant. He wiped out Kazusada Higuchi with the Best Bomber then when Higuchi was seated in the corner, Irie gave Ishii a Cannonball Death Valley Driver into Higuchi. If that wasn’t enough, Irie later gave Higuchi a Piledriver on top of Ishii! Kota Umeda was there to cut off Irie’s pins. Irie Headbutted Umeda but Ishii got up and gave Irie a German Suplex. Ishii targeted Irie’s right knee until Irie had difficulty moving on his feet. That left him vulnerable to the Kneel Kick and gave Ishii a big victory. Irie was being checked on by his friends when Ishii grabbed the microphone. Ishii said it’s now ten years since he debuted in DDT and he now must win the KO-D Openweight Title! Backstage Irie said he will make Ishii regret ever challenging him for the title.

A heated match between Soma Takao and Tetsuya Endo was made even more hectic when Mad Paulie interfered and HARASHIMA came out to even the odds. Paulie had attacked HARASHIMA earlier in the show after Match #4 ended. Paulie dragged Yukinori Matsui out of the ring then hit Takao with a Lariat. Endo climbed the corner to finish the match but HARASHIMA appeared and Dropkicked Paulie into Endo! Takao gave Endo the Gin And Tonic while HARASHIMA revived Matsui so he could count the pin. Takao still wants to destroy Daisuke Sasaki but next on his hitlist is Mad Paulie!

Danshoku Dieno looked up Antonio Honda’s medical record before their match and discovered that Honda currently has an injured finger on his right hand. According to Honda’s doctor, if he does the Gongitsune sign with his hand one more time his fingers will crumble and fall apart! Honda couldn’t resist doing the sign so Dieno grabbed his hand and bent his finger in a Seated Finger Lock to make him give up. Honda mourned over not being able to do the pose until he recovers but he was still able to do a Too Sweet sign with Dieno.

At the beginning of the show Kouki Iwasaki told everyone he was hoping to win his match because he has never won in Hokkaido before. Well fortune was on his side today because he did win his match!

In the opener both Takatimo Dragon and Hiratimo Dragon unmasked behind the referee’s back. They handed their masks over to Daiki Shimomura and when the referee saw him with the masks he disqualified him.


DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAN~” Results

May 4, 2018

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAN~”, 04/05/2018
Miyagi Yume Messe West Wing Hall
301 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the PK (6:29).
2. 3 Way Match: Hiratimo Dragon defeated Antonio Honda and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi by Disqualification when Kikuchi unmasked Dragon (10:06).
3. HARASHIMA & Soma Takao defeated Makoto Oishi & Yuki Ueno when Takao pinned Oishi with the Official Endless Waltz (11:44).
4. Dirty Single Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Mad Paulie ended in a No Contest (8:09).
5. Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid defeated Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki when Irie pinned Iwasaki with the Beast Bomber (9:27).
6. Born In Shiroishi Tetsuya Endo Triumph! DAMNATION Vs Shuten-dōji!: Tetsuya Endo defeated Masahiro Takanashi with the Shooting Star Press (16:01).
7. Osaka City Origin MAO Local Triumph! Miyagi Specialty Special Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & MAO defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when MAO pinned Katsumata with a Cannonball 450 (20:01).

MAO thanked Kazusada Higuchi for providing strong support as part of their main event victory. Even though the show was in MAO’s home city he didn’t get a hero’s welcome from the crowd. He told them that broke his heart.

Tetsuya Endo dedicated his win over Masahiro Takanashi to Daisuke Sasaki. He also isn’t happy that he has to replace Sasaki as Soma Takao’s opponent this Sunday. According to Endo he never agreed to take the match.

Keisuke Ishii avoided Shigehiro Irie as much as he could during their trios match. Irie said DDT is giving them several opportunities to fight before their KO-D Openweight Title match so Ishii can’t run away from him forever.

Danshoku Dieno’s urges got out of control and caused his match with Mad Paulie to be called off. Paulie, Yukinori Matsui and Yuki Iino were all targeted by Dieno.

In the 3 Way Match Antonio Honda unmasked Hiratimo Dragon by accident. In a panic Honda threw the mask to Tsuyoshi Kikuchi. Kikuchi wore the mask and tried to continue wrestling but the referee disqualified him and awarded Hiratimo the victory.


DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #3” Results

May 1, 2018

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #3”, 01/05/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
220 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. NO TV Match: Mad Paulie defeated Daiki Shimomura with the Reverse Splash (3:46).
0. NO TV Match: Toru Owashi & Hiratimo Dragon defeated Antonio Honda & Kouki Iwasaki when Honda was Disqualified for unmasking Hiratimo (7:53).
1. Keisuke Ishii, Makoto Oishi & Yuki Ueno defeated Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid when Ueno pinned Watase with a Frankensteiner (7:20).
2. Gota Ihashi 5 Match Series – 2nd Battle: Kendo Kashin defeated Gota Ihashi with an Avalanche Cross Armbreaker (6:20).
3. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated HARASHIMA & Soma Takao by Disqualification when Takao attacked the referee (6:54).
4. Tradition Of The Soul ~ Loser Gets Ketsu Bat Match: Miyu Yamashita defeated Danshoku Dieno with a School Boy (7:31).
5. KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when KUDO pinned Katsumata with the Diving Double Knee Drop (11:22).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi (c) defeated Kota Umeda & MAO when Higuchi pinned MAO with the Doctor Bomb (15:44).
*V1 for SekiGuchi.

MAO quickly found out he was in for a rough night. He dove out of the ring onto Kazusada Higuchi during the main event. They then brawled over to the commentary area where MAO did another dive. This time Higuchi caught him and Power Bombed him onto the table, which didn’t break. Kota Umeda did what he could with his kicking moveset to stay in the match while MAO recovered. Together they were able to weaken Higuchi but Daisuke Sekimoto was always there to cut off their momentum. Sekimoto lifted Umeda up into an Argentine Backbreaker while Higuchi pinned MAO with the Doctor Bomb to mark a successful first defence of the KO-D Tag Team Titles. After the match Higuchi told Umeda he can challenge for the title again any time. Yuki Ueno then ran into the ring and asked if he can team with Umeda for that challenge. After all, Ueno did pin Higuchi two days ago. Sekimoto was surprised to learn his tag partner lost while he was away. Sekimoto doesn’t want that to happen again so he accepted the challenge and the title match will happen on the 22nd May episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI”.

ALL OUT is in a slump and it continued with a loss to Shuten-dōji. When the match was over Konosuke Takeshita ran down all of the group’s problems. Akito is injured, he is no longer the KO-D Openweight Champion and Shunma Katsumata has been just bad. So bad that Takeshita now wonders why he asked Katsumata to join ALL OUT. Takeshita thinks he is the only person that can help Katsumata change so he challenged him to a match at the 20th May Korakuen Hall show.

This week’s special guest was Maria Nagao, formerly of AKB48. Makoto Oishi was so smitten with her that he turned on Danshoku Dieno during his match with Miyu Yamashita to impress her. Originally Dieno called Oishi to help him do his usual tricks and Oishi went along with it at first. But he was so worried about what Nagao thought of him that he decided to help Yamashita instead. Oishi tripped Dieno from the ropes and Yamashita rolled him over with a School Boy to get the win. As punishment for losing the match, Dieno had to take an explosive baseball bat to the ass. However they weren’t able to attach explosives to the baseball. To make up for that, Nagao struck Dieno with the bat and Yamashita then hit him with a giant paper fan to create a loud bang. Oishi challenged Dieno to a match on next week’s episode.

A referee bump led to DAMNATION attacking HARASHIMA with a chair. Soma Takao took the chair and attacked back but hit the ref in the process, leading to his disqualification. Sasaki was so distraught over his failed attempt to recruit HARASHIMA a few days ago that he refused to introduce his other “new pet”. Tetsuya Endo had a pet too and wanted to show it off. Sasaki wouldn’t let him because his pet is a bug and Sasaki hates bugs. Backstage Takao said he hasn’t forgotten about his DDT Extreme Title loss to Sasaki back in November. He wants a rematch.

Kendo Kashin was accompanied by NOSAWA Rongai while Gota Ihashi had Ken Ohka in his corner. Kashin’s unusual techniques got him out of some holds. Ihashi put Kashin in a Chickenwing and Kashin got out of it by biting Ihashi. He denied doing it then bit the referee’s arm and gave him a Low Blow. Kashin attacked Ihashi with a chair until Ohka ran in and did the Fire Spear to Kashin. Ihashi went for the pin but Kashin kicked out. Ihashi climbed the turnbuckles but was distracted when Hideki Suzuki appeared! NOSAWA threw a chair at Ihashi and Kashin flipped him to the canvas with an Avalanche Cross Armbreaker to make him submit. After the match Kashin’s group offered beer to Ihashi & Ohka. They all drank until Kashin, NOSAWA & Suzuki spat their beer in the other’s faces. Kashin then tried to force feed the commentary team when he walked past them.

Yuki Ueno avoided the Back Drop from Mizuki Watase and surprised him with a Frankensteiner for the pin. Shigehiro Irie said his team’s loss today was a fluke. Watase claims he had his shoulder up before three.


DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TEKONE SUSHI~” Results

April 30, 2018

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TEKONE SUSHI~”, 30/04/2018
Mie Messe Wing
333 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Makoto Oishi 39 Year Old Trial Single Match: Mad Paulie defeated Makoto Oishi with the Paulie Buster (6:47).
2. Takatimo Dradon, Hiratimo Dragon & Toru Owashi defeated KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi when Sakaguchi was Disqualified for unmasking Hiratimo (7:55).
3. Kota Umeda & MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Nobuhiro Shimatani when MAO pinned Shimatani with the Michinoku Driver I (9:27).
4. P Playful Series: Danshoku Dino Vs Soma Takao ended in a No Contest (7:31).
5. Shigehiro Irie, Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase defeated Keisuke Ishii, Antonio Honda & Kouki Iwasaki when Irie pinned Iwasaki with the Beast Bomber (13:08).
6. Keisuke Okuda Local Triumph! Special Tag Match: Keisuke Okuda & Naomi Yoshimura defeated HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno when Okuda pinned Ueno with the Kobayashi Special (18:11).
7. ALL OUT Vs DAMNATION!: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Endo pinned Katsumata with the Shooting Star Press (17:32).

Daisuke Sasaki got to close out the show with a speech after he won the main event. He pointed out that he doesn’t have a championship right now but next time DAMNATION comes to Mie he will probably have one. He asked Mad Paulie if he agreed. Paulie just tilted his head and groaned. Sasaki then finished his speech. “We do not promise! We do not protect! Because we are DAMNATION! We never conform, we do not kiss ass, I want to see The Avengers soon!”

Maybe there is a little bit more to Keisuke Okuda wrestling today than just the show being in his hometown. He glared over at HARASHIMA and the DDT Extreme Title belt before the match began. Okuda tried to downplay it by repeatedly saying he hates DDT during his post-match interview backstage. He gets along with Naomi Yoshimura but other than the Naomi Kingdom he doesn’t belong to anything else. He only wants to destroy things. Yoshimura thinks the city should build a bronze statue of Okuda to show their appreciation.

Shigehiro Irie and Keisuke Ishii had a stare down after their 6-Man Tag Match. Ishii feels that Irie has definitely become stronger since they last fought each other. There is even more fire in Irie’s elbow strikes than before according to Ishii.

The match between Danshoku Dino and Soma Takao fell apart because Dino could not get his hands off of Takao. Every referee that tried to stop him got knocked out with a Lip Lock. Hisaya Imabayashi had to put on a referee shirt and step in but he also got a Lip Lock.

MAO was disappointed that he didn’t get enough ring time with Kazusada Higuchi before tomorrow’s KO-D Tag Team Titles match. Higuchi admits that Kota Umeda & MAO are strong together but tomorrow will be their real test.

The first appearances of Takatimo Dragon & Hiratimo Dragon began with the two singing “Separados” together as they made their entrance. They asked for the match to be held under Lucha Rules but Toru Owashi threw both of them out of the ring and said he would fight by himself. Clearly Owashi is already sick of them and who they remind him of. Yukio Sakaguchi put Hiratimo in a Sleeper Hold but Hiratimo’s mask accidentally slipped off. Takatimo saw what happened and came up with an idea. He unmasked himself when the referee wasn’t looking, gave the mask to Sakaguchi and acted like Sakaguchi ripped it off his head. As per the rules of pro wrestling, unmasking the opponent is illegal. Shuten-dōji were disqualified and Owashi’s team were declared the winners.


DDT “MAX BUMP 2018” Results

April 29, 2018

DDT “MAX BUMP 2018”, 29/04/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,279 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Under Match: Mad Paulie defeated Kouki Iwasaki with the Reverse Splash (6:26).
1. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 1st Match: Go Shiozaki defeated Kota Umeda with the Gowan Lariat (8:29).
2. Loser Gets Exiled Overseas Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, MAO, Mike Bailey & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (7:46).
*Kazuki Hirata is banished from Japan.
3. Soma Takao & Yuki Ueno defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Keisuke Ishii when Ueno pinned Higuchi with a Frankensteiner (6:43).
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo and Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Shunma Katsumata when Kincaid pined Katsumata with the Philosopher’s Stomp (7:14).
5. Cherry’s Last DDT Match!: Danshoku Dino, KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Cherry, Francoise☆Takagi & Masako Oishi when Dino pinned Cherry with the True Danshoku Driver (11:23).
6. DDT Extreme Title – Regular Rules: HARASHIMA defeated Yuko Miyamoto (c) with the Somato (12:51).
*Yuko Miyamoto fails in V4. HARASHIMA becomes the 41st DDT Extreme Champion!
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Shigehiro Irie defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with the Beast Bomber (14:21).
*Konosuke Takeshita fails in V12. Shigehiro Irie becomes the 62nd KO-D Openweight Champion!
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Super Sasadango Machine (c) with a Trash Can Strike (2:21 pm).
*Nobuhiro Shimatani becomes the 1,301st champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani (c) with a Big Boot (2:22 pm).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,302nd champion.

The reign of Konosuke Takeshita is over! Shigehiro Irie is back at the top of DDT as the new KO-D Openweight Champion, recapturing the belt over four years and eight months since he last held it. It marks the end of a bizarre return for Irie. He disappeared from DDT for months because it no longer resembled the DDT that he loved then he returned with the goal of winning the title. The challenger quickly hit a Topé Suicida after the match started then he threw Takeshita into the corner posts. Takeshita got his own back by giving Irie a Back Drop onto the ring apron. Back in the ring Takeshita applied a Cross Arm Camel Clutch to wear down Irie. In return, Irie used a Tazzmission as his submission hold of choice. He also hit a Black Hole Slam, a Vertical Drop Death Valley Driver and the Beast Bomber to deal a lot of damage to the champion. Takeshita dropped Irie with the Surprise Rose but couldn’t get over fast enough to pin him. Takeshita then gave Irie a German Suplex for a nearfall. Takeshita went for another one but Irie bit onto the top rope to stop it. A Sliding Elbow from Irie was turned into the Cross Arm German Suplex but Irie again kicked out. A Beast Bomber knocked Takeshita for a loop and he was down long enough for Irie to hit the Diving Cannonball Drop. With victory in his sights, Irie bounced back and forth from the ropes and struck Takeshita with one last Beast Bomber. That was it. Takeshita’s record breaking title reign has come to an end!

Emotional over the result, Takeshita grabbed the title belt from Irie after the match. However it was so he could place it over Irie’s shoulder. Irie called Takeshita a wonderful champion. He was pleased that two wrestlers who last fought each other on the pre-show now had their match in the main event. Irie said when he came back to DDT he thought he was on his own. But today he got a lot of cheers from the audience and he also has Mizuki Watase and Jason Kincaid as his friends. He was in the middle of talking when Keisuke Ishii entered the ring carrying the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title he won yesterday. Ishii had been thinking of his track record against Irie ever since Irie came back. Because of this Ishii wants a title shot. Irie accepted and told Ishii that their win-loss record against each other doesn’t mean much. After all, Irie went missing for months and is now the KO-D Champion after only a few matches back. Irie then said his only friends in DDT now are Watase and Kincaid. Irie Vs Ishii for the title will be at the 20th May show in Korakuen Hall. Backstage, Irie said his vision for DDT is to make it more open. He wants to go to many places around the world as the champion.

HARASHIMA went into his DDT Extreme Title shot wearing new ring gear. It was a special match after all. He and his friend Yuko Miyamoto were wrestling against each other one on one. No extra stipulations were added by Miyamoto so it was a regular wrestling match, an unusual decision in regards to the championship’s purpose. HARASHIMA hurt his foot during the match which gave Miyamoto something to target. Their usual moves weren’t enough to beat each other so both of them then used each other’s attacks! Miyamoto hit the Somato while HARASHIMA did a Fire Thunder. After that switch around they went back to their own moveset. HARASHIMA kicked out of the Fire Thunder and hit the Somato to become the new Extreme Champion! HARASHIMA thanked Miyamoto for putting together the match and he was so happy to fight his best against him. HARASHIMA was told by Hisaya Imabayashi that his first defence will be on 13th May in Hakata. Imabayashi asked if there was anybody that HARASHIMA wanted to defend the belt against. HARASHIMA said yes. He wants to face KUDO! He lost to KUDO in a big singles match last September and he wants to get revenge for it. KUDO accepted the challenge and told HARASHIMA the result will be the same.

When KUDO went away, HARASHIMA was left in the ring with the rest of Smile Squash: Miyamoto, Soma Takao and Yasu Urano. In the build up to their match, Miyamoto temporarily left Smile Squash with the intention of rejoining afterwards no matter the result. However Miyamoto isn’t satisfied with the loss and is determined to beat HARASHIMA some day. He can’t be in the same unit as HARASHIMA for that to happen so Miyamoto has decided to leave Smile Squash for good. Urano tried to stop Miyamoto but then he had a change of heart. Urano has been a freelancer for a year and while he still had a comfortable spot in Smile Squash, there are so many new things for him to do elsewhere. Urano decided that he too will leave Smile Squash. Both Miyamoto and Urano left the ring and HARASHIMA was alone with Soma Takao. Takao said that as much as he wants to stop them from leaving, he knows he can’t. However he is staying in Smile Squash with HARASHIMA so they can continue fighting together as a duo. The moment was interrupted when DAMNATION came down to the ring. Daisuke Sasaki handed a DAMNATION T-shirt to HARASHIMA and welcomed him to the group. Sasaki announced that HARASHIMA was a traitor to DDT and the newest member of DAMNATION! HARASHIMA looked puzzled and had no idea what Sasaki was talking about. Sasaki then shouted he would betray HARASHIMA and DAMNATION attacked the champion. Takao easily saved HARASHIMA from a beating and sent DAMNATION fleeing. HARASHIMA said there was so many things going on that he is now confused but whatever is going on he will do his best.

Cherry was given a hero’s farewell for her final match as a DDT wrestler. For the match she teamed with Francoise☆Takagi & Masako Oishi (both taking the places of Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi). to take on Danshoku Dino, KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi. It started off with some fun when Cherry, Takagi & Oishi struck a pose together and shouted out “Fantasy Illusion”. But then KUDO decided not to hold back his kicks to Cherry. Dino also didn’t shy away from using lewd moves on her like the Danshoku Nightmare. Cherry fought back and hit the Cherryton Bomb on KUDO. She also countered the Danshoku Driver into the Fantasy Illusion cradle for a nearfall. It all went wrong for Cherry when she accidentally hit both of her partners. Takagi pulled his wig off in anger and hit Cherry. Oishi then gave Cherry the Miracle Ecstasy. Dino ended the match by giving Cherry the Danshoku Driver. After the match everyone thanked Cherry. Even though she is becoming a freelancer, she will always be a part of DDT. Cherry said she has spent the last 14 years as part of DDT and Union Pro. She had a lot of experiences and got to wrestle so many wonderful colleagues. She was given a bouquet of flowers from Takagi and everyone got together for a group photo.

Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase were both out to impress in the 3 Way Tag Match, although in different ways. Watase entered the ring wearing a black suit and wrestled in everything but the jacket. Kincaid went all out with a Diamond Dust through the ropes on Tetsuya Endo outside the ring. He then climbed the steel pole while Watase positioned Shunma Katsumata for him with a Back Drop. Watase leapt off the post and hit the Diving Double Stomp on Katsumata to win the match. In the backstage interview Watase said that Kincaid is a gift sent to DDT from Irie. Together all three of them will make a new history for DDT when Irie breaks the old history.

Yuki Ueno scored a massive victory when he pinned Kazusada Higuchi in a tag team match. It looked bleak when Higuchi gave him a Choke Slam but Ueno recovered a caught Higuchi with a Frankensteiner to nab the three count.

Everybody except for Kazuki Hirata agreed to add a Loser Leaves Japan stipulation for whoever got pinned in the 8-Man Tag Match. Hirata tried not to get involved in the match but Yukio Sakaguchi stopped him from escaping. Meanwhile MAO overpowered Antonio Honda’s “Gon, The Little Fox” attack by changing his shape into a heart symbol with both of their hands together. MAO & Mike Bailey wiped everyone out with a Double Moonsault outside the ring. Sakaguchi then pinned Hirata with the PK. Hirata refused to leave the ring and then his “Tokyo GO!” music began to play. Yuki Iino came out dressed in a makeshift Hirata costume. He danced to the ring, lifted Hirata from the canvas lowered him onto a group of wrestlers outside. Hirata was then carried away from ringside by the mob.

When Hirata was gone, DDT immediately announced the debut of two masked wrestlers for tomorrow’s show in Mie. Please welcome Takatimo Dragon & Hiratimo Dragon!

In the first match of his trial series, Kota Umeda went face to face with Go Shiozaki. Umeda took all the chops he could and fired back with Middle Kicks. He wore down Shiozaki as much as he could but a Lariat was the start of his downfall. Umeda was able to kick out of a Fisherman Buster but he was put away with the Gowan Lariat. Shiozaki thanked Umeda afterwards and said he would like to fight him again. Umeda then learned his next opponent in the series will be against Ryuji Ito in a Hardcore Match on 8th May! Umeda accepts that he lost the first match but he will do anything to win the Hardcore Match.

Mad Paulie’s strength continues to be too powerful for his opponents to handle on the pre-show matches. He flattened Kouki Iwasaki with a Lou Thesz Press, got a nearfall with a Fisherman Suplex then won with the Reverse Splash.

During the post-show clean up, Nobuhiro Shimatani attacked Super Sasadango Machine behind the stage entrance and pinned him to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. He ran down to the ring to celebrate until Saki Akai went after him and kicked him in the face with a Big Boot. Akai pinned Shimatani to become the new champion then ran away. She had an interview backstage and said from now on she will avoid people dressed in striped clothing because they could be referees.

Akito spoke about the tendon injury in his right arm. He went back and forth on with his doctor over whether he should get an operation. Akito decided not to get surgery because it is possible for him to return to wrestling sooner if his just lets his arm heal. He doesn’t know how long the recovery time will take and he apologised to the fans because he cannot guarantee how long his absence will take.

Masahiro Takanashi will be producing the DDT show in Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall on 8th July. The main event will be Takanashi Vs Isami Kodaka.


DDT “STREET PRO WRESTLING IN KANAGAWA – DANSHOKU DINO CITY COUNCIL MEMBER!?” Results

April 27, 2018

DDT “STREET PRO WRESTLING IN KANAGAWA – DANSHOKU DINO CITY COUNCIL MEMBER!? THE ROAD TO”, 27/04/2018
Kanagawa Fujisawa Meiten Building
92,000 Viewers

1. Yuki Ueno & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Chinsuke Nakamura when Ueno pinned Nakamura with a School Boy (4:24).
2. Miyu Yamashita & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Nodoka-oneesan & Yuki Kamifuku when Yamashita pinned Kamifuku with the Crash Rabbit Heat (3:54).
3. HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Kota Umeda defeated Naomi Yoshimura, Keisuke Okuda & Akira Jo when HARASHIMA pinned Jo with the Somato (7:43).
4. Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Tanomusaku Toba when Takeshita pinned Toba with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster onto a Watermelon (12:20).
5. Reika Saiki & Lady Beard defeated Makoto Oishi & Maki Itoh when Saiki submitted Oishi with the Tower Bridge (6:00).
6. Danshoku Dino & Fuji-kyun defeated Ken Ohka & Gota Ihashi when Dino pinned Ihashi with the Danshoku Driver (3:57).
7. Danshoku Dino, Kazusada Higuchi, Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie when Dino pinned Takagi with the Danshoku Driver onto a Chair (7:43).

Danshoku Dino recently revealed his intentions of running for a seat in the Kanagawa City Council because he is “a pure white heart wanting change in the local government”. That struck a nerve with Sanshiro Takagi because of a failed political campaign that he himself was a part of in the same area during the 1990s. To this day the mere sight of his campaign poster is enough to give him PTSD. Dino announced his intention to visit Kanagawa today to meet the locals and Takagi promised to meet him there for a Street Pro Wrestling match.

