DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2021 TOUR IN SENDAI”, 29/08/2021 Miyagi Sendai PIT 192 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Lucha Libre Rules: Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Shunma Katsumata & Antonio Honda when Owashi pinned Honda with La Magistral Cradle (8:17).
2. Akito & Yuna Manase defeated Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when Akito submitted Okatani with the Ankle Package Hold (8:20).
3. DDT Teenage Project Special Single Match: Ilusion defeated El Unicorn with the Modified Pedigree (9:40).
4. Soma Takao, Yuji Hino & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Kazuki Hirata when Yamato pinned Hirata with the Northern Lights Bomb (13:16).
5. DAMNATION Vs Junretsu!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Mizuki Watase when Sasaki submitted Watase with the Cross Facelock (14:10).
6. Sendai Specialty Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yukio Naya when HARASHIMA pinned Naya with the Somato (14:25).
7. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi & Keigo Nakamura when MAO pinned Nakamura with the Cannonball 450 (21:40).
There is a month for Konosuke Takeshita and Chris Brookes to fight and prepare for their KO-D Openweight Title match. Today’s first warm up match saw The 37KAMIINA defeat Brookes’ team. After the match Brookes (in Japanese) told Takeshita that there will be no friends between them on 26th September. Takeshita (in English) then told Brookes it will be just only them in the ring. MAO thanked the fans in Sendai for continuing to see DDT whenever they stop by although this time none of his friends came to see him. He praised Keigo Nakamura and said they both know what it’s like to be lonely moving from the countryside over to Tokyo. They support each other and work hard together, even when they are opponents.
HARASHIMA gave Chihiro Hashimoto the credit for their team beating Yukio Sakaguchi & Yukio Naya. Hashimoto said she was happy to be invited by DDT to wrestle on the show. She wants the fans to see her wrestle the men to show that it was nothing different for her. It is human versus human and she wants to do it again!
Tetsuya Endo pointed at Jun Akiyama and called for his attention after their match.
The Pheromones team showed off what it is that powers them up. Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino pulled off dandy and sexy poses. Later when Dieno went into the Hell’s Gate position, Iino was shoved face first into his backside and it turned out to power him up! The opposite then happened with Dieno pressing his face into Iino’s backside to charge up the Lip Lock, turning it into the deadly Earth Kiss! Unfortunately the Earth Kiss missed and caught Kazuki Hirata by accident, rendering him helpless enough for Hiroshi Yamato to beat him. Dieno & Iino admitted there were probably too much pheromones today.
Ilusion defeated El Unicorn in the first singles match of the DDT Teenage Project. Unicorn did a Satellite Headscissors and a Springboard Moonsault out of the ring. Ilusion focused on his opponent’s arm and trapped him in a Modified Cobra Twist. He later avoided the Dragonrana, hit a Pop Up Diamond Cutter and pinned Unicorn with the Modified Pedigree. Ilusion is happy with the win but it bothers him that he hasn’t figured out a signature style yet. Unicorn is already establishing himself as a high flyer while Ilusion isn’t sure what he can do well. He thinks he will find out by wrestling more.
The growing tensions between Saki Akai and Yuna Manase was on show for the intergender match. Manase spent the early portion of the match demanding to face Akai even though Hideki Okatani and Akito were the legal men wrestling. She did get to fight Akai and they exchanged strikes. The men tagged back in but the women continued fighting outside the ring. Akai went for the Running Penalty Kick along the apron but Manase blocked it and held onto Akai’s leg for the rest of the match. That stopped Akai from saving Okatani and he tapped out to Akito’s Ankle Hold. Manase still wouldn’t let go after the match until they were forced apart. She then taunted Akai on the microphone and closed out the segment by getting the fans to shout “We are Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling!” The two of them had another confrontation backstage when Akai said she had wanted to fight Chihiro Hashimoto instead. Manase overheard that and they got into a fight. Akai got the better of Manase and she said she will beat her in Hakata.
Takeshita announced he has given a name to the Modified Chickenwing Facelock he used to beat Akiyama. The submission move is now called Plus Ultra.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”, 21/08/2021 Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki 1,336 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura defeated Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when Naya pinned Koroku with the Choke Slam (10:38).
0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh defeated Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa when Onita pinned Kuro-chan after a Current Blast Bat Attack (9:35).
1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn defeated Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion when Unicorn pinned Ilusion with the Modified Double Knee Stomp (11:44).
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi defeated Antonio Honda with a School Boy (0:11).
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Kazuki Hirata with a School Boy (0:11).
2a. Rematch: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda ended in a No Contest (1:28).
2a. Rematch: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata ended in a No Contest (1:28).
2b. Another Rematch: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Daisuke Kiso defeated Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata & Yukinori Matsui when Kiso pinned Matsui with a Cradle (2:53).
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai defeated Shunma Katsumata & MAO when Brookes pinned MAO with the Praying Mantis Bomb (14:03).
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai when Hino pinned Akai with the Fuckin’ BOMB (11:34). *V3 for DAMNATION.
5. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Yuki Ueno (c) with La Mistica Crossover Facelock (17:20). *Yuki Ueno fails in V7. Daisuke Sasaki becomes the 5th DDT Universal Champion!
6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Jun Akiyama (c) with the Modified Chickenwing Facelock (24:43). *Jun Akiyama fails in V4. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 77th KO-D Openweight Champion!
The first outdoor “WRESTLE PETER PAN” saw Konosuke Takeshita finally beat Jun Akiyama and reclaim the KO-D Openweight Title. They fought back and forth with Exploders and German Suplexes one after the other while Kenta Kobashi watched from ringside. Both also tried to win with their submission finishers. Akiyama with the Front Neck Lock and Takeshita with the Modified Chickenwing Facelock. When all else failed they went to their Knee Strikes until one stayed down. Takeshita pulled down his knee pad before hitting more Zahi Knee Strikes but Akiyama wouldn’t stay down. He had to throw Akiyama with the Cross-Arm German Suplex and then apply the Modified Chickenwing Facelock once more. The move Takeshita invented to Akiyama finally achieved its purpose and the champion tapped out!
When Takeshita was given the KO-D Title belt, he said today was not the end. He will defend the title with all of his might, become stronger and have a rematch with Akiyama this time so he can beat him as the champion. Akiyama accepted defeat but said he will get it back, just you wait and see. Chris Brookes then entered the ring and told Takeshita he hasn’t beaten him one on one in over two years. Brookes wants a shot at the title! Takeshita accepted the challenge and it will take place on the 26th September Korakuen Hall show.
Daisuke Sasaki entered Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki holding the DDT Universal Title and he gets to leave with it. Except now he actually is the Universal Champion. After weeks of theft, cheap shots and violence Yuki Ueno couldn’t get revenge for everything Sasaki had done to him. Sasaki busted him open with a belt shot. Later Mad Paulie pulled the referee away when Ueno had Sasaki pinned after a Shining Wizard. Ueno Dropkicked Paulie and Moonsaulted onto both of them outside the ring. Everything was going so well for Ueno he was even avoiding Sasaki’s cheating. But Sasaki countered the WR into La Mistica Crossover Facelock and forced Ueno to give up. Backstage Ueno admitted that Sasaki has stolen everything from him. Now it is his turn to take away everything that Sasaki cherishes. For now that threat is falling on deaf ears. Sasaki heard the guest commentator Sumire Uesaka praised him a lot during his match. He wants her address so he can mail her a marriage certificate.
Tensions were high when DAMNATION and Eruption fought for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. From the start they were ready to fight when Soma Takao threw his belt down at Yukio Sakaguchi. Meanwhile Saki Akai kept posturing at Yuji Hino, demanding he take her seriously and throw his strong Chops at her. Hino overpowered Akai but Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi were there to break the pins. Tetsuya Endo wiped out nearly everyone with a Swan Dive Shooting Star Press out of the ring. That left Akai and Hino alone to fight. Akai kept chopping and kicking Hino until he finally threw the Chop her way. Akai kicked out of the pin so Hino hit her with a Lariat. Akai kicked out of that too and still tried to fight back. Hino had to put her away with the Fuckin’ BOMB to end the match. Afterwards Hino reminded Akai of all the jokes he previously made about her being a woman. Well now he can say she is also a pro wrestler!
Jun Kasai got a taste of hardcore wrestling The 37KAMIINA style. It involves Lego. Lots and lots of Lego. Shunma Katsumata & MAO filled the ring with the toy blocks and smashed a few plastic cases along the way. Katsumata even decided to wrestle barefoot, daring Kasai to follow his lead. Kasai told him he is a man and he would but couldn’t get his wrestling boots off in time before Katsumata attacked him. Katsumata did a Moonsault Double Stomp but Kasai rolled out of the way, making him land bare feet first onto the Lego! Brookes then threw him into a ladder with the Tropical☆Yahoo. The 37KAMIINA fought back by digging skewers into their opponents’ heads. Kasai then turned the danger up a notch by blocking a Katsumata dive with a knife! He then gave Katsumata the Reverse Tiger Driver while Brookes pinned MAO with the Praying Mantis Bomb, all on the Lego for the finish. Afterwards Kasai admitted the “relaxing” hardcore matches The 37KAMIINA put together are actually fun, like a good memory from a summer vacation.
DDT’s first ever Double Ring Double Singles Matches both ended in eleven seconds. Toru Owashi immediately pinned Antonio Honda and Danshoku Dieno immediately pinned Kazuki Hirata with the same moves at the same time. Hisaya Imabayashi wasn’t sure what had happened because he couldn’t see both matches at once. So he called for both matches to restart but this time to keep them in the same ring. The rematches fell apart when the referees Yukinori Matsui and Daisuke Kiso kept getting in each other’s way. They soon started fighting each other and the wrestlers had to keep them apart. Imabayashi then had an idea to turn everything into a 3 Vs 3 match: Owashi, Honda & Kiso Vs Dieno, Hirata & Matsui with Imabayashi as the ref. Matsui’s team put Kiso in the Kaientai pose and Dieno applied the Lip Lock. Kiso then suddenly countered Matsui’s Brainbuster into a Small Package to grab victory from the jaws of defeat.
The opening match was the debuts of El Unicorn and Ilusion from the DDT Teenage Project. They were given a chance to shine and literally wrestle on top of everyone else. While the other 8 participants were locked up in a multi-man suplex struggle, Unicorn and Ilusion climbed on top of them to fight each other. It ended with Ilusion Suplexing Unicorn onto the pile below. Yuji Okabayashi’s team then won out on the multi-man Suplex spot. Ilusion Dropkicked Yusuke Okada and then joined in with Mizuki Watase to dive onto everybody outside the ring. Unicorn came back and hit a Dragonrana to Ilusion then pinned him with a Modified Double Knee Stomp. Backstage Ilusion swore to avenge his loss when he faces Unicorn in a singles match on 29th August. Yuki Iino went around searching for Naomi Yoshimura to continue fighting him. HARASHIMA and TAMURA both praised the young wrestlers for their efforts. Raimu Imai asked if he could wrestle in DDT again.
The pre-show match a a calm affair. Just a Current Blast Death Match, no biggie. Everyone was dressed for battle except for Akito, who wrestled in a suit. Kuro-chan used Hikari Noa as a shield to prevent Atsushi Onita from swinging the blast bat at him. Tetsuhiro Kuroda grabbed the bat and handed it to Kuro-chan so he could blast Onita with it. Onita got revenge by Piledriving Kuroda onto a table. Super Sasadango Machine tried to fight off everyone with a chair. Maki Itoh and Noa had a standoff with each holding blast bats. They swung at each other causing a big explosion. When the dust cleared the match came down to Onita and Kuro-chan. Onita hit his Kuro-chan with the blast bat and got the three count. After the match Onita poured water over him and with Sanshiro Takagi’s help, aided in carrying him out of the ring. Kuro-chan begged for forgiveness until Onita told him he has the qualities of a pro wrestler. It’s time for him to enter Mr. Onita’s office for a talk…
The other pre-show match saw Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura beat Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku. The least experience wrestler of the four Koroku kicked out of Naya’s Scrapbuster and Running Knee Lift. But he was put down with a Choke Slam, giving Naya’s team the win.
At the end of the show, Takagi revealed one last gift for the DDT fans. The final major DDT event of 2021 will take place at Yoyogi Gymnasium #2 on 26th December. It will be DDT’s first time in the venue.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”, 21/08/2021 Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki
0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh Vs Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa
1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn Vs Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai
5. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
As danger and uncertainty over the pandemic remains around the world, the wrestling industry is determined to chug along and to stick to their plans. This weekend more than any other is proof of that. In America, the next couple of days will no doubt become a landmark period for the modern era with massive shows from two companies along with the long awaited return of a certain hockey fan from Chicago. Japan isn’t taking it easy either as some companies begin to head outdoors for major shows held at sports stadiums. That’s what DDT is up to for “WRESTLE PETER PAN” this year. They will be at Fujitsu Stadium Kawasaki, the former home of FMW’s most legendary battles. The actual venue is different because it went through renovations in the 2000s and also a name change in 2014. Hopefully the spirit of those famous shows still remains when DDT takes their crack at it. Pandemic restrictions are in place so the card is shorter than usual. Plus the risk of last minute cancellations can rear its ugly head. At this point we just have to keep our fingers crossed. There is something extra added to the show. Two wrestling rings will be set up in the stadium. The reason why will be explained in the related matches below.
0. Under Match: Yukio Naya & Keigo Nakamura Vs Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
Let’s see how the low tier of DDT’s undercard has been doing lately. Yukio Naya is slotted into the novelty matches. He’s there when DDT needs a heavyweight so he’ll always have a place on the card. His family ties also means he will be a regular for any matches built around product placement. Keigo Nakamura stepped up a level by being part of the new KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Champions in Team Olympian. He has new ring gear too which is usually a sign of a wrestler moving onto the next stage of his career. He is still often the butt of jokes but when he gets the chance to be serious in the ring, he takes it. Hideki Okatani is probably the one out of this lot who advanced the most over the last year. He should have, given who he is learning from in Junretsu. He is still far away from being a polished product but he definitely moved up to No. 3 in his unit in the last few months. Yuya Koroku debuted in DDT back in April and comes from the highly regarded Animal Hamaguchi Gym. His work so far has been promising but he had a slight setback earlier this month that made him miss a few shows. That’s the problem with rookies. They break easily.
0. Electric Current Explosion 8-Man Tag Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Sanshiro Takagi, Akito & Maki Itoh Vs Kuro-chan, Super Sasadango Machine, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Hikari Noa
Here is how loaded this weekend is. DDT has to blow up a ring at Kawasaki Stadium during the dark match to get any sort of attention! If you’re doing a major wrestling show inside Kawasaki Stadium then you have to have Atsushi Onita in an Exploding Ring Death Match. Those are the rules. That is why DDT is setting up two rings, one for the regular matches and one for Onita to blow up. As soon as Onita found out about the second ring he got in touch with DDT and demanded his match take place on the pre-show! His reasoning is it takes a lot of time and dedication to set up the explosives so he wants it to be over and done with before the main show even begins. It also sneakily moves the match over to the main ring instead of the side ring because DDT now has time to clean up the mess after the pre-show. That Onita really is a sneaky git. He has promised to use three to five times the amount of gun powder for explosions than these matches usually use.
The match itself has a lot to unpack. Onita’s run in DDT over the last year has seen him feud with a pervy comedian named Kuro-chan. Onita gets the win most of the time but their last match in December ended in a massive upset. Kuro-chan pinned Onita one, two, three! He stole Onita’s jacket, called himself the new “Evil Ways” and left thinking that was the end of it. Demands for a rematch were ignored by Kuro-chan until his manager got wind of it and decided “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021” would be the perfect time and place for it to happen. The two went to put their teams together. Onita has DDT’s crazy president Sanshiro Takagi, the not yet crazy Vice President Akito and the right amount of crazy Maki Itoh. Kuro-chan has to team with Super Sasadango Machine because they both have the same agent. However his also gets Hikari Noa and FMW alumni Tetsuhiro Kuroda, which improves his team’s chances. Sasadango had to lie about Noa thinking Kuro-chan is cute to convince him to finally accept the match. Noa in particular has been wanting to do death matches for ages. Her goal is to either run over Takagi in a truck, blow him up in an explosion or do both. The stage is set and one last factor has been added to the match. Kuro-chan wants sole ownership of Exploding Ring Death Matches if his team wins! He also wants Onita to retire when he loses but we all know what that is worth so just ignore that bit.
1. Special 10-Man Tag Match – El Unicorn & Ilusion Debut Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura, Yusuke Okada, Raimu Imai & El Unicorn Vs Yuji Okabayashi, TAMURA, Mizuki Watase, Yuki Iino & Ilusion
DDT looks to the future with the introduction to the DDT Teenage Project. They have spent the last year training four teenagers in secret to become pro wrestlers. Two of them are ready to have their official debut match. On one team is the 13 year old, El Unicorn. On the other is Ilusion, 18 years old. The project is meant to be for those aged 15-18 but there is a reason El Unicorn is there. Not to spoil the kid’s identity but he was already under DDT contract before this project began. Both rookies are eager to fight the larger wrestlers like Naomi Yoshimura and Yuji Okabayashi. There’s another teenager in the match too. Raimu Imai from HEAT-UP is 16 years old and still in his first year of wrestling. His claim to fame is his mother Eriko Imai is a former pop singer and current member of Japan’s House Of Councillors. Raimu’s master TAMURA is on the opposite team. He marvels over how quickly the new generation of wrestlers get to make it to the ring. HARASHIMA and Okabayashi were last seen together as Smile Pissari but they are opponents here. Yusuke Okada and Yuki Iino get to collide with stronger opponents. Last but not least there is Mizuki Watase, who recently returned from injury and finds himself restarting his wrestling progression from scratch again.
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda
2. Double Ring Double Singles Match: Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata
Look, spots for this show are sparse this time around and DDT isn’t able to produce two dozen matches in one night. This isn’t an AEW taping. With the card filling up, the groups of wrestlers nicknamed the DDT Variety Team all began to squabbling with one another. This resulted in them all challenging each other to singles matches, no doubt earning two of them coveted main event spot. That wasn’t going to happen. Hisaya Imabayashi told the wrestlers there was room left on the show for only one more match. They can do Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda or Danshoku Dieno Vs Kazuki Hirata but not both. Hirata then had a brilliant idea. There will be two rings available so why not do both matches at the same time? Imabayashi loved the idea and put forth DDT’s first ever Double Ring Double Singles Match! Just don’t be surprised if the two matches still interact and get mixed up with each other. Oh and I think Dieno is currently the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. I lost track of that.
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & MAO Vs Chris Brookes & Jun Kasai
The main card gets some of the violence left over from the pre-show. Is there anything you can do to Jun Kasai that would hurt him? He’s been through it all, literally if the thing is made out of glass. He sees the hardcore matches DDT have been doing over the last year and they left him feeling lukewarm. The weapons used and the atmosphere surrounding the matches are a bit too relaxed for his tastes. Relaxed is the accurate word to use given these matches have involved Shunma Katsumata & MAO from The 37KAMIINA (The Sauna KAMIINA). Their obsession with saunas rose to new levels ever since the DDT Sauna Club was formed. They aren’t pushovers though. Katsumata is wrestling death matches in Big Japan more often and MAO always has fucked up ideas for things to do in the ring. They want to show Kasai they can dish him the worst pain he has ever felt and they know just what to use. They found out that Kasai doesn’t like the pain you get from stepping on Lego. It’s his biggest weakness! Kasai refuses to confirm if that’s true or not, explaining that he never feels pain from anything when he wrestles in front of his fans. During all of this, Chris Brookes began feeling like the odd man out. He doesn’t even appear in the advert for the match! All the attention is on the other three and he doesn’t like that. He’ll take his anger out on Katsumata to feel better.
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai
DAMNATION’s most successful ventures over the last half year have been in the trios division. After Tetsuya Endo was finally knocked off the top of the mountain, he rallied together Soma Takao and new member Yuji Hino to win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. Endo was then able to defend the belts in his hometown. He has felt invincible ever since and thinks he has the power to banish those he defeated from his hometown. The big challengers coming in are Eruption. They held the titles before and Saki Akai in particular thinks it is time to take them back. The build up has seen Kazusada Higuchi reignite his rivalry with Endo. Yukio Sakaguchi and Takao has come to blows several times too. But the spotlight shines brightest on Akai along with Hino’s reaction to her being in the match. Hino thinks Eruption are fighting with a handicap because a woman is on their team. He also refuses to throw any Chops at Akai because he is convinced they would legit murder her. All this attitude has done is fire Akai up even more to prove her doubters wrong. She’s been wrestling for 8 years now and has shown she is not a one trick pony. It also created an unusual situation where Akai slaps around her partners because they haven’t been as determined as she is to win! Keep in mind this is when Sakaguchi is constantly getting into fights with Takao.
5. DDT Universal Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki
DAMNATION’s second most successful venture over the last half year is Daisuke Sasaki stealing the DDT Universal Title belt from Yuki Ueno. I didn’t say winning the championship, I mean literally stealing the belt. That’s not to say Sasaki hasn’t brought it in the ring. He has won several big matches in the King Of DDT tournament by cheating like hell throughout the whole thing. That includes a quick win over Ueno. Another quick win in a later tag match resulted in Ueno giving Sasaki a title shot in order to win back his pride. Big mistake. That is what caused Sasaki to blindside Ueno, steal the title belt and promise to humiliate him even further. The last month has seen Ueno chasing after Sasaki only to see him get away with the belt time and time again. Their last confrontation inside a ring ended with Sasaki beating Ueno bloody. What has been a breakout year for Ueno has since turned sour and could take a turn for the worse if he can’t get his title back.
6. KO-D Openweight Title – BLACKOUT Presents: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Talk about a deal paying off big time. Jun Akiyama to DDT could not have worked out any better if I do say so myself. He is now six months into his KO-D Openweight Title reign with three defences under his belt. He has also taken to the player/coach role in Junretsu rather well (just remember Makoto Oishi is the official leader). The likes of Endo, Higuchi, Dieno and HARASHIMA have all failed to beat him. And then there is Konosuke Takeshita. What a journey this guy has been on. He went through two singles losses to Akiyama in back to back months at the end of 2020. Those results made him self reflect. For the first time he began to question the DDT style he so proudly represented. Things had to change in 2021.
But does it, really? When this year began, Takeshita’s Sauna Club with his friends turned into The 37KAMIINA. What followed has been a year of hot matches and aurora skies. He took a sabbatical to AEW in April, winning over a new audience of fans abroad by being himself and wrestling how he always does. When he returned, success came his way in the tag team division with his sauna buddies. He and Ueno successfully represented DDT against NOAH at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021”, he and Katsumata won the first Ultimate Tag League and then followed it up by winning the KO-D Tag Team Titles. To cap it all off Takeshita rose even further back to the top by winning the King Of DDT tournament. His redemption is almost complete. All that is left to do is finally beat Akiyama one on one.
Easier said than done, right? There’s also one other thing that makes it that little bit more difficult. Kenta Kobashi will be at the show as a special guest to witness the main event. Everytime Kobashi has played this role for a Jun Akiyama singles match, Akiyama has won. Endo learned that the hard way back in “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” back in February. Akiyama’s previous two victories over Takeshita have both been by submission as well. It’s all well and good to make it three submissions in a row but Akiyama doesn’t care for that kind of stuff. If he has to win by pinfall then so be it. This is the man who comes from King’s Road. He learned that the Giant Baba style has all the right answers for pro wrestling. That is why he is the champion! Takeshita wants to prove there is no correct answer for pro wrestling that applies to everybody. The DDT style he proudly represents can be just as effective for him as King’s Road is for Akiyama. If this match is the end of his journey, we’ll find out which answer is the right one.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2021”, 15/08/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 529 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Mizuki Watase Return Match: Hideki Okatani defeated Mizuki Watase with the Double Arm Suplex (8:08).
2. Chris Brookes, Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamura defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata when Brookes submitted Hirata with the Octopus Stretch (0:22).
2a. Rematch: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata defeated Chris Brookes, Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamura when Hirata pinned Nakamura witha School Boy (9:27).
3. Kininashi Wanaru ~The Universe In My Head~ Match: Dorago (Yukio Naya) & Haka (Yuki Iino) defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Shiro Koshinaka when Haka pinned Takagi with the Spear (10:14).
4. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuya Koroku when Takao pinned Koroku with the Gin And Tonic (9:10).
5. Yuki Ueno & Akito defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie when Akito pinned Paulie with an Ankle Package Hold (12:17).
6. DDT Extreme Title – Hardcore Judo Match: Shinya Aoki (c) (2) defeated MAO (1).
6a. Judo Rules: MAO (1) defeated Shinya Aoki (0) by Ippon (1:23).
6b. Hardcore Rules: Shinya Aoki (1) defeated MAO (1) with a European Clutch (6:25).
6c. Hardcore Judo Rules: Shinya Aoki (2) defeated MAO (1) by Table Crash (5:41). *V1 for Shinya Aoki.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata (c) defeated Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada when Katsumata pinned Okada with the Firebird Splash (20:33). *V1 for The 37KAMIINA.
It’s one week until “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021” but there was still some business for DDT to tend too. For the main event the ring canvas was removed to show a brand new blue rimmed canvas underneath. The 37KAMIINA and Junretsu were the first to wrestle on it with the KO-D Tag Team Titles on the line. Jun Akiyama dealt with Konosuke Takeshita and created a 2-on-1 situation for his side. Akiyama threw Shunma Katsumata with an Exploder Suplex and Yusuke Okada hit a Diving Headbutt for a nearfall. Takeshita made it back in to break the count and even the odds. He blocked Okada’s Tornado DDT and lifted him up for a Braibuster. Then Katsumata jumped in to hit the MADMAX but Akiyama broke the pin. Takeshita held Akiyama back while Katsumata finished Okada off with the Firebird Splash.
After the match Takeshita pointed at the KO-D Openweight Title resting on Akiyama’s shoulder. They bumped fists to so there is no bad blood heading into their title match and Junretsu left. Katsumata then celebrated his team making their first title defence. Takeshita thanked him for his hard work winning them the match today and giving them momentum heading into “WRESTLE PETER PAN”.
The Hardcore Judo match for the DDT Extreme Title turned out to be a Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls contest. In the 1st fall Shinya Aoki and MAO had to have a regular judo match inside the ring. They both grappled and threw each other to the ground. At first Daisuke Kiso gave the point to Aoki but after consulting with judges outside the ring it was decided that MAO scored the Ippon instead. The 2nd fall was a Hardcore Match so both participants took off their judo jackets and brought out the weapons. After a violent back and forth, Aoki caught MAO in the European Clutch to get the three count. The final fall was Hardcore Judo rules, a Judo fight with weapons! They fought up the turnbuckles and Aoki threw MAO through a table below to score Ippon and win the match!
After the match Kazuki Hirata entered the ring in his full entrance costume. Aoki immediately threw a chair at him. Hirata calmed him down and respectfully challenged him for the Extreme Title. He explained it is great to win exciting matches against opponents you don’t know if you can beat. However it is also great to defend against opponents you can easily beat, like him! In a normal match Aoki Vs Hirata is heavily one-sided but Aoki can create a rule that can allow even the weakest wrestler to win! Aoki answered no. Hirata then threatened to quit DDT and without him there won’t be anybody backstage to do all the dirty work that keeps the show running. Aoki laughed and accepted the challenge. Hisaya Imabayashi decided the match will take place in Nishitetsu Hall on 12th September.
Daisuke Sasaki came back from quarantine with the stolen DDT Universal Title and quickly made a beeline for Yuki Ueno. As the match went on, Sasaki struck Ueno in the head with the belt and busted him open. While Sasaki continued beating up Ueno at ringside, Akito rolled up Mad Paulie to win the match. But that wasn’t the focus as Sasaki threw Ueno into the ring post and continued to beat him bloody. Sasaki even ambushed Ueno again backstage during the post-match interview. His message is loud and clear. Daisuke Sasaki is back!
Eruption faced DAMNATION is another warm up bout for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. Soma Takao threw his belt down in front of Yukio Sakaguchi to annoy him. Yuji Hino blocked the God’s Right Knee but was bashed by Kazusada Higuchi. Higuchi was then wiped out by Tetsuya Endo’s Sasuke Special No. 1. Yuya Koroku tagged in to take the glory but Takao ended up beating him with the Gin And Tonic. Takao threw his title belt again, provoking Sakaguchi into fighting him. Meanwhile Higuchi and Endo butted heads. Saki Akai then entered the ring where Hino stood before here. Hino teased throwing a chop but relaxed and told Akai to go home. Akai slapped him across the face in response. The situation calmed down after that and both sides separated.
The Kininashi Wanaru match had a specific goal to achieve. The hosts of the TV show created their own characters for Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya to play. They also made 100 T-shirts for the gimmicks and wanted to sell all of them. In fact, the hosts were more concerned with selling the shirts than watching the match. Drago was Naya wearing a Riki Choshu mask while Haka was Iino wearing a Sanshiro Takagi mask. That one caught the real Takagi by surprise. They wrestled under the masks at first but they eventually got removed. Shiro Koshinaka did his thing while reminding everyone he is 62 years old. Takagi had Haka beat but Danshoku Dieno suddenly appeared and pulled Yukinori Matsui out of the ring mid pinfall. Takagi gave Dieno the Stunner and placed him over the turnbuckles with his backside hanging out. Unfortunately Takagi himself was sent face first into Dieno’s butt and then Iino pinned him with the Spear.
Hirata’s appearance earlier in the show quickly ended when he submitted to Chris Brookes. Everyone agreed to an immediate rematch and Brookes instantly put Hirata in the Octopus Stretch again. This time Toru Owashi broke the hold. Naomi Yoshimura cleaned house until Hirata pleaded to be tagged back in. Antonio Honda brought the match to a halt with Gongitsune that was also charged by Dieno’s backside. Keigo Nakamura also got charged up when he was thrown head first into Dieno. His charged head gave everyone electric shocks but Hirata guided him to collide with Honda and then rolled him up for the three count. Hirata promised to win his part of the Double Ring Double Single Match and be crowned the king of the 2nd match on the card!
After a long absence due to injury, Mizuki Watase returned to the ring for his first wrestling match in six months. His opponent was his Junretsu teammate Hideki Okatani. The match showed just how much Okatani has progressed while Watase was gone. Watase still put up a fight but he was done when Okatani countered the Back Drop into a Bulldog Headlock. Okatani then got the pin with the Double Arm Suplex. The two shook hands after the match. Watase was disappointed to lose against a younger and less experienced wrestler. But he also understands while he was gone for six months, Okatani was training with Akiyama during that same time period. Watase has to start again from scratch but at least he too will have Akiyama guiding him.
DDT is now sponsored by Japan Bakery Marketing and they get a prime advertising spot on the neutral corner pads. The company producer Takuya Kishimoto appeared with Takagi to pose with some bread. The deal came together when Takagi met with Kishimoto at a recent Rojo Pro Wrestling event that DDT put together. Kishimoto said he became hooked with wrestling and feels the same happiness he gets from eating bread.
Kenta Kobashi will appear at “WRESTLE PETER PAN” to observe the KO-D Title match between Akiyama and Takeshita.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2021 TOUR IN IWATE”, 09/08/2021 Iwate Education Center Multipurpose Hall (Morioka City) 150 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Chris Brookes defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga with the Octopus Stretch (7:19).
2. 3 Way Match: Toru Owashi defeated Antonio Honda and Saki Akai when Owashi pinned Hona with La Magistral Cradle (9:27).
3. Kazusada Higuchi, Danshoku Dieno & Akito defeated HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata when Higuchi submitted Hirata with the Brain Claw (0:53).
3a. Rematch: Kazusada Higuchi, Danshoku Dieno & Akito defeated HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Kazuki Hirata when Akito submitted Hirata with the Ou Mountains (11:13).
4. Soma Takao & Yuji Hino defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yukio Naya when Hino pinned Naya with the Fuckin’ BOMB (9:03).
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION!: Yuki Ueno & MAO defeated Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie when Ueno pinned Paulie with the BME (13:46).
6. Morioka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura defeated Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Hideki Okatani when Nakamura pinned Okatani with a Jackknife Pine (20:25).
Every dog has his day. Today’s that day and Keigo Nakamura is that dog. Today was his first homecoming show and he wanted to fight Jun Akiyama straight away. Akiyama had some fun by keeping score of all his points for every hold he used until he tagged out. Junretsu kept getting the upper hand on Nakamura. Yusuke Okada Superplexed him and Akiyama got in his knee strike. Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata were able to break pins and keep the match alive. Then when Hideki Okatani tried to set up the Northern Lights Suplex, Nakamura countered him with a Headbutt and used a Jackknife Pin to get the upset win! Both Takeshita & Katsumata praised Nakamura for winning the main event for them. Nakamura promised he will win a singles title someday and wrestle in Morioka as the champion!
Daisuke Sasaki wasn’t at the show today so Yuki Ueno couldn’t get the DDT Universal Title back. However Mad Paulie brought out a homemade cardboard Universal Title to taunt the champion with. Tetsuya Endo even used it to hit Ueno with a belt shot! In the end Ueno beat Paulie with the BME and took the cardboard title from him. Backstage Ueno called the fake title worthless garbage. That is a perfect representation of Sasaki. He then tore the belt apart.
Yukio Sakaguchi and Soma Takao kept fighting outside the ring after their match ended. Takao came out on top when he hit Sakaguchi with his KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title belt.
The Ou Mountains used by Akito to win his match is a Standing Anklelock applied while the victim Kazuki Hirata was planted face first into Danshoku Dieno’s backside. Kazusada Higuchi also applied the Claw to Dieno’s crotch to charge more power to the move somehow.
DDT “BEER GARDEN-LIKE PRO WRESTLING 2021 DAY 3”, 01/08/2021 Shinjuku FACE 223 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
0. Special Under Match – Ultimate Vs Supreme: Tetsuya Koda defeated Hisaya Imabayashi by TKO with the Sleeper Hold (11:57).
1. Yukio Naya & Yuki Iino defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Yuya Koroku when Iino pinned Koroku with a Lariat (9:35).
2. Playfulness Series Act 3: Danshoku Dieno Vs Hideki Okatani ended in a No Contest (5:19).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Akito & Yusuke Okada defeated Soma Takao, Yuji Hino & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the God’s Right Knee (8:17).
4. Rock & Roll 5 Way Death Match: A.YAZAWA defeated HARASHIMA, Saki Akai, Mad Paulie and Kazuki Hirata when YAZAWA pinned Hirata with a School Boy (14:17).
5. Shunma Katsumata & MAO defeated Chris Brookes & Keigo Nakamura when MAO pinned Nakamura after the MADMAX (14:45).
6. The Annual Tradition! Customer Lottery Match: Jun Akiyama, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo defeated Yuki Ueno, Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura when Endo pinned Yoshimura with the Shooting Star Press (21:26).
Beer Garden 2021 came to a close with the usual end to DDT’s tradition, a Fan Lottery 6-Man Tag Match. Members of the audience randomly picked the spots for each team and we ended up with Jun Akiyama, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo all on the same side. Any visual sign of tension disappeared when Endo came out dressed in his old wrestling gear and encouraged the others to reform Happy Motels for one night. Akiyama had to play the role of Antonio Honda in this case. The opposing team was Yuki Ueno, Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura. All of them came from the DNA generation so they paid tribute to the old brand by wearing DNA shirts and walking out to the DNA theme song. Akiyama played the part of Honda well by tripping onto his knee and doing the Bionic Elbow with his partners. The three of them worked so well they won the match with Endo getting the pin on Yoshimura.
After the match Endo said Beer Garden is all about having fun so he encouraged Akiyama and Takeshita to let go of their rivalry for the day. He also apologised to Takeshita for cheap shotting him at last year’s Beer Garden finale. Takeshita and Akiyama both agreed to get along but things will go back to normal when they fight each other for the KO-D Tag Team Titles on 15th August and the KO-D Openweight Title on the 21st. Endo also promoted his DAMNATION team defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on that day too. They all raised their hands together to end the show… and then Endo Headbutted Takeshita. Endo stormed off backstage and stripped out of his old costume embarrassed that he had to act so nice towards Akiyama & Takeshita today.
Chris Brookes didn’t want to team with Keigo Nakamura so he purposely joined the other team to make it a 3 Vs 1 Handicap match. Brookes entered the ring with The 37KAMIINA but Nakamura begged him to team up as planned. Brookes agreed to do it but still helped Shunma Katsumata & MAO do some triple team spots. Brookes eventually took the match seriously but it wasn’t enough for them to win. Katsumata & MAO hit the Power Bomb/Blockbuster version of MADMAX (apparently any double team move involving Katsumata jumping off the top rope is called the MADMAX) on Nakamura to get the win. Afterwards Katsumata told MAO he found out Jun Kasai’s weakness. He doesn’t like stepping on Lego so they’re going to use them against him at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2021”!
Daisuke Sasaki was pulled from the show on short notice because he might have been in close contact with somebody who recently tested positive for the Coronavirus. The Drunk Match was cancelled and HARASHIMA was moved over to the Rock & Roll Death Match. There was another replacement as Antonio Honda suffered from love sickness and had to be replaced by A.YAZAWA in a rare appearance. Everyone in the match got drunk and danced whenever music played. YAZAWA and Saki Akai did karaoke. A recording of Shuji Ishikawa singing caused Mad Paulie to dance. Everyone fell asleep until Swan Lake played and they all did ballet together. YAZAWA then rolled over Kazuki Hirata to win the match.
Eruption once again got the better of DAMNATION once again in their latest preview match, this time with Yusuke Okada teaming with them. Yuji Hino was already drinking and decided to wrestle in his normal clothing. When he put Akito in a Sleeper Hold he flipped off the rest of his opponents. Eventually he got drunk and when he went to do the Diving Body Press off the top rope, he landed on Nobuhiro Shimatani instead of Yukio Sakaguchi. Hino needed Soma Takao’s help to get out of the ring and while that happened, Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the God’s Right Knee.
An accidental bump of heads between Danshoku Dieno and Hideki Okatani during the opening of the show led to them swapping bodies before their match. Dieno walked out wearing Okatani’s gear while Okatani ran out in Dieno’s costume acting just like him. Another clash of heads seemed to turn them back to normal. Dieno was himself again and he chased after Daisuke Kiso. However Okatani didn’t change and he got his hands on Yukinori Matsui. That officials had to call of the match as things got out of hand.
Sanshiro Takagi paid a lot of cash to repair the Dramatic Dream so he is going to get his money’s worth! He brought it out for the opening match, crashed into the combined centaur form of Yukio Naya & Yuki Iino and then crashed into his own partner Yuya Koroku. Iino then hit a Lariat on Koroku to take the win for his team.
The most important match of the week, nay, the month took place in the pre-show. It was the DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi against the Tokyo Joshi Pro GM Tetsuya Koda in the latest chapter of their never ending one sided rivalry. Imabayashi was spurned on by phonecalls of his increasingly disgruntled wife while Koda showed a more evil side to his wrestling abilities. Sadly for Imabayashi he fell to the Sleeper Hold and as a result won’t be welcomed back home by his family.
Midway through the show, Dieno & Iino confronted Imabayashi demanding to be made into a full time tag team. They kept coming up with sexual innuendos for team names like Osu Academy, The Wizard Of Osu and Will Osupreay. Imabayashi told them he will agree to their demand once they come up with a better tag team name.
Earlier today on the Ganbare☆Pro show, Yuna Manase made it known that she wants a match against Saki Akai. She crashed the DDT show along with Ken Ohka to challenge Akai directly. It is a match she wanted to have at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2021” and when that never happened it’s been bothering her ever since. Akai accepted the challenge and wants the match to happen in Fukuoka on 12th September. Manase said Ganpro already has a show in Itabashi that day but Ohka encouraged her to go do it. Manase offered to shake hands but Akai left her hanging.
Voice actor Tetsu Inada will be making appearances at the Hiragana Muscle shows in September.
DDT “BEER GARDEN-LIKE PRO WRESTLING 2021 DAY 2”, 31/07/2021 Shinjuku FACE 219 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Soma Takao defeated Keigo Nakamura with the Perfect Driver (5:37).
2. 3 Way Match: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Naya Vs Naomi Yoshimura ended in a Time Limit Draw (5:00).
2a. Sumo Battle: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya and Naomi Yoshimura.
2a1. Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi by Hataki-komi.
2a2. Naomi Yoshimura defeated Yukio Naya by Uwatenage.
2a3. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Naomi Yoshimura by Yorikiri.
2a4. Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yukio Naya by Oshidashi.
3. Daisuke Sasaki, Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie defeated Chris Brookes, Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda when Paulie pinned Honda with the Reverse Splash (9:57).
4. Tetsuya Endo Produce Match ~ CyberFight Concurso – DDT Novice Championship: Tetsuya Endo & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Seiya Morohashi & Gorgeous Matsuno when Endo pinned Matsuno with a Cradle (0:34).
4a. Rematch: Tetsuya Endo & Hiroshi Yamato Vs Seiya Morohashi & Gorgeous Matsuno ended in a No Contest (6:09). *Hisaya Imabayashi wins the CyberFight Concurso Championship by Audience Judgement.
5. Makoto Oishi Produce Match ~ Our Youth: Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Hideki Okatani defeated MEN’S Teioh, Shiori Asahi & Yuya Koroku when Okada pinned Koroku with the Sudden Death (14:17).
6. Shunma Katsumata Produce – Hardcore 4 Way Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata and MAO when Takeshita pinned Katsumata with a Rolling Cradle (19:26).
Day 2 of Beer Garden had The 37KAMIINA all face each other in a Hardcore 4 Way Match. Tables, ladders and chairs were placed around the ring for them to use but each wrestler brought out their own weapons too. MAO brought out a massage gun and homemade shield, Yuki Ueno had training equipment, Konosuke Takeshita had a bat covered in toy blocks and Shunma Katsumata had a plastic box full of toy blocks inside. Since this match was put together by Katsumata he asked the others to join him in a chair duel. They did so but the other three later put Katsumata through a table. MAO also put Ueno through a plastic box and chairs with an Avalanche Package Piledriver. Katsumata threw his boxes at everyone and filled the ring with toy blocks. He gave Takeshita a Hurricanrana onto the pile but Takeshita continued the momentum and rolled his opponent into a pinning combination for the win. After the match Katsumata had to call the rest of the unit back into the ring so they could close out the show together. He asked each of them what they thought of the match but cut off every answer so he could say how awesome he is. He then listed all of the championships The 37KAMIINA are fighting for next month. They will become the central stove of DDT and will turn the company into a sauna!
Makoto Oishi was in attendance to watch Junretsu face MEN’S Club in his produce match. Yusuke Okada won the match in Oishi’s place but Oishi insists he is not his substitute. Despite that, he gives his support to Okada to win the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Jun Akiyama next month. He also wants to book Akiyama versus MEN’S Teioh in a singles match after their first time meeting today. Both Akiyama and Teioh joked that Oishi shouldn’t be booking singles matches between two wrestlers over 50.
The CyberFight Concurso was a chance for DDT’s bodybuilders to strut their stuff in their underwear. That idea was almost ruined when Tetsuya Endo pinned Gorgeous Matsuno in under a minute. Hisaya Imabayashi told Endo to restart the match because Matsuno is his dad’s friend. The match began again, they repeated the spot and this time Matsuno kicked out. However Matsuno then gave Low Blows to everyone in the ring, causing the match to get thrown out. A winner had to be determined so everyone decided on a pose off. They also forced Imabayashi to take part in it. The audience voted for the winner and they chose Imabayashi!
DAMNATION met their mirror opposites when Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Super Sasadango Machine showed up as IyasareNATION! Brookes was Chrisma Brookes, Honda was Mad Anton and Sasadango was Yoshihiro Hino. That last one made Yuji Hino laugh. In a reversal, Mad Paulie took Honda’s comedy spot and told his own Gongitsune joke through grunts. He also got the pin on Honda to win in the end.
The 3 Way Match ended in a 5 minute draw so Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya and Naomi Yoshimura decided on a sumo tournament to settle on a winner. Higuchi was the first person to win twice in a row so he was determined the winner.
Every now and then Soma Takao reminds everyone he is influenced by CIMA. He did it here by beating Keigo Nakamura with the Perfect Driver.
DDT “BEER GARDEN-LIKE PRO WRESTLING 2021 DAY 1”, 30/07/2021 Shinjuku FACE 186 Fans – No Vacancy
1. MAO & Yukio Naya defeated Akito & Gota Ihashi when Naya submitted Ihashi with the Naya Link E (9:15).
2. Texas Tornado Charinco Death Match: Sanshiro Takagi defeated SHINGO with the Dramatic Dream Twister (10:31).
3. Saki Akai Produce Match: Kazusada Clark, Yukio Ochanomizu & Saki Akamon defeated Regent Hirata, Yuko Kamisori & One Punch Nakamura when Clark pinned Kamisori with a Lariat (11:35).
4. Danshoku Dieno Produce Match – Kaidan Shin Numabukuro Death Match ~Showa, Heisei, Reiwa Are Also A Classic!~: Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine & Yuki Ueno defeated Shinigami after they moved his heart (4:43).
5. HARASHIMA Produce Match – DISASTER BOX Vs Ganpro!: Shuichiro Katsumura & Keisuke Ishii defeated HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura when Katsumura submitted Yoshimura with the Ninja Choke (17:28).
6. Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Yuya Koroku when Okatani submitted Koroku with a Crab Hold (22:18).
Summertime means it’s time for DDT to go back to the beer garden. Normally the headline match goes to one of the wrestler self-produced matches but this year the Day 1 spotlight was given to Hideki Okatani and Yuya Koroku. The tag match also involved Konosuke Takeshita and Chris Brookes but the final moments came down to the youngsters. Okatani got the better of Koroku in a duel of Elbow Strikes and almost won with a Running Elbow Smash. He had to make Koroku give up to a Crab Hold to get the win in the end. Okatani got to give the show closing speech. He wants to win his matches on all the Beer Garden shows this year.
The visiting Ganbare☆Pro team were victorious over DISASTER BOX. Even they were surprised by the result! While HARASHIMA and Keisuke Ishii kicked each other back and forth on the ring apron, Naomi Yoshimura tangled with Shuichiro Katsumura in the ring. Katsumura caught his opponent’s Lariat and countered it into the Ninja Choke. He kept the move locked in until the referee stopped the match in his favour. HARASHIMA took the loss well and along with Yoshimura shook hands with his opponents after the match.
The annual ghost story from Hisaya Imabayashi almost never took place. First a delay was announced because everyone involved in the match was caught in a traffic accident on the way to the venue. Imabayashi arrived in a hurry and explained to everyone they crashed into a dump truck. He wasn’t hurt in the accident but the four wrestlers were all sent to the hospital in an unconscious state. He broke down and cried in the ring until suddenly Toru Owashi, Danshoku Dieno, Super Sasadango Machine and Yuki Ueno all climbed into the ring and began wrestling their match. However nobody at ringside was reacting to them, leaving the wrestlers feeling confused. All of a sudden, a Shinigami appeared and told the wrestlers they all died in the traffic accident earlier due to Sasadango’s bad driving. Their souls made it to Shinjuku FACE because it was their duty to still wrestle but the time had come for him to take their souls to the afterlife. The wrestlers begged for their lives and struck a deal with the Shinigami. He would bring them back to life for five minutes so they could wrestle their last match. They were revived, giving Yukinori Matsui a big shock, and they went straight into the 4 Way. But there was a twist from Shinigami. He would spare the winner of the match and only take the souls of the losers! Ueno ended up winning the match by making Sasadango tap out to a Sleeper Hold. However Ueno offered to sacrifice himself to Shinigami in order to spare the other three. Each of the wrestlers all did the same until Shinigami got annoyed and decided to revive all of them. The wrestlers celebrated until Imabayashi tried to scare them all with the evil point he always does during his ghost stories. But nothing happened. They didn’t even notice him. Imabayashi was confused until the Shinigami tapped on his shoulder and told him it was time for them to leave. That was when Imabayashi realized he was dead all along. The room went dark and then “Wild Thing” played.
It was a bunch of family fortunes in Match #3. The relatives of six DDT wrestlers were gathered together for a 6-Man Tag Match. One team was made up of well behaved high school students: Kazusada Clark, Yukio Ochanomizu & Saki Akamon. Their opponents Regent Hirata, Yuko Kamisori & One Punch Nakamura were all delinquents. Hirata bullied Ochanomizu for his money. Ochanomizu offered him his lunch bread instead but Hirata slapped it away. They continued to bully the students until they stripped off Ochanomizu’s jacket to discover his body was covered in tattoos. The tables turned anf Ochanomizu led his team to fight back against the bullies. Clark confessed his love for Kamisori after the match and they kissed in the ring.
Bicycles were legal when Sanshiro Takagi went to war with wrestler/cyclist SHINGO. First SHINGO cycled out in his full costume then Takagi appeared with the revived and upgraded Dramatic Dream! SHINGO asked for his legs to not be targeted because he has a race next week but his pleas were ignored as Takagi attacked them. They soon brought their bikes into the ring and cycled into each other. SHINGO got the upper hand at first but Takagi eventually lifted both him and his bicycle high in the air for an Argentine Backbreaker. Takagi then attached a drill to the Dramatic Dream and used it to smash a plastic box into SHINGO. Takagi then finished him off with the Dramatic Dream Twister. He praised SHINGO and his trainers at HEAT-UP for a great performance after the match.
MAO & Yukio Naya were a well oiled machine together against Akito & Gota Ihashi. Naya Choke Slammed Akito onto his partner and then put Ihashi in a Cobra Twist. MAO made the letter E with his body and climbed on top of them to add more pressure to the hold, causing Ihashi to give up.
DDT “DAMNATION ILLEGAL ASSEMBLY RETURNS VOL. 4”, 26/07/2021 Shinjuku FACE 193 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Choun-Shiryu defeated Darkunesu K with the Chinese Bombs Away (7:35).
2. Hiroshi Yamato defeated Kikutaro with a School Boy (6:54).
3. Tetsuya Endo defeated Leo Isaka with the Shooting Star Press (12:15).
4. Shigehiro Irie & Daiki Shimomura defeated Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Shimomura pinned Shimatani with an Inside Cradle (14:35).
5. Mad Paulie’s Five Years And A Few Months After His Birth Anniversary Match: Kohei Sato, Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie defeated Kengo Mashimo, Masashi Takeda & Keizo Matsuda when Paulie pinned Matsuda with the Reverse Splash (16:36).
6. MONDAY NIGHT WAR: Minoru Fujita defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the Modified Tombstone Piledriver (24:32).
A first time singles match turned out to be no fun and games at all. Minoru Fujita walked out fully representing his Fujita Pro Wrestling☆School and also had the Super Asia Title from Gatoh Move. Meanwhile Daisuke Sasaki came out still carrying the stolen DDT Universal Title. The atmosphere quickly turned sour when Sasaki ignored Fujita’s offer for a handshake. A furious Fujita then said he would kill Sasaki and went to poke his eyes out. Sasaki fought back by biting his fingers. The struggle and dirty fighting continued throughout and Sasaki became motivated enough to wrestle with his shirt off. He used Yukinori Matsui as a shield at one point but Fujita cut him off on top of the turnbuckles. From there Fujita hit an Avalanche Tombstone for a nearfall. He hit another Tombstone as a counter to La Mistica for another two count. Fujita had to do the Somato and then the “Sayonara” version of the Tombstone to finally put Sasaki down for the three count.
Fujita called his victory over Sasaki a miracle. It is a win he will talk about for the rest of his life. He will carry the achievement with him until his retirement, which will happened somewhere between 4 to 50 years from now. Sasaki complained about Fujita ruining the show. Sasaki was supposed to beat him but he was too strong. Sasaki promised to get stronger and win in the rematch. Fujita then cut him off and said they will never wrestle each other again. Sasaki accepted that and asked to be a teacher in the Fujita Pro Wrestling☆School instead. He then told the fans today was supposed to be Sasaki beating Fujita on the road to winning the Universal Title from Yuki Ueno and then he couldn’t be called a thief anymore. At least the audience had more fun here than at the Olympics today so that cheered him up a little.
Mad Paulie got some spotlight by winning his 5th Anniversary match. He was asked to comment backstage and simply grunted “Arigatou!”
Match #4 was a double reunion of sorts. Soma Takao and Shigehiro Irie were both in the Team Dream Futures stable. Daiki Shimomura & Nobuhiro Shimatani used to team together as Gran MilliMeters in DNA. Shimatani took the fall against his former partner but declared today is the beginning of Chapter 3 of his life as a freelancer. Sasaki asked what happened to Chapter 2 and Nobu told him it already came and went.
Tetsuya Endo had wanted to face Leo Isaka for a while now but DDT were never able to put it together. Endo had to take things into his own hands and book the match at a DAMNATION show like this one. Isaka does the Shooting Star Press because he first saw Endo do the move. He got the chance to use it here but Endo dodged it and later hit his version to win. When Sasaki found out Isaka is like a 22 year old version of Endo, he thought about bringing him in as a replacement. He’ll fire Endo when he turns 30 next month and bring in Isaka to be the new Endo.
There were plenty of antics when Hiroshi Yamato fought Kikutaro. A lot of them had Matsui involuntarily involved. During a mix up, Kikutaro tried pinning Matsui with a Small Package. When nothing happened, Yamato rolled Kikutaro over with a School Boy to get the win.
The risk of darkness surrounding the world has been averted for now. At least it is here, I mean. Choun-Shiryu defeated Darkunesu K with the aid of a cone bar. The evil version of Keigo Nakamura was a bit of a nuisance but nothing that Shiryu couldn’t handle in the end.