BASARA And DDT Hit Korakuen This Weekend, ALL DOIN Entries, Hashimoto At Maji Manji

September 20, 2018

BASARA “BASARA 78 ~LUYANG NO HOKO~”, 21/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Special Dark Match ~ Shit Boss, Remember To Hurry! Season 2: Gouma Ryu Vs Yasu Urano
1. Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man Vs Daiki Shimomura, Akiyori Takizawa & Takato Nakano
2. Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT Vs Manabu Hara & Jun Masaoka
3. Cielo Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Tanaka & Trans-Am ★ Ryuji Vs Don Fujii, Ryuichi Sekine & Fuminori Abe
4. Yoga Vs Aikata! Tag Showdown!: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Osamu Nishimura Vs Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita
5. Takumi Tsukamoto 9th Anniversary Memorial Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Toru Sugiura Vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Tatsuhiko Yoshino
6. Hardcore Cage Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Masashi Takeda
7. Union MAX Title: Naoki Tanizaki (c) Vs Ryota Nakatsu

For the last two months Ryota Nakatsu has faced off with Naoki Tanizaki many times in preparation for this show. From winning the 2018 Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~ to defending BASARA from the invading Dove Pro wrestlers led by Tanizaki, Nakatsu has been through plenty of struggles in the lead up to Korakuen Hall. Now is his golden chance to become the Union MAX Champion!

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018”, 23/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda Vs Saki Akai & Yuni
0. Under Match ~ Booing 2018 New Member Audition: Eririn Takagi Vs ONAKIN Vs Kim Yocchan Vs Gundan Hitori Vs 5th Tiger Mask (Self-Named) Vs ZIMA Yoshida Vs Mizuki Saijo Vs Big Bear Vs Henchin Vs Pulp Bonjin Vs Momo Ne Vs Monster Halloween Vs Movie Star (Judges: Sanshiro Takagi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga)
1. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Tanomusaku Toba, Keisuke Okuda & Yumehito Imanari
2. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Ethan Page
3. Keisuke Ishii & Yuki Iino Vs Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase
4. Road To Ryogoku! 10-Man Elimination Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Kasai, Sabu & Kikutaro Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
7. KO-D Openweight Title – Survival 3 Way Match: Meiko Satomura (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie Vs Danshoku Dieno

The winner of the main event is guaranteed to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Daisuke Sasaki in the main event of “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. This three way grudge has Meiko Satomura wanting to beat Shigehiro Irie, Irie wanting to beat Danshoku Dieno and Dieno wanting to beat Satomura.

The Moonlight Express has become familiar with the Brahman Brothers over the late summer. The Brahmans earned their KO-D Tag Team Titles shot by beating the Express at this year’s campsite match. MAO has also been showing off his crazy side every chance he gets. I don’t think they can get a van up to the 5th floor of Korakuen though.

Don’t let the addition of Kikutaro to the Special 6-Man Tag Match fool you. He can get wild with the best of them if he has too.

Let’s try and discover some of the entries in the ALL DOIN dark match. Eririn Takagi (no relation to Sanshiro Takagi) is from the W.I.N. amateur group in Tokyo. He is described as a top class social wrestler with a nice looking Northern Lights Suplex. ONAKIN is from SWS Student Wrestling in Tokyo. His nickname is Mr. Dropkick. When he started wrestling his favourite wrestler was Roman Reigns and he did the Superman Punch. Now his favourite is Shinichiro Tominaga. ONAKIN’s goal this year is to become an invincible champion. Kim Yocchan & Gundan Hitori once teamed together for a KO-D Tag Titles match back in 2010 when Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa were defending the belts anywhere outside. Hitori is from CWP (Come On Wrestling Party) in Kanto. The group also uses the name COWPER for some of its events. The 5th Tiger Mask in this match is sadly not Minowaman. This one is a chubby looking Tiger Masked fella from Nagano. ZIMA Yoshida is freelancer nicknamed “The Volk Han Of Adachi-ku”. Mizuki Saijo is a joshi wrestler from Ehime Pro Wrestling. Pulp Bonjin is a masked wrestler also from Ehime Pro. Bonjin holds grudges against people who waste paper tissues. Momo Ne is a joshi wrestler from Hokkaido. Monster Halloween is an nkw throwback to all of the monster costume gimmicks from the 90s hardcore promotions. I haven’t been able to find clear information about Big Bear, Henchin and Movie Star.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #18”, 25/09/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Yuna Manase Vs Maki Ito
2. Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Yuki Ueno Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Antonio Honda & Keisuke Okuda

Daichi Hashimoto appears on a full fledged DDT show for the first time. He’s been on DDT shows before that were co-promoted with Big Japan (New Year’s Eve shows and charity events after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake) but this is his first go around on DDT proper.

DDT “BEST WESTERN LARIAT SERIES 2018 ~REBORN~ BATTLE OF CORAL”, 30/09/2018
Tokyo Best Western Rembrandt Hotel Tokyo Machida

1. Shigehiro Irie, Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Antonio Honda & Tanomusaku Toba
2. Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Takanashi Vs Akito & Keisuke Ishii
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Maki Ito
4. Please Spend A Wonderful Time With Delicious Meals And Gorgeous Dance: Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
5. Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Mike Bailey, MAO & Ethan Page
6. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata

The Best Western Lariat Series returns. Last year the series was a 12 month long tour of Best Western Rembrandt Hotels consisting of two shows total. You read that correctly. Looks like there was only room for one show on the schedule this year.


6-Man Titles Return, TJPW Go To King Of Trios, Survival 3 Way For KO-D Title

August 31, 2018

DDT “CAMPSITE PRO WRESTLING 2018 ~ HISTORY’S STRONGEST 40,000 TATAMI MOVEMENT DRAMATIC DREAM NATURE LAND TWINS AND THEIR YOUNGER BROTHER~”, 02/09/2018
Yamanashi Natureland Om

1. Falls Count Anywhere 6 Way Tag Match: Mike Bailey & MAO Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa Vs Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei

Not much going on with DDT this weekend. Just a nice, relaxing day at the campsite.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #16”, 04/09/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Saki Akai Vs Maki Ito
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Gota Ihashi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Michael Nakazawa
3. Jun Kasai & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. Meiko Satomura, Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Shigehiro Irie, Ryan Davidson & Mizuki Watase
5. Kazuki Hirata DISASTER BOX Assessment Match: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie

The vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles will be going to a new home after a month of inactivity. If Shuten-dōji wins they will be champions for the 8th time in the title’s history. If DAMNATION wins then it will be Soma Takao’s 7th reign, Tetsuya Endo’s 3rd reign and Mad Paulie’s 2nd reign.

The Dramatic General Election begins on this show. DISASTER BOX decides whether or not Kazuki Hirata is worthy to join the team. Gota Ihashi faces the unit that came back without him.

There will be no pre-show matches on this episode.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GO AHEAD, HOT GUYS IN NARIMASU!”, 08/09/2018
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Nodoka Tenma Vs Hikari
2. Azusa Takigawa Vs Raku
3. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Hinano
4. Yuu Vs Yuki Aino
5. Yuna Manase Vs Hyper Misao
6. Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima Vs Reika Saiki, Maki Ito & Miu

Will Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima return from America as the Queen Of Trios?

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #17”, 11/09/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 5th Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Kota Umeda

Kota Umeda currently has an 0-4 record in the Mad Dog series but he isn’t letting that dampen his determination. He showed no hesitation to challenge Shinya Aoki to a match.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018”, 23/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Kasai, Sabu & X Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata
2. KO-D Openweight Title – Survival 3 Way Match: Meiko Satomura (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie Vs Danshoku Dieno

A three way cross-up regarding the KO-D Openweight Title leads to one more title match before Sumo Hall in October. The new champion Meiko Satomura wanted to defend the title against Shigehiro Irie because she originally wanted to beat him for the championship. Irie has little desire to win back the championship until he gets his revenge on Danshoku Dieno over their soured working relationship during the summer. Dieno wants to take any opportunity that will make him the KO-D Champion going into the “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” main event. Because Dieno has given up his role as DDT Producer, Sanshiro Takagi used his powers as DDT’s president to make a 3 Way Elimination Match to solve this dilemma. Takagi doesn’t want to take over the regular responsibilities of the DDT Producer so that position will remain absent for now. Hisaya Imabayashi is still the Assistant Producer so we’ll have to wait and see what changes if any there will be for the authority figure role in the future.


DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #15” Results

August 28, 2018

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #15”, 28/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
220 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. NO TV Match I ~ “Self-Proclaimed” Interim Mr. Maji Manji Appears In His 2nd NO TV Match!: Makoto Oishi defeated Antonio Honda with a Reverse Cradle (4:39).
0. NO TV Match II ~ DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Akito & Yuki Iino when Paulie pinned Iino with the Reverse Splash (8:51).
1. Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata when Bailey pinned Hirata with a Buzzsaw Kick (7:50).
2. Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Ryan Davidson defeated KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi & Keisuke Ishii when Irie pinned Takanashi with the Beast Bomber (8:46).
3. 2nd Generation Bachelor Rintaro Oyaizu Dating Rights 4 Way Match: Cherry defeated Yuna Manase, Maki Itoh and Yuki Kamifuku when Cherry pinned Kamifuku with the Spring Night Love (7:20).
4. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki defeated Gota Ihashi with a Foot Choke (4:22).
5. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani when HARASHIMA pinned Shimatani with the Somato (9:22).
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Meiko Satomura defeated Danshoku Dieno (c) with the Scorpio Rising (11:56).
*Danshoku Dieno fails in V1. Meiko Satomura cashes in her Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet. Meiko Satomura becomes the 66th KO-D Openweight Champion!

The entire direction of DDT on the road towards Sumo Hall took a massive shift today when Meiko Satomura defeated Danshoku Dieno to become the first ever female KO-D Openweight Champion! There were no games or tricks up Dieno’s sleeve for this match, he took the fight to Satomura as hard as he ever did. Even the Danshoku Nightmare used during the match was performed more like a heavy Sit Down Splash rather than just the usual humiliating squats. Satomura targeted Dieno’s shoulder but struggled when Dieno’s size advantage came into play, allowing him to absorb her kicks. The one thing Dieno didn’t count on was Satomura’s determination. She kicked out of three different Danshoku Drivers: the standard version, the Gotch-Style version and a Screwdriver version. A Vertical Drop Brainbuster did big damage to Satomura’s neck but Dieno didn’t go for the cover. Instead he went to puch Satomura into the corner with his Ippatsu move. Normally that would be a hip thrust but since his opponent was a woman, he kicked her into the corner instead. That had no effect and Satomura backed into him with an Overhead Kick. The critical moment came when Satomura did the Scorpio Rising and hit Dieno’s injured shoulder. With Dieno to hurt to defend himself, Satomura used all her power to give him a Death Valley Driver then hit one more Scorpio Rising direct to Dieno’s head for the three count.

Satomura celebrated becoming the first woman to hold the KO-D Title. Dieno requested a rematch but Satomura told him there is already somebody else she wants to defend the belt against. Shigehiro Irie! Satomura had wanted that match to be for the belt before Dieno pulled off his plan. Irie however cannot accept it. There is one thing he wants more than to win back the KO-D Title and main event Sumo Hall. He wants a singles match with Dieno, the man he blames for changing the DDT that he loved into something else! Satomura took offence to this and asked if Irie is running away from her challenge. The arguing continued until Sanshiro Takagi came down to the ring to sort it out. After congratulating Satomura for her accomplishment today, he looked at the story unfurling in front of him. Satomura wants to fight Irie, Irie wants to fight Dieno and Dieno wants to main event Sumo Hall as the champion. Takagi’s solution is a 3 Way Elimination Match with the championship on the line at the 23rd September Korakuen Hall show! The winner will without any doubt go on to main event “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” in October.

With the match agreed upon by all parties, Satomura was left to close out the show with her victory speech. She will soon become the centerpiece of Sumo Hall. She told the women of the world that the time to endure is already over. She will rise to fight the strongest men and women as the first ever female KO-D Champion!

The return of DISASTER BOX is off to a good start. HARASHIMA has an idea to improve the group and that’s to invite Kazuki Hirata to join them! Toru Owashi didn’t approve of the idea because he thought he would never have to deal with Hirata ever again. HARASHIMA cited Hirata’s performance in the King Of DDT tournament as well as a recent pinfall victory over Yukio Sakaguchi as the reasons to give him a chance. That success also got Hirata coverage in the latest issue of Shukan Puroresu so he has to be a good wrestler now. Yuki Ueno was neutral about the idea but Owashi was against it. Everyone agreed to a tag team match on next week’s episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI” to determine if Hirata can join. It will be HARASHIMA & Hirata Vs Owashi & Ueno.

At first the size difference between Gota Ihashi and Shinya Aoki worked in Ihashi’s favour. He was able to stay standing from a Sleeper Hold and then squash Aoki with a Splash. It all went wrong when Ihashi missed a Moonsault and was open for Aoki to tap him out with a Foot Choke. