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.


GANBARE☆WRESTLING “DREAMING I WAS DREAMING 2018” Results

April 29, 2018

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “DREAMING I WAS DREAMING 2018”, 28/04/2018
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
156 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Waiting Room And Backstage Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Match: Chikara defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Gota Ihashi and Yukihiro Abe when Chikara pinned Ihashi with the Saber Chop from the Ladder (11:09).
2. HARUKAZE, Triumphant Return From A Family Trip: Saki defeated HARUKAZE with the Kawaii Knee Drop (7:33).
3. Ganpuro Family Vs Katsumura-gun: Shuichiro Katsumura & Black Ribera defeated Shinichiro Tominaga & Katsumi Oribe when Katsumura submitted Tominaga with the Ninja Choke (16:02).
4. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii defeated Ken Ohka (c) with the Kneel Kick (14:27).
*Ken Ohka fails in V1. Keisuke Ishii becomes the 27th Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Champion!
5. Fanfare For The Imanari Revolution: Yumehito Imanari defeated Takeshi Okada with a Clothesline (11:13).

This show marks five years of Ganbare☆Wrestling. The promotion has always been about Ken Ohka first and foremost but Yumehito Imanari now takes offence to that. When the show began Imanari asked Ohka why does he always get the main event? Why does Ohka get to be the face of Ganpuro? Imanari asked if Ohka ever tweeted from the official Ganpuro account. He then asked if Ohka even knows the account’s password. Ohka stayed silent. If Ohka doesn’t know the password then he doesn’t deserve to be the face of Ganpuro. Today is the beginning of the Imanari Revolution! Ohka defended himself and said as the face of Ganpuro and the reigning Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Champion he had to be in today’s main event. The ring announcer proved him wrong when he revealed the match order that had Imanari Vs Takeshi Okada in the main event and Ohka’s title defence underneath.

In the main event Imanari was accompanied by Yukihiro Abe carrying homemade flags with “Imanari Revolution” written on it. With a new wave of confidence, Imanari took the fight to Okada. He dropped him with the Northern Lights Bomb and hit Clothesline after Clothesline from all directions until Okada could not kick out of the pins any longer. Okada protested that he raised his shoulder up in time but the result stood. As part of their agreement before the match, Okada now has to give the LINE ID address of the cute woman who cuts his hair to Imanari. Imanari also wants to challenge Shuichiro Katsumura to a one on one match next month. Katsumura approves of Imanari grabbing momentum when it comes to him but that doesn’t mean his skill has grown also. His revolution won’t succeed without strength. With that said, Katsumura accepted the challenge. Imanari closed the show by playing “BAD COMMUNICATION”. The song is the tune for Ganpuro as well as Ohka. Ohka and Imanari had another argument after the show over who should be the face of Ganpuro. Ohka also wants to know what their Twitter password is.

Ohka’s day went from bad to worse when he lost his championship to Keisuke Ishii. Ohka quickly went for the Brainbuster on the outside but Ishii reversed it. Ohka later went for the Fire Spear but it was countered with a Front Knee Kick. Ohka came back with a short range Spear. Ishii turned the tables by countering a Kido Clutch into a Tiger Suplex. He then hit the Kneel Kick for the three count. Ishii was so happy to win a title that he’s dreamed of ever since he was a trainee. He told Ohka if any Ganpuro wrestler ever wants to challenge him for the title he will accept it.

Shuichiro Katsumura kicked Shinichiro Tominaga in the face so many times during their tag match that Tominaga begged him to stop. He said that he needed to help with his daughter’s spring break homework but it was just a distraction so he could push Katsumura into the referee. Tominaga went for the Erotic Driver but Katsumura turned it into the Ninja Choke and quickly made him give up.

Saki refused to shake HARUKAZE’s hand at the start of their match because HARUKAZE missed last month’s show. They were supposed to face each other last month but HARUKAZE missed it to go on a family trip to Dubai. They had a conversation about her vacation while they wrestled.

Everyone in the Falls Count Anywhere Match came armed with a weapon. Sanshiro Takagi had bottle rockets, Gota Ihashi wore boxing gloves and Chikara brought out a ladder. Takagi also brought out a bag of erotic magazines and forced them onto his opponent’s faces until Yukihiro Abe stopped him with an Enzuigiri. Abe and Ihashi then gave Takagi the Golden☆Trigger. Chikara spun around with the ladder on his shoulders to knock everyone down then hit the Saber Chop from the ladder to Ihashi for the win.

Shuhei Washida came out at the start of the show and said he is out of action with a herniated disc. He regrets getting injured so soon into his career with only four matches under his belt. He hopes he will be back soon.


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.


DDT “DDT MUSIC! 2018” Results

April 15, 2018

DDT “DDT MUSIC! 2018”, 15/04/2018
Osaka City Yodogawa Citizen Center
360 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Akito, Shunma Katsumata, Saki Akai & Yuni when Hirata pinned Yuni with the One Shot Miracle Cradle (9:18).
2. Kazusada Higuchi & Keisuke Ishii defeated Soma Takao & Daiki Shimomura when Ishii pinned Shimomura with an Elevated Half Crab (9:53).
3. Naniwa 2 Big Single Match: Naomi Yoshimura defeated Mizuki Watase with the Throwaway Power Bomb (10:37).
4. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi defeated Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Oishi pinned Shimatani with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (12:05).
5. Naniwa 2 Big Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Mad Paulie with the Somato (7:08).
6. Tomorrow Is Good! Osaka Specialty 4 Way Match: Shigehiro Irie defeated Konosuke Takeshita, KUDO and Daisuke Sasaki when Irie pinned Sasaki with the Beast Bomber (12:57).
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Be Legend Presents: Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koju Takeda (c) defeated Kouki Iwasaki, Mike Bailey & MAO when Ueno pinned Bailey with the Frog Splash (19:34).
*V1 for Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koju Takeda.

The main event title match was entirely an DNA affair. Kota Umeda credited Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda for the victory and he thanked Takeda for coming over from Triple Six to wrestle in DDT and DNA. The team advertised the first DNA show in Osaka that will take place on 16th July.

Both Daisuke Sasaki and KUDO wanted to get in the way of Konosuke Takeshita and Shigehiro Irie’s situation during the 4 Way Match. When Takeshita and Irie did get to fight each other, Irie ended up getting the upper hand. At one point Irie gave Takeshita a Piledriver on top of Sasaki! KUDO missed the Diving Double Knee Drop to Sasaki and both of them were hit by Irie’s Running Cannonball. Irie got the win with the Beast Bomber to Sasaki. He told Takeshita afterwards he will take the KO-D Openweight Title from him by all means necessary on 29th April. Takeshita said he cannot lose the title to somebody who does not love DDT. He promised the Osaka crowd he will return to the city as the champion still.

HARASHIMA had to put up a bigger fight than usual when facing Mad Paulie given Paulie’s current state. Paulie brawled around ringside wearing a collar and leash around his neck. HARASHIMA grabbed the leash and pulled it through the ropes to choke Paulie against the corner post with the collar. Paulie overpowered HARASHIMA with splashes and a Fisherman Buster. But HARASHIMA recovered and knocked out Paulie with the Somato to win. He called “Red Paulie” strong but HARASHIMA is ready to challenge for the DDT Extreme Title so nobody could stop him today.

Keisuke Ishii is getting ready for a shot at Ken Ohka and the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title. He feels that Ohka has been in bad condition recently and thinks he has calmed down from his “Major Wrestling” push for Ganbare☆Wrestling. In fact, Ishii said Okha has become weak ever since he got married! Ganpuro wrestler and DDT cameraman Yumehito Imanari got into an argument with Ishii over his opinions during his post-match interview.

Kazuki Hirata gave Yuni a Low Blow to set him up for the Miracle Cradle finish. Hirata was thrilled to win a match over the kid. The crowd booed him so he tried to win them back over by dancing. Yuni stopped him with a Hurricanrana and told him they will continue to battle against each other.


Catching Up On The News – The Others

April 14, 2018

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “LET’S GO TO OSAKA IN THE SPRING, TOGETHER WITH YOUR FRIENDS!”, 15/04/2018
Osaka City Yodogawa Citizen Center

1. Hikari Vs Miu
2. Mizuki & Raku Vs Nodoka-oneesan & Hinano
3. Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima Vs Hyper Misao & Priscilla Kelly
4. Saki-sama & Azusa Christie Vs Yuu & Yuki Kamifuku
5. Miyu Yamashita, Reika Saiki & Marika Kobashi Vs Rika Tatsumi, Maho Kurone & Maki Ito

This is the go home show for Korakuen Hall.

BASARA “VAJRA 65 ~FEAST~”, 20/04/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Fuminori Abe Vs Tanomusaku Toba
2. Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi Vs Daichi Kazato
3. Reversal Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Hercules Senga Vs Best Stretchman Amazon
4. FUMA, SAGAT & Yusuke Kubo Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano & Akiyori Takizawa
5. Isami Kodaka, Ryota Nakatsu & Takato Nakano Vs Naoki Tanizaki, Yuki Aoki & Manabu Hara
6. Special Single Match: Minoru Tanaka Vs Ryuichi Sekine

Isami Kodaka will be hosting a celebration party at the show because he now holds five different championships at the same time. The Union MAX Title, the NWA World Jr. Title, the NWA International Jr. Title, the Big Japan Tag Team Title and the STRONGEST-K Tag Team Title.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “DREAMING I WAS DREAMING 2018”, 28/04/2018
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. HARUKAZE, Triumphant Return From A Family Trip: HARUKAZE Vs Saki
2. Ganpuro Family Vs Katsumura-gun: Shinichiro Tominaga & Katsumi Oribe Vs Shuichiro Katsumura & Black Ribera
3. Waiting Room And Backstage Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Match: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yukihiro Abe Vs Chikara
4. Fanfare For The Imanari Revolution: Yumehito Imanari Vs Keisuke Okuda
5. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ken Ohka (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii

What a fall from grace for Sanshiro Takagi. Banished from DDT and immediately gets booked for Ganbare☆Wrestling.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YES! WONDERLAND 2018 ~BREAK MYSELF!~”, 03/05/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

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

Rika Tatsumi is willing to do anything to show she is ready for the main event. She will even cut off her own hair if she has to.

The Miraclians aren’t afraid of any ghosts, zombies or other creatures of the undead.

Hyper Misao discovered pro wrestling through one of DDT’s falls count anywhere matches. Her career has now gone full circle and she faces one of the premier names in Japan for that kind of match, Jun Kasai.

Yuna Manase wrestles for the first time since February after getting a clavicle plate surgically removed from her collarbone.

BASARA “VAJRA 66 ~IT GOES THROUGH TO HEAVENLY HEAVEN~”, 03/05/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Takumi Tsukamoto, Yasu Urano, Daichi Kazato & Gouma Ryu Vs Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi, Trans-Am ★ Tanaka, Trans-Am ★ Shinya & Yusuke Kubo
2. Takato Nakano Vs Manabu Hara
3. Fuminori Abe Vs Masato Tanaka
4. Count Down To Extinction ~ Hardcore Tag Match: FUMA & SAGAT Vs Jun Kasai & Gunso
5. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Return Match: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Osamu Nishimura
6. Cavalry Vs Aikata Tag!: Ryuichi Sekine & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita
7. Union MAX Title & DOVE World Title: Isami Kodaka (U/c) Vs Naoki Tanizaki (D/c)

Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi has peacefully challenged Osamu Nishimura to be his opponent for his comeback match. Nishimura was somebody who used yoga to turn his life around just like Hiroshi is trying to right now. But Nishimura has since broken his abstinence, gotten married and became a politician back in the real world. Hiroshi wants to test Nishimura’s mind and see if a great leader in the yoga world is still in there.

BASARA “VAJRA 67 ~EMBRACING THE AMBITION~”, 06/05/2018
Hokkaido Susukino Mars Gym

1. NWA World Jr. Heavyweight & International Jr. Heavyweight Titles: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Ikuto Hidaka

Naoki Tanizaki, Manabu Hara, Trans-Am ★ Ryuichi, Yasu Urano, Hiroshi Kondo, Akiyori Takizawa and Katsuo will all be on the show.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~” Results

March 25, 2018

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~”, 25/03/2018
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
5,796 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Under Match: Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi & Cherry defeated Mizuki Watase, Rekka, Daiki Shimomura, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Takato Nakano when Paulie pinned Shimatani with the Paulie Buster (7:26).
0. Under Match: Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo defeated Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga when Chikano pinned Tominaga with the Leg Lariat (8:10).
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima defeated Rika Tatsumi & Maho Kurone when Sakazaki pinned Kurone with the Magical Girl Splash (8:45).
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi, Reika Saiki & Lady Beard, Akito & Shunma Katsumata, Antonio Honda & Ethan Page and Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda.
1a. Antonio Honda & Ethan Page eliminated Reika Saiki & Lady Beard by Ring Out when Beard was knocked out by a Missed Saiki Attack (3:26).
1b. Antonio Honda & Ethan Page eliminated Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda by Ring Out when Page knocked Yoshimura out of the ring with a Big Boot (5:01).
1c. Akito & Shunma Katsumata eliminated Antonio Honda & Ethan Page when Katsumata pinned Honda with the Katsumata Guillotine (1:00).
1d. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata eliminated Akito & Shunma Katsumata when Hirata pinned Katsumata with the One Shot Miracle Cradle (2:04).
1e. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata eliminated LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi when Hirata pinned LiLiCo with the One Shot Miracle Cradle (3:20).
2. World Crazy Wrestler No. 1 Decision Battle In DDT: Colt Cabana defeated Joey Ryan with the Billy Goat’s Curse (10:11).
3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match – Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Saki-sama, Yoshiko-sama & Azusa Christie defeated Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Mizuki when Saki-sama pinned Mizuki with the Academy Award (11:55).
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) defeated Jiro Kuroshio with a School Boy (9:12).
*V? for Super Sasadango Machine.
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda defeated KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) when Umeda pinned Sakaguchi with the Umeda Driver (12:28).
*Shuten-dōji fails in V3. Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda become the 33rd KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. Weapon Rumble 5 Way Tag Loser Gets Anal Blast Match: Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa, Yuko Miyamoto & Soma Takao, Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe and Michael Nakazawa & Chinsuke Nakamura when MAO pinned Nakazawa with the Cannonball 450 (17:43).
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Great Muta, Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Ken Ohka when Muta pinned Ishii with the Moonsault (20:09).
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi defeated HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) when Higuchi pinned HARASHIMA with the Goten (17:49).
*HarashiMarufuji fails in V6. Sekiguchi becomes the 63rd KO-D Tag Team Champions!
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Shuji Ishikawa with the German Suplex (23:31).
*V11 for Konosuke Takeshita.

In the main event Konosuke Takeshita defeated Shuji Ishikawa once and for all to continue his dominant KO-D Openweight Title reign. Takeshita took everything that Ishikawa threw at him from the Knee Lifts to the Fire Thunders to the Splash Mountain and survived. He was even put through a table outside the ring with the Fire Thunder from the apron. In return Takeshita fired back with Lariats and German Suplexes until his big rival couldn’t take any more. Takeshita gave him the Cross Arm German Suplex but couldn’t keep his grip for the pin. He was able to reposition himself to give Ishikawa another German Suplex and this time pin him to win.

Takeshita thanked the fans for coming to Sumo Hall. A year and a half ago he defended his title against Ishikawa in this building and lost. Since then the support from the fans kept him going while he grew as a wrestler and a person. Time passes by so quickly but day after day he is still the champion. He loves that DDT is growing while he is becoming stronger. Takeshita then went to climb the turnbuckle and celebrate but he slipped and fell. Everyone laughed including him and the show was over…

…except that wasn’t the ending. When the ring was emptied and the ending music was playing, Shigehiro Irie appeared and climbed into the ring! Irie had disappeared from DDT right at the end of 2017 and was allegedly on another one of his overseas expeditions. This was his first appearance in a DDT ring for 2018. He called for Takeshita to come back out and face him. He congratulated him for the victory then challenged him to a title match. Takeshita said he always knew Irie would come back but is he ready for such a match? Takeshita carried DDT while Irie was gone. Akito entered the stand off and was full of criticism towards Irie. Everyone in DDT has responsibilities and Irie runs away whenever he doesn’t get what he wants. Akito does not accept Irie just coming back and demanding a title match. Irie threatened to shut up Akito and left the ring. Takeshita apologised for letting the argument happen. However his final words were about how he would like to see Akito and Irie settle their differences in the ring.

At last Kazusada Higuchi has taken down HARASHIMA! The KO-D Tag Team Titles changed hands after a back and forth match. Naomichi Marufuji used his strike combos to cut down the opposition as much as he could. HARASHIMA kept Higuchi & Daisuke Sekimoto on edge with the Somato. The final moments of the match were down to HARASHIMA and Higuchi. HARASHIMA hit a Buzzsaw Kick but Higuchi woke up out of it and Headbutted his rival. Higuchi had the win in his sights when he hit the Doctor Bomb but Marufuji broke the pin. Sekimoto German Suplexed Marufuji away and Higuchi finished off HARASHIMA with the Goten to win the titles. Higuchi thanked Sekimoto backstage and said he felt amazing after he finally defeated HARASHIMA. On the other side, Marufuji took the blame for his team’s loss. HARASHIMA said he enjoyed teaming with Marufuji for the last several months. They don’t need the titles to team again but they will stick to messaging each other on LINE for the time being.

The Great Muta entered DDT in an alien looking form to take part in his most bizarre wrestling match since the first time he was in HUSTLE. You know the one I’m talking about. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Ken Ohka and Keisuke Ishii were all there to play second fiddle to Muta and Danshoku Dino locking horns. Dino’s typical moves didn’t work on Muta at first. It wasn’t until Muta accidentally struck his partners with a chair when Dino grabbed him by the crotch again and the action slowly took its effect on the demon. Seeing his chance, Dino set himself up for the Hell Gate on the turnbuckle. Muta was thrown into Dino’s ass but Muta stopped himself and sprayed the Poison Mist into Dino’s ass! However much to everyone’s shock, Dino’s ass sprayed the Mist back into Muta’s face! Ohka hit the Fire Spear on Muta but it wasn’t enough to win. Ohka hit Sasaki & Endo with the Double Fire Spear but Muta was back up giving everyone Dragon Screws. Dino gave Muta and DAMNATION the Lip Lock but Muta stopped him and gave him the Lip Lock right back. Then all three of them spat red Poison Mist at Dino. Endo hit Dino with the Handspring Leg Lariat, Sasaki followed up with a Pedigree and Muta ended the match with the Moonsault. Quite possibly the final Moonsault Muta will ever do. The match was over but Dino had the last word. Dino wants Muta to tell Keiji Muto that this isn’t the end. Dino wants a singles match against either The Great Muta or Keiji Muto!

After intermission Sanshiro Takagi and Hisaya Imabayashi came out for a few big announcements. First, DDT will return to Sumo Hall later this year on 21st October for “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Second, there will be two Sumo Hall shows during the same weekend next February. The shows, nicknamed “2 DAYS Of Hell”, will be held on the 16th and 17th February, 2019. However, only the second show is a DDT show. The first show will be a MUSCLE show hosted by Super Sasadango Machine! The show is called “MUSCLE MANIA 2018 ~I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL 2030 SP~” referencing the humorous return date in the year 2030 for the MUSCLE spin off brand. Sasadango wants the official return show in 2030 to be held in the Tokyo Dome.

The Weapons Rumble was the crazy spectacle it promised to be. Chinsuke Nakamura was accompanied by a violin player for his entrance. He and Michael Nakazawa were attacked while they finished their ring entrance. The first weapon to enter was Soma Takao’s steel basin. He whacked Takagi over the head with it. Next was Nakamura’s surfboard. He swung it down at Takao. Takao tried to block it with his basin but it only made the impact worse. Takagi & Munenori Sawa wanted to do the Golden Shower but they were cut off. The dreaded locker was brought into the match by MAO & Mike Bailey. They trapped Takagi inside and kicked the sides of the locker. The next weapon were the T2HiJoshi girls: Margaret★Owashi, Kazuko Hirata & Gorgeous Matsuko. MAO got rid of them by snapping the back of Matsuko’s bra, knocking her out of the ring. Fuminori Abe knocked out Sawa with a Rabbit Punch which brought out the next weapon, three monks. Abe and the monks prayed for Sawa to wake up and it worked. The next weapon was a special rule. No laughing allowed. Takagi then came out with his Combat Bicycle and cycled over to his opponents to Lariat them. MAO & Bailey countered the bicycle by bringing in a Dramatic Road Roller. MAO and Takagi crashed into each other, wrecking the Roller. A massive barbed wire board was thrown into the ring by Takao & Yuko Miyamoto, taking out everyone else. Isami Kodaka’s weapon was next, the Giga Ladder. Isami struck Miyamoto with the ladder and sent him crashing through the barbed wire board outside the ring. The final weapon was Shinjiro Otani dressed in a black bodysuit! Every laughed, breaking the No Laughing rule from earlier. The punishment was Otani hitting everyone in the ass with a baseball bat. When Otani was finished, he did the Fire Festival Sword pose with the bat. The match reached its end when Bailey gave Nakazawa the Ultima Weapon and MAO got the pin with the Cannonball 450.

As part of the match stipulation, Nakazawa must now take an Anal Explosion. However Nakazawa couldn’t take another explosion after taking so many over the years. He shouted about going back to Thailand and ran away from ringside. This left the others with a problem. An explosion was promised and DDT cannot continue the show without doing it. One by one, different wrestlers volunteered to sacrifice themselves until Takagi offered to do it. Everyone else immediately accepted his request. “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith played over the speakers as Takagi walked up to the stage, stripped down to his underwear and prepared to take the explosion which was 100 times more powerful than he thought when it was prepared. Takagi hesitated to push the button next to him. The tension was so unbearable that Sawa couldn’t take it any more. He approached Takagi and told him that they will take the explosion together. Sawa leapt on top of Takagi, they joined hands and they both pressed the button, causing a tremendous explosion inside Sumo Hall and also their backsides.

Youth beat liquor in the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. But it almost didn’t end that way. Yukio Sakaguchi hit Kota Umeda with the Right Knee Of God and tried to choke him out with a Sleeper Hold. Umeda was only saved by Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda hitting double Missile Dropkicks to Sakaguchi. The DNA team kept KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi away while Umeda and Sakaguchi slugged it out with a kickfest. Umeda got the upper hand and dropped Sakaguchi with the Umeda Driver for the victory. Sakaguchi handed the titles over to Umeda and told him “Well done”. The new champions bowed when Shuten-dōji left the ring.

Super Sasadango Machine got his wish and successfully defended the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title against Jiro Kuroshio. Sasadango began with his PowerPoint presentation and promised it wouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes, the same amount of time as Kuroshio’s entrance. Sasadango’s plan was to make Makoto Oishi lay a bear trap around Sumo Hall for Kuroshio to fall into during his long entrance. The first trap was placed on the ring apron. The second trap was planted near a group of women in the audience. They were given custom Kuroshio signs to lure Kuroshio over to the trap. The signs were hand made by Kazusada Higuchi. The third and final trap was placed beneath the balcony next to Kuroshio’s father where two other Sasadango Machines would hold him hostage. This trap was delayed because Oishi and the Machines were looking for him on the wrong side of the arena.

Kuroshio came out and nonchalantly avoided most of the traps. He vaulted over the first one, cartwheeled over the second and easily stepped over the third. The plan looked to be ruined until Sasadango grabbed the trap and placed it into the ring at the right moment. Kuroshio somersaulted over the ropes and landed head first into the trap! Sasadango hit the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock for the quick finish but Kuroshio barely kicked out! Kuroshio retreated outside to get his bearings then sent Sasadango flying outside with a Hurricanrana. He then followed up with a big Moonsault off the top rope to Sasadango and Oishi outside. Sasadango tried to defend himself with the trap but Kuroshio kicked it away. He applied the Ikemen Clutch for the pin but time slowed down to a halt and a video of both wrestlers’ inner monologues played while they fought in slow motion. Ikemen grabbed the trap and threw it out of the ring (still in slow motion). He knocked down Sasadango and was ready to finish him off when another video played. This time it was his father’s inner monologue. It turns out his father is actually an omnipatent god here to offer his son a choice. He can choose either a Gold Trap or a Silver Trap. Kuroshio chose the Gold Trap. Oishi came out and placed the Gold Trap on top of Sasadango. Kuroshio didn’t noticed and Moonsaulted onto the trap! Sasadango got back up and pinned Kuroshio with a School Boy to win the match. Backstage Kuroshio was shocked to learn he is a son of a god. He then snapped back into reality and talked about wanting to challenge Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Title if Takeshita wins in the main event.

Maki Itoh made the grave mistake of throwing down Yoshiko-sama’s teddy bear in the Tokyo Joshi Pro match. This made Yoshiko-sama so angry that she beat up Itoh with the bear. Miyu Yamashita went toe to toe with Yoshiko-sama and Azusa Christie until she and Itoh were taken out with a Double Lariat. An outnumbered Mizuki was then picked apart by NEO Biishiki-gun with Saki-sama winning with her finisher. The Two Step Face Kick she uses is now called the Academy Award.

In the battle of the crazy gaijin, Colt Cabana outwitted Joey Ryan. Cabana blocked Ryan’s attempt to stick a lollipop into his mouth by redirecting it into Yukinori Matsui’s mouth. Ryan pulled out more lollipops and every time the lollipop ended up in Matsui’s mouth. Ryan’s plan finally worked when he pulled the lollipop out of Matsui’s mouth and into Cabana’s. Colt grabbed one of the lollipops from Matsui and shoved it into Ryan’s mouth. Cabana then forced Ryan to grab his own crotch and make him flip himself over. Ryan was helpless and tapped out to the Billy Goat’s Curse afterwards. Cabana tried to give a celebratory speech but the microphone cut out from him. When it finally worked he called himself the craziest gaijin in DDT.

An over the top rope rule was added to the Tag Gauntlet at the last minute. It was this addition that led to the eliminations of DEADLIFT LOLITA and Naomi Kingdom. The pace of the match changed when ALL OUT eliminated Antonio Honda & Ethan Page. The last two eliminations were caused by Kazuki Hirata. First he pinned Shunma Katsumata with the Miracle Cradle. LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi caused him some problems but Hirata caught LiLiCo in another Miracle Cradle to win the match. Toru Owashi handed him a pair of Hirata GO! glasses and he got to do his full dance celebration.

The Miraclians beat the Dragon Bombers in the Tokyo Joshi pre-show match. Rika Tatsumi did her best with her Hip Attacks and Maho Kurone tried to eat Shoko Nakajima’s tail. The Apricots hit Kurone with a Double 619 and Yuka Sakazaki landed the Magical Girl Splash for the three count.

Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo were victorious over Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga in the second pre-show match. Yep.

The very first match of the day saw the DDT Veteran team defeat Team DNA. Poor little Nobuhiro Shimatani was given the Cherryton Bomb from Cherry, the Midnight Buenos Aires from Hoshitango and the Reverse Splash from Mad Paulie all in a row. The pin was cut off but Paulie just gave Shimatani the Paulie Buster to end it.

DDT unveiled a brand new logo designed by NIGO, the creator of the A Bathing Ape fashion line. The logo resembles a wrestling ring on top of a cube. The intention was to create something that was not your typical pro wrestling logo but still has an element of pro wrestling associated with it.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

March 24, 2018

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2018 ~DDT 21ST ANNIVERSARY~”, 25/03/2018
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase, Rekka, Daiki Shimomura, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Takato Nakano Vs Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi & Cherry
0. Under Match: Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo
0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima Va Rika Tatsumi & Maho Kurone
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi Vs Reika Saiki & Lady Beard Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Ethan Page Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda
2. World Crazy Wrestler No. 1 Decision Battle In DDT: Joey Ryan Vs Colt Cabana
3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match – Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Mizuki Vs Saki-sama, Yoshiko-sama & Azusa Christie
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jiro Kuroshio
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda
6. Weapon Rumble 5 Way Tag Loser Gets Anal Blast Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa Vs Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Soma Takao Vs Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe Vs Michael Nakazawa & Chinsuke Nakamura
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Ken Ohka Vs Great Muta, Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

For an audio preview I appeared on an episode of the Wrestling Omakase podcast to talk about the show. We also review the “SAKI AKAI PRODUCE ~ DDT COLLECTION” show on the same episode. You can listen to it here.

The DDT UNIVERSE live broadcast begins on 1:30pm JST with the first pre-show match beginning at 2:00pm JST and the main show beginning at 3:00pm JST. So for other time zones the main show begins at 7:00am GMT (remember the clocks will have gone forward one hour in this time zone), 2:00am ET and (Saturday) 11:00pm PT. For those with access to AbemaTV the event will also air live for free on the DDT channel (VPN needed for those outside Japan). There will be either muted audio or replacement music for the entrances and video packages because of this.

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DDT is back in Sumo Hall once again for its biggest event of the year. “JUDGEMENT 2018” is being held to mark DDT’s 21st anniversary and is providing a stacked card to celebrate. The headline match is a rematch of a 2016 Sumo Hall main event but there is plenty to talk about from top to bottom. We have grudge matches, we have generational battles, we have wrestling demons, we have anal explosions, we have title matches, we have joshi, we have crazy foreign wrestlers and we have the other sub-brands jumping in to get involved. The only way this show gets any more insane is if DDT goes the Pop Team Epic route and holds an identical 5 hour show immediately after this 5 hour show ends but with different a commentary team.

0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase, Rekka, Daiki Shimomura, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Takato Nakano Vs Mad Paulie, Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gota Ihashi & Cherry

The first match of the day is between rookies and veterans. The rookie team consists of DNA and BASARA wrestlers. Mizuki Watase’s big matches in DNA for the last few months have been against wrestlers like Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka. Taiwanese wrestler Rekka recently formed a short lived team with Chinese wrestler Choun-Shiryu that fell apart over their national differences. Daiki Shimomura has been bottom of the pile and taking loss after loss on most shows. His Gran MilliMeters partner Nobuhiro Shimatani has been the same except he has spent his time trying to win over DAMNATION so he can join their group. BASARA’s Takato Nakano is approaching the first anniversary of his debut match in April.

On the veteran team Mad Paulie has become a little bit calmer ever since he discovered dancing. He loves to dance along to Shuji Ishikawa’s karaoke. Because of this he acts a little bit nicer to his opponents but he is still dangerous to wrestle. Gota Ihashi embarrassed himself on the big stage when he got to team with Kota Ibushi and Riki Choshu on a show produced by Choshu. They won their match but Choshu ripped apart Ihashi with criticism during a post show interview. Ever since then Ihashi has been trying to regain his confidence and even wants to discover if the power of Choshu is inside of him. It isn’t. The real power is the friends you make along the way and Choshu has been friends with Ibushi for years so the entire journey is a waste of time in the first place. Hoshitango, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Cherry have been filling up the DDT pre-show matches throughout the year.

0. Under Match: Kouki Iwasaki & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Kenshin Chikano & Akira Jo

The focus of this match is between Kouki Iwasaki and Akira Jo. The two are feuding against each other in DNA where the homegrown wrestlers are defending themselves against the Naomi Kingdom, which Jo is a part of. Shinichiro Tominaga comes over from Ganbare☆Wrestling as a proud “amateur” pro wrestling card carrier. Kenshin Chikano has a DDT appearance here and there. He had a little more of a presence in BASARA last year when BASARA had a summer long rivalry with Dove Pro Wrestling.

0. Under Match – Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima Va Rika Tatsumi & Maho Kurone

Tokyo Joshi Pro gets fully represented with two matches this time around. The pre-show match is between two of their long standing tag teams the Miraclians and the Dragon Bombers. The Apricots have been teaming together for as long as Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima have been around. They have a few achievements between them but the one they share together is becoming the first ever TOKYO Princess Tag Team Champions. On the surface the Dragon Bombers look like an odd pairing but Rika Tatsumi and Maho Kurone have won over fans with their personalities. Kurone’s entire zombie character is immediately eye catching and her behaviour at shows is often fun to follow. Tatsumi got some media attention when she admitted to fancying another Tokyo Joshi wrestler Mizuki and openly questioned the No Relationships rule used by the promotion because it only refers to having boyfriends and not girlfriends. She is currently preparing for the biggest match of her life in May when she main events Korakuen Hall. She recently pinned Nakajima to build up her momentum. Either repeating it or pinning Sakazaki would only increase it further.

1. Gauntlet Tag Match: LiLiCo & Makoto Oishi Vs Reika Saiki & Lady Beard Vs Akito & Shunma Katsumata Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Ethan Page Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda

The show kicks off proper with a wacky Gauntlet Match for Tag Teams. When LiLiCo was last in DDT she was defending the now forgotten KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles with Makoto Oishi and three others. That was in November. Now she’s back in training with Oishi to enter the gauntlet. Oishi has planning his next steps ever since NωA split up. He demanded to join T2Hide so he could take over the group and even won the right to be a member. But he instead turned it down so he could go do literally anything else. Reika Saiki & Lady Beard are connected together outside of wrestling as the idol duo DEADLIFT LOLITA. This is their first time teaming together for a wrestling match. Shunma Katsumata became the breakout wrestler from NωA when he joined ALL OUT and went through a crazy Hardcore Match where he used thumbtacks. Akito has been by Katsumata’s side during this encouraging him to come out of his shell. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata are still the same except for the times when Hirata gets deported and replaced by a suspiciously similar looking foreign substitute. They might still be feeling burned by Oishi rejecting them. Ethan Page has been loving his stay in Japan which probably explains why he acts different here compared to how he normally elsewhere. DDT brought him in with big hopes that he will be their next big Canadian star. Antonio Honda is with him to make sure that happens. Finally, Naomi Yoshimura & Keisuke Okuda have been terrorising DNA with their Naomi Kingdom unit. Their troublemaking is now spreading to DDT and they are very interested to be in the same ring as LiLiCo and Saiki.

2. World Crazy Wrestler No. 1 Decision Battle In DDT: Joey Ryan Vs Colt Cabana

Everything about this match is a little funny. Two of America’s most known and successful comedy wrestlers will face off one on one inside one of Japan’s most prestigious wrestling arenas… and there’s been zero build up for it. That’s not to say either of them have done nothing in DDT at all. In January Joey Ryan competed at the D-Oh Grand Prix. He seemed to be more concerned about convincing the audience to throw paper tape at him for his entrances than he was with winning matches. Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana challenged for the KO-D Openweight Title on Christmas Day but failed to win it. He then spent New Year’s Eve pretending to be Abdullah The Butcher. Both are fighting for the right to be called the DDT’s craziest gaijin wrestler.

3. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match – Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Mizuki Vs Saki-sama, Yoshiko-sama & Azusa Christie

For the first time Tokyo Joshi gets a main card spot on a Sumo Hall show. Miyu Yamashita has regained her position as the ace of the promotion when she won back the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title on 4th January. Since then she has been fighting off challengers like Veda Scott, Yuna Manase and Maho Kurone. Teaming with her is one of the scariest egos ever to grace a DDT ring. Pop idol turned pro wrestler Maki Itoh often becomes intense when she wrestles. Her petite figure doesn’t stop her from throwing headbutts and giving her opponents the middle finger. She also formed her own team/fan club called the Itoh Respect Army and brought in Mizuki as Member #001. Mizuki doesn’t mind and is happy to make a friend. They even recorded a music video together. It’s just that this friend can act like a psychopath when she doesn’t get her way.

Their opponents are NEO Biishiki-gun, the snooty aristocratic unit led by the snootier and even more aristocratic Saki-sama. Her biggest move over the last year was abducting one of the weakest wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi, Azusa Takigawa and brainwashing her into becoming Azusa Christie. Azusa is now a devoted nun who worships Saki-sama as if she was God. This change has seen her gain more success than she ever had previously and she along with Saki now holds the TOKYO Princess Tag Team Championships. Ever since her inclusion, NEO Biishiki-gun have been the dominant force in Tokyo Joshi and now they have a new girl joining them for this show. In February Saki-sama brought out a shy woman who was hiding her face behind a teddy bear and introduced her as an old friend from her childhood. Maki Itoh confronted this girl and threatened her until the bear was lowered and the face was revealed. The girl is Yoshiko-sama and she isn’t afraid to fight back! Her teddy bear is named Charlotte by the way.

4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Jiro Kuroshio

I’ve had trouble trying to keep up with the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title this year. Super Sasadango Machine won it the first week of January and asked to defend the belt against Jiro Kuroshio at Sumo Hall. His wish was granted but on one condition. Sasadango would need to defend the title at least twice a week every week up until the show takes place. Sasadango quickly found a solution to this problem. He set up an office in Nagoya and invited celebrities, spokesmen and other various business people to try and win the belt from him. In return they would get to promote their projects on DDT’s social media. It worked for the most part but there were some title changes I missed from people I don’t know and from there I lost track. As of writing I think he is still the champion and his title match with Kuroshio is all set.

But things are never just normal with this championship. There are always people hunting after the belt and I’ll be shocked if this match just stays between Sasadango and Kuroshio. Heck I’ll be shocked if a title change does not happen right before the match takes place! Also I don’t think Kuroshio would be just satisfied with doing just this match. Remember, he has a pinfall victory over Konosuke Takeshita from the D-Oh Grand Prix. There has to be some sort of follow up to that.

5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi (c) Vs Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koji Takeda

On the one hand Shuten-dōji finds themselves in the familiar position of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match on DDT’s big supercard. On the other hand their opponents this time includes what used to be one of their own! Kota Umeda returned from a long injury absence last November and is making up for lost time in both DDT and DNA. He built up a quick but intense rivalry with another rookie Yuki Ueno. He also joined the rest of DNA in their feud with the Naomi Kingdom. It was during this time that Umeda started to figure something out. As the fourth member of Shuten-dōji he was often left out of their 6-Man Tag Title matches. The only times he got to step in was to cover for one of the other wrestlers if they were hurt. This had to change.

Shuten-dōji reached the point where they were disappointed by their current position. They wanted to face the best trios DDT could throw at them but in the end it is they who are the best trio. That was when Umeda stepped up to them. He wanted to challenge his brothers for the titles and to do so he is teaming with his rival Ueno as well as another rookie Koji Takeda. The response from Shuten-dōji was mixed. Masahiro Takanashi found it funny. He thought Umeda’s new unit looks so bad that they should be called Pigging 2018 after the consistently worst unit to compete in the DDT General Elections year after year. But KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi took this seriously. They would allow Umeda to challenge them but he would no longer be a part of Shuten-dōji if he does so. Umeda was willing to pay that price. Now Umeda is leading his generation team against his former family and in the process became a fierce enemy to Sakaguchi in particular. It might get worse when the title match takes place.

6. Weapon Rumble 5 Way Tag Loser Gets Anal Blast Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa Vs Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Soma Takao Vs Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe Vs Michael Nakazawa & Chinsuke Nakamura

Well this has been crazy. Originally DDT was going to hold its Falls Count Anywhere specialty match but Sumo Hall management and the Japan Sumo Association finally put their foot down and told them no. The potential risk of audience injuries and building damage is too high for them to accept. Unfortunately for them they weren’t prepared for DDT’s Plan B. Sure DDT will keep it in the ring but now there are explosives involved. At least it’s still safer than Sami Callihan playing with a pinata.

It all begun when Sanshiro Takagi was reunited with an old friend. In a moment that they absolutely swear was not like anything else that happened that same week involving former DDT talent, Munenori Sawa returned to DDT to save Takagi from a beatdown. They embraced, tears were shed and one of DDT’s wackiest tag teams from the last decade were back in business. Although Sawa had retired from pro wrestling to become a salaryman, he would still show up near a wrestling ring every now and then. Takagi threw out a challenge. He and Sawa would face anyone in a Falls Count Anywhere Match at Sumo Hall. They attracted a lot of offers. Yuko Miyamoto wanted to get involved and as the current DDT Extreme Champion he surely qualifies. Soma Takao joins Miyamoto as part of Smile Squash. The call was also answered by Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe from BASARA. Kodaka is a hardcore wrestler and Abe is pretty much Munenori Sawa Jr. so the stipulation suits them fine.

The challenge led to an old enemy of Takagi’s resurfacing. Michael Nakazawa sent a video saying he would enter with a friend from “New York”. That friend is Chinsuke Nakamura! The Pauper Of Strong Style made his presence felt when he threw Takagi over the top rope and out of the ring. He celebrated this accomplishment by pointing to the RyogokuMania sign held above Korakuen Hall. The loudest response of all was from MAO fresh off of his split from NωA. MAO thinks now is the time DDT gets a new face for Street Wrestling and it should be him. He’s bringing Speedball Mike Bailey back to team with him. However MAO may be too crazy judging by that time he ran over Takagi with a van to win a Falls Count Anywhere match. He then threatened to blow up Shin-Kiba 1st RING with fireworks.

So the match was set and tensions grew to a dangerous level between Takagi and MAO. Takagi’s response to getting hit by a vehicle was to start shoving fireworks into other wrestlers’ butts to give them an Anal Explosion. MAO responded in kind until it was the major focus by everyone involved in the upcoming match. That was when the ban came and the match had to be cancelled. During that announcement all of the teams came together and threw together a replacement match. The BASARA team wanted to use weapons. MAO demanded that someone should get an Anal Blast. Everyone agreed to a Weapons Rumble match. As the match progresses, new weapons would be brought out Royal Rumble style. Plus whoever loses the match must subject themselves to an Anal Explosion! This means everybody is happy except for the Japan Sumo Association. Serves them right.

7. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii & Ken Ohka Vs Great Muta, Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo

One of the first announcements for this show made back in January was the involvement of The Great Muta. DDT eventually announced that he would be teaming with DAMNATION to take on Danshoku Dino and his friends. Daisuke Sasaki would use the news to announce that he is in charge and Muta would be fighting under his leadership. There was no response from Muta about this. Sasaki then started taunting Dino by spitting cola and coffee at him Poison Mist style. Again there was no response from Muta. But Sasaki’s actions did bring Dino to his breaking point. The attacks made Dino transform into The Great Homo! Under his own Muta-style personality, Dino would constantly attack Sasaki and Tetsuya Endo. Endo moreso than Sasaki. He would spit Poison Milk Mist at them and attack their backsides with a spike. The only way he could be stopped was when Sasaki transformed into Nerima Sting to combat him. This finally made Muta stir. The demon was not pleased by this nonsense especially from Dino.

A threatening message was sent to DDT HQ. Dino has been given the Poison Curse! No matter where Dino goes, Muta would possess everyone around him and make them spit the Poison Mist in Dino’s face. Nowhere was Dino safe. Employees, trainees, referees, wrestlers, fans, models, TV hosts. All of them spat the Mist at Dino under Muta’s power. Dino would get attacked again and again and again and again and again! Has Muta’s plan brought Dino back to the brink enough to summon The Great Homo? Keisuke Ishii and Ken Ohka are there to help Dino but the three of them are clearly outmatched. The only thing they don’t have to worry about is Muta doing a Moonsault but that’s what Endo is there for.

8. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchikomi! Presents: HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji (c) Vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazusada Higuchi

For many in DDT there is one task that seems impossible and that is beating HARASHIMA. The backbone of DDT is often the biggest mountain to climb and some wrestlers have become obsessed with doing it. The latest wrestler in this position is Kazusada Higuchi. HARASHIMA has been a thorn in his side ever since Higuchi’s first year in DDT. HARASHIMA gave Higuchi his first loss, beat him twice in KO-D Title matches and also won the KO-D Tag Team Titles from him with Naomichi Marufuji. The team known as HarashiMarufuji have held the titles ever since. They even survived a title defence held inside a factory! If they were ever to be beaten, Higuchi would have to find somebody really strong to team with him.

Oh crap. Daisuke Sekimoto wants to get involved.

Sekimoto & Higuchi joined forces for the annual New Year’s Eve cross promotion Tag Team Tournament and made it all the way to the final. They made such a good impression together that they are reuniting to go after HARASHIMA & Marufuji. Sekimoto and HARASHIMA have a history together but there is respect between them. HARASHIMA and Higuchi however do not like each other ever since HARASHIMA knocked out Higuchi during a singles match earlier this month. When Higuchi came to he went on a rampage chasing after HARASHIMA. A defeat to Marufuji too in the run-up to this match hasn’t helped. Higuchi will have to keep his emotions in check against these two.

9. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

This is the rematch 19 months in the making. Konosuke Takeshita and Shuji Ishikawa main evented “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016” with the KO-D Openweight Title on the line. Ishikawa came out on top that night and held onto the belt for almost the rest of 2016. HARASHIMA won the title from him in December that year but the championship made its way back to Takeshita at “JUDGEMENT 2017” just over one year ago. Since then Takeshita has firmly kept the belt in his grasp and fought all-comers, breaking the DDT record for most title defences in a single reign with 10 successful defences at this time. Freshly graduated from college, Takeshita has been having a great year as the champion. It’s getting tough though. A lower back injury has plagued Takeshita throughout February and gave him a big target that can be exploited. So it’s been a tough year but a great year none the less.

However you can argue Shuji Ishikawa’s last 12 months have been just as good if not better. He goes on a tear in All Japan and wins the Champion Carnival, then the Triple Crown, then the Real World Tag League with Suwama and then AJPW World Tag Team Titles also with Suwama. When he refocused his efforts in DDT at the beginning of 2018, Ishikawa ends up winning the first ever D-Oh Grand Prix tournament almost unbeaten. His only loss in the competition was against his DAMNATION leader Daisuke Sasaki. The goal of the Grand Prix was to establish DDT’s leading star for the rest of the year and Ishikawa proved there is no one more deserving of it than him.

Ishikawa has gone out to prove he has a range of other talents too. Ever since he won the Grand Prix, Ishikawa has performed karaoke in the ring to celebrate his big victories in DDT. Mad Paulie has joined in the fun by dancing along to his songs. Sasaki & Endo aren’t as eager to join in so they just grin and bare it while he sings. With the big title match on the horizon, Sasaki gave Ishikawa a serious order. Ishikawa cannot sing karaoke and Paulie cannot dance again until Ishikawa beats Takeshita at Sumo Hall to become the KO-D Champion. This gave Ishikawa an idea. Takeshita is injured. If he gets so injured that he cannot defend the title at Sumo Hall then Ishikawa will become the champion by default. Then for the main event Ishikawa can sing karaoke inside the ring all night long! So for the last month Ishikawa has intentionally tried to injure Takeshita in their preview matches. It briefly worked when Takeshita had to miss a show to recover but he came back and in their most recent match together pinned Ishikawa.

So there you have it. The strongest champion in DDT’s history is hurt but still capable of beating whatever is being thrown at him. DDT’s strongest challenger is almost unstoppable and is powered by the desire to show off his vocal talents. Their 2016 match is well worth the watch in preparation for this.


DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2018 ~YAYOI~” Results

March 13, 2018

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2018 ~YAYOI~”, 10/03/2018
Yokohama Radiant Hall
225 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Masahiro Takanashi defeated Daiki Shimomura with the Hangover!! (7:42).
2. Yokoyama Specialty Two Big Singles Matches! Shortstop Vs Hama’s Great Devil!: Keisuke Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (13:23).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Royal Rumble By Age: MAO defeated Super Sasadango Machine (c) with the Chile Driver (13:23).
Order Of Elimination: Nobuhiro Shimatani, Shunma Katsumata, Soma Takao, Kazuki Hirata, Toru Owashi, Saki Akai, Antonio Honda, Super Sasadango Machine.
*MAO becomes the 1,291st champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Sanshiro Takagi defeated MAO (c) with a School Boy (6:26 pm).
*Sanshiro Takagi becomes the 1,292nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Soma Takao defeated Sanshiro Takagi with a Small Package (6:27 pm).
*Soma Takao becomes the 1,293rd champion.
4. Kota Umeda, Yuki Ueno & Koju Takeda defeated KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Umeda pinned Matsunaga with the Umeda Driver (11:22).
5. Yokoyama Specialty Two Big Singles Matches! Battle Match ’18 & DDT Memorial Battle IN Yokohama Radiant Hall!: The Great Homo Vs Tetsuya Endo ended in a No Contest (8:30).
6. Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki defeated HARASHIMA & Ethan Page when Higuchi pinned HARASHIMA with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch (10:17).
7. ALL OUT Vs DAMNATION!: Konosuke Takeshita & Akito defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie when Ishikawa was Disqualified for using a chair on Takeshita (4:12).
7a. Replay: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata defeated Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie when Takeshita pinned Paulie with a Lariat (7:46).

It was an eventful week for Konosuke Takeshita. A few days ago he graduated from university and today was his first match back from a minor back injury. Unfortunately Shuji Ishikawa was there ready and waiting to make his comeback a painful one. Ishikawa’s plan is simple. Injure Takeshita so badly that he cannot make it to Sumo Hall. Then Ishikawa will become the KO-D Openweight Champion by default and instead of a match at “JUDGEMENT 2018” he can sing and dance with Mad Paulie for an hour to close out the show. DAMNATION attacked ALL OUT to start the main event and Ishikawa kept attacking Takeshita with a chair until the referee disqualified him. Akito & Shunma Katsumata pulled Ishikawa away but were knocked back by his Double Shoulder Block. When Ishikawa turned around, Takeshita was there to Clothesline him out of the ring. The match restarted as a 6-Man Tag bout with Katsumata & Tetsuya Endo added in. Takeshita’s waist took a lot of damage throughout but he gutted it through and beat Mad Paulie with a Lariat. Takeshita said his body is in a lot of bad places right now but his heart isn’t broken. It is thanks to ALL OUT and the cheers of his fans that he still stands.

If you get hit by the Somato enough times you will eventually figure out a way to counter it. That’s the eureka moment Kazusada Higuchi discovered today. He avoided the move and caught HARASHIMA in a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch for the unexpected pinfall victory. Higuchi told HARASHIMA the battle will continue in Osaka tomorrow and he will beat him there too. Then at Sumo Hall he will win the KO-D Tag Team Titles from HARASHIMA & Naomichi Marufuji to stand tall in the centre of DDT!

Tetsuya Endo’s confrontation with The Great Homo was chaotic. Homo dragged Endo under the ring then he chased him around ringside. Endo tried to fight him off with his high impact moves but couldn’t succeed. Homo brought a chair into the ring and hit the Shining Ateji while Endo was sitting on it. Homo then drank milk to power up the Lip Lock but Endo gave him the Lip Lock instead! The effects didn’t last and Homo applied the Lip Lock back to Endo, sending him bumping into the referee. The match was stopped and no winner was determined. Homo continued to attack Endo and also Mizuki Watase when Watase tried to stop him. Homo pulled down the back of Watase’s shorts and spat the milk mist at him. That was when the room went dark and Nerima Sting appeared! Nerima Sting attacked Homo with the black bat and gave him the Scorpion Death Drop. He then pulled Homo out of the ring and dragged him out of the building.

The DNA team showed no fear against Shuten-dōji and attacked them from the bell. Tomomitsu Matsunaga was the obvious odd man out in the Shuten-dōji. His presence in the match was ironic given that Masahiro Takanashi previously said the DNA team should be calling themselves Pigging 2018. Umeda pinned Matsunaga but the action didn’t end after the match. A staredown between the two was interrupted by a Yukio Sakaguchi Dropkick to Umeda and Yuki Ueno from out of nowhere. A brawl between the two sides began and ended with another staredown.

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title was back at a DDT show for Super Sasadango Machine’s latest defence. During his time away from shows, Sasadango lost and won back the belt twice. Once to a food employee and another to the singer Kaede from the music group Negicco. Today the belt was on the line in a special Royal Rumble where the wrestlers were entered in order of their age. The wrestlers in their 20’s began the match, then the wrestlers in their 30’s entered next, then the wrestlers in their 40’s. Saki Akai didn’t like being put in the 30’s group but she had to because she turned 30 back in January. MAO was the last man standing and he pinned Sasadango to become the new champion. But his celebration was short lived when Sanshiro Takagi gave him a School Boy and won the belt. He told MAO he will blow him up at Sumo Hall but he was then Super Kicked by Soma Takao. Takao Cradled Takagi into a Small Package for the three count. Takao then admitted he isn’t that interested in being the Iron Man Champion. But he is looking forward to teaming with Yuko Miyamoto for the Sumo Hall Falls Count Anywhere Match!

There was no love lost between Keisuke Ishii and Daisuke Sasaki in their match. Sasaki ambushed Ishii and attacked him with a chair but Ishii later evened the odds by giving Sasaki a Fisherman Buster onto the ring apron. Sasaki knocked over the referee to avoid the Tiger Suplex and went to get a chair. Ishii was rescued by The Great Homo who came out from beneath the ring. Homo blinded Sasaki with the Milk Mist and hit him with the Shining Ateji. Ishii grabbed Sasaki and hit the Double Arm DDT as the referee recovered to get the win.

Ethan Page and Antonio Honda are teaming together to enter the Tag Gauntlet Match at “JUDGEMENT 2018”. Page wants to fight Naomi Yoshimura in the match to prove he is stronger than him.