Dino’s visit brought him to the Fujisawa Meiten Building as part of a livestream on AbemaTV. With him was his cabinet of wrestlers: his secretary Makoto Oishi, the carer of his personal belongings Yuki Ueno, Fujisawa local Yuki Kamifuku, campaign supporter Nodoka-oneesan and town mascot Fuji-kyun. When they approached the Meiten Building Dino learned that the building’s owner Hideyuki Yamada is a powerful figure who can help get Dino what he wants. They were greeted by Akinaga Toyomoto at the entrance. First part of the tour was the bookshop on the 2nd Floor.

Takagi was there in the bookshop along with Toru Owashi waiting for Dino to begin their match. Dino promised Yamada not to get involved in any violence himself so he offered Ueno & Oishi to take his place. Takagi sent Owashi to fight them along with a surprise, Chinsuke Nakamura! Out came Nakamura accompanied by a man with a violin to play Nakamura’s song. The match began and the wrestlers fought around the ordinary customers. Nakamura gave Oishi a Low Blow but Ueno rolled him up with a School Boy for the three count. Throughout the show, AbemaTV had a poll on their site asking viewers if they support Dino’s candidacy. After the first match the poll was 66.2% in favour of Dino.

They moved on to a clothing shop on the 3rd Floor. Miyu Yamashita & Yuka Sakazaki were there browsing through the aisle. Kamifuku told them she heard there were nice clothes on sale here but she would never wear the stuff they were looking at. That sparked Match #2: Kamifuku & Nodoka-oneesan Vs Yamashita & Sakazaki. They fought over to a bookstore where they were warned not to damage any books. Nodoka grabbed a book and held it up to prevent her opponents from attacking her until she was disarmed. Sakazaki piled Nodoka on top of Kamifuki then hit the Magical Girl Splash from a stool. Yamashita then pinned Kamifuku with the Crash Rabbit Heat. The girls all got along afterwards and ditched the others so they could go get tea on the 1st Floor.

Dino went up to the stationary shop on the 4th Floor and bumped into the Naomi Kingdom. He caught Akira Jo trying to shoplift so the Kingdom attacked his cabinet. Dino called for help and it was answered by HARASHIMA, Soma Takao & Kota Umeda. A 6-Man Tag Match then took place. There was a string of Headscissors that was turned into a Crab Hold chain. Takao placed a shopping basket over Jo’s head and HARASHIMA hit the Somato for the win. Dino kicked the Naomi Kingdom out of the shop. However his approval score dropped slightly to 63.5%.

A message from Takagi was passed to Dino. It said Takagi was waiting for him in the 1st Floor market. Dino went down and there was Takagi in a sectioned off area. But it was a trap! Tanomusaku Toba appeared out of nowhere and knocked out both Oishi & Ueno. Dino called for help and saw that Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata were nearby having a meal. They expressed support for Dino and agreed to fight Takagi & Toba. They fought each other with chairs, traffic cones and food they bought from the nearby stalls. Takagi knocked Takeshita & Katsumata down in front of a car ride. Takagi got on the car ride wanting to run them over but all it did was rock back and forth. Takagi put Katsumata through a table with a Piledriver but Takeshita won the match by giving Toba a Brainbuster onto a watermelon.

Dino said his goodbyes to ALL OUT and moved on to an outdoor area where he saw Maki Itoh arguing with DEADLIFT LOLITA. Both of them claimed they reserved the concert stage for a performance and sharing it wasn’t an option. Dino suggested they have a match to decide and ordered Oishi to be Itoh’s partner. Itoh did a stage dive onto everyone below. Oishi and Reika Saiki got back onto the stage and Saiki submitted Oishi with the Tower Bridge. She and Lady Beard got to sing while Dino went back inside the building.

All of the fighting so far took its toll on Dino’s cabinet. He was now the only one left as he approached the lecture hall. Inside he found a Smile Therapy session taking place by a man named Mr. Akasaka. The only people in there with him were Ken Ohka & Gota Ihashi. They didn’t like Dino’s interruption and attacked him. Despite this, Dino refused to fight back. All looked grim when the mascot Fuji-kyun returned! It convinced Dino that pro wrestling is sport, not violence. Dino agreed and finally began to fight back. Together they defeated Ohka & Ihashi. Dino got to kiss Mr. Akasaka during the match. Afterwards Dino asked where the owner Yamada was. Akasaka said he was on the roof of the building.

Dino went up to the roof but couldn’t find Yamada. Instead there was Takagi and he was accompanied by DAMNATION! He said DAMNATION were now his friends but Daisuke Sasaki confessed that they were only teaming with him because he promised to pay them 15,000 yen. According to Sasaki that is way more money than what DDT usually pays them. Dino was in trouble but he suddenly got help in the forms of Kazusada Higuchi, Mike Bailey & MAO. This was it. The final battle! Tetsuya Endo, Bailey and MAO all did Moonsaults. Mad Paulie squashed some people. Higuchi blocked Sasaki’s Hurricanrana by whipping him into a fence. Takagi’s team got the upper hand and Takagi ordered DAMNATION to finish them off. However Sasaki demanded that they get paid another 15,000 yen as an extra charge. Takagi refused to DAMNATION abandoned him. It was now 4 Vs 1 in Dino’s favour and they all defeated Takagi. Dino’s final approval score was 61.3%.

The group all took a photo together on top of Takagi to use as Dino’s campaign poster. However Dino noticed that Yamada was still nowhere to be seen. A beaten Takagi told Dino where to find him, pointing over to an upper section of the roof. Dino went over and found Yamada sitting on a chair. Dino pleaded with Yamada to make him a City Council member. When Yamada didn’t respond, Dino turned him around and saw that he was dead! Akinaga Toyomoto appeared again and revealed he was spying on Dino all along. Hideyuki Yamada isn’t the most powerful figure in Kanagawa, it is Fuji-kyun! The screen faded to black over a narration explaining that Dino was defeated by Fuji-kyun, ending his political dreams. The end.


DDT “VIDEO TEAM BOX OFFICE – BETAMANIA” Results

April 23, 2018

DDT “VIDEO TEAM BOX OFFICE – BETAMANIA”, 23/04/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
172 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Goodbye Fukuda…Honorable! Crushing! Explosion! Special Exhibition Match!: Keisuke Ishii defeated Ryuhei Fukuda with a Baseball Chop (8:24).
2. Universal Serial Bus Title: Deepthroat (c) (w/ Genome Soldier A & Genome Soldier B) defeated Yumehito Imanari with the Doctor Bomb (10:50).
3. DT-YUTA Produce Match ~Rotten Bad And Rotten Edge~: KUDO defeated 726 with the Backspin Kick (8:32).
4. Betamania Death Match: Isami Kodaka defeated DT-YUTA with the Steel Cans Assisted Giga Ladder Break (12:22).

The unsung heroes of DDT are the members of its video team. The three main members of the crew are made up of men who have all at some point or another been pro wrestlers. After spending so long behind the cameras and hype videos, they were finally thrown a bone and got the chance to present their own wrestling show.

In the main event DT-YUTA was to take on a mystery opponent in a Betamania Death Match. His opponent was Isami Kodaka! The two share a history going back to Union Pro and their last match together took place on 7th March, 2009. Chairs, ladders, steel cans and a camera covered in barbed wire supported by a stand made out of lighttubes were all used as weapons. YUTA almost won with a Jackhammer but Kodaka kicked out. Kodaka reversed another Jackhammer into a Vertical Drop Brainbuster. He climbed the ladder with a steel can and landed the Giga Ladder Break for the win. Kodaka checked to see if YUTA was okay. He said without the Video Team, neither DDT or BASARA would be as interesting. He then struck YUTA over the head with a lighttube to show his appreciation. YUTA talked about when he quit Union 9 years ago he told Kodaka that he was taking a different road. Kodaka told him back then if YUTA made that decision by himself then it was the right decision. YUTA will always remember that moment.

726 was back in the ring for his first wrestling match since 2010. His match with KUDO was straightforward and 726 was able to hold his own for a while. KUDO won and he shared a beer with 726 afterwards. 726 said the match left him tired and he would have died if it lasted another 5 minutes. He said if KUDO’s wrestling tonight was a score of 100 points then 726’s score was 60 points.

“A Yumehito Imanari Match”: The introduction video showed Imanari being attacked somewhere. The enemy known as Deepthroat stole his USB key and held him in an Iron Claw to wipe out his memory. Imanari regained consciousness inside Shin-Kiba 1st RING dressed in special agent gear and armed with a cardboard box. He received a radio call from Hirotsugu Suyama explaining he must retrieve the USB to regain his memory. Two Genome Soldiers were about to approach the ring so Imanari hid underneath the box. The hiding spot worked at first but soon the Soldiers found him and they began to fight. Suyama called back to say he discovered a murder weapon beneath the ring. Imanari looked and found a steel chair to even the odds. Suyama kept calling to remind Imanari of his favourite wrestling moves as well as instructing him to counter attacks. The radio call was then interrupted by Nonoko on another frequency. Imanari got rid of the Soldiers by knocking them out with Sleeper Holds. Another interruption came from Keiko Takeshita, the mother of Konosuke Takeshita! She sent a message of encouragement to Imanari. Make it out alive and she will give all of her 85kg body to him, Konosuke will never know (Konosuke was watching the match in the venue and tweeted that she really weighs 90kg). After that, Deepthroat appeared. The messages from Suyama were getting faint and Imanari struggled to fight against the final boss. The messages got more and more distorted as Suyama figured out that nanomachines were interfering with the signal. In a flash he was gone and in his place was a video message of Sanshiro Takagi instructing Imanari to go buy snacks for the DDT office. That message made Imanari regain his memory then and there. He remembers who he is and what he must do. He must go shopping! But first he has to win his match. Deepthroat then immediately Choke Slammed Imanari and pinned him with the Doctor Bomb. Imanari? Imanari?! Imanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarii!!!!

After the match Deepthroat consoled Imanari. He admitted he was really Kazusada Higuchi and there was a reason he took Imanari’s USB. He wanted Imanari to regain the hot soul of a pro wrestler and the USB featured something very important. He showed it on the screen. It was a picture of Imanari with Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi taken back when Imanari was a junior high school student. Higuchi wanted Imanari to remember the feeling he had when he met them. Imanari said he always wanted to be a pro wrestler but he had so much on his plate and he got a job on DDT’s video team instead. However thanks to DDT and Ganbare☆Wrestling, Imanari is now able to live his dream and do both! Higuchi handed him over the USB and Imanari accepted it as if it was a championship. He then remembered he had to go shopping for snacks.

Ryuhei Fukuda relied entirely on the rest of the video team to help him out against Keisuke Ishii. When Fukuda was at risk of losing to a Cobra Twist, the team played a hidden video of the referee Yuya Okada talking to an unidentified woman. Apparently this was something Okada did not want anybody to see. Yusuke Kubo attacked Ishii while the ref was distracted. Fukuda then got the upper hand on Ishii by throwing power in his eyes. More scandalous videos kept Okada distracted while the Samurai! TV cameramen stopped Ishii from doing a Power Bomb. Ishii fought them all off and struck Fukuda with a big baseball pitch of a chop to keep him down for the count. Fukuda thanked Ishii for the match and told a story about how he joined DDT’s video team. He got the job even though he was not a wrestling fan. He also did not get along with some of his colleagues at first. It was when Ishii and Shigehiro Irie brought him out for a meal that Fukuda began to open up and get out of his shell. He wished Ishii luck in his Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title match happening later this week.

Minoru Fujita and Shinichiro Tominaga were the MCs for the show. They weren’t quite sure what to do with their roles but were still able to move the show along. Their final words to close out the show were “Well, pro wrestling is really nice.”

The show ended with all of the Video Team taking up their equipment and going back to work.


DDT “SHIN SYU VERY MUCH! 2018” Results

April 22, 2018

DDT “SHIN SYU VERY MUCH! 2018”, 22/04/2018
Nagano Art Center Act Park
274 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Antonio Honda defeated Nobuhiro Shimatani with the Diving Fist Drop (12:23).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Kouki Iwasaki, Mike Bailey & MAO when Endo pinned Iwasaki with a Swan Dive Firebird Splash (10:35).
3. 4 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Kota Umeda, Naomi Yoshimura and Shunma Katsumata when Higuchi pinned Katsumata with the Doctor Bomb (7:47).
4. KUDO & Keisuke Ishii defeated HARASHIMA & Soma Takao when Ishii pinned Takao with a Frankensteiner (10:12).
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – DDT Nagano Sales Manager Toru Owashi Local Triumph! “Owashi And Funny Friends Part 3” Special 6-Man Tag Match: Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno defeated Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine (c) when Hirata pinned Sasadango with a Brainbuster (2:02).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,299th champion.
5a. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Replay: Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata (c) & Yuki Ueno when Sasadango pinned Hirata with the Triangle of Zenkoji (10:24).
*Super Sasadango Machine becomes the 1,300th champion.
6. Shigehiro Irie & Mizuki Watase defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Akito when Irie pinned Akito with the Beast Bomber (16:38).

Shigehiro Irie’s momentum since coming back continues to grow and now it’s finding its way over to Mizuki Watase. Irie’s new partner threw Konosuke Takeshita away with a German Suplex while Irie hit Akito with the Beast Bomber. After the match Irie said he won the match thanks to Watase’s effort. Watase pointed out that the last time he wrestled in Nagano he promised the fans he would return as a champion. That didn’t happen but he has become stronger and he wasn’t going to give up! Irie & Watase were given a prize pack of red wine by the show sponsors for the victory. After the show, Irie promised to be at the top of DDT and Watase will grow into a stronger wrestler with him. Irie then said he was bringing a friend from America over to Japan soon. He calls his friend “The Gift”.

Since the show was in Nagano that meant Toru Owashi was the big attraction in his hometown. Super Sasadango Machine took advantage of this by gathering together a portion of the audience to mob Owashi for handshakes and autographs outside the ring during the match. Owashi was too busy handling his fans to wrestle but his team still won the match. Kazuki Hirata pinned Sasadango to win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title for the finish. Hisaya Imabayashi hated the result because the big star who sold most of the tickets didn’t get to do anything even though his side won. Imabayashi demanded the match to restart. Owashi did get to wrestle this time but Sasadango pinned Hirata to win back the Iron Man Title. Sasadango won with the Triangle Of Zenkoji, a team-up version of the Lehmann Shock.

Keisuke Ishii promoted his upcoming match against Ken Ohka for the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title on the 28th April Ganbare☆Wrestling show. KUDO didn’t have any of the other Shuten-dōji members with him today to drink with so he asked Ishii to join him for a toast. Ishii agreed and drank from a bottle of tea.

Kazusada Higuchi described Kota Umeda’s moves as intense during the 4 Way Match. He talked about feeling electricity run through his whole body whenever Umeda Kicked him. To Higuchi that is an amazing experience that makes him nostalgic for their matches together in DNA. Higuchi is looking forward to defending the KO-D Tag Team Titles against Umeda soon. Umeda thinks he has momentum but MAO needs to be with him on the same level if they are going to win the titles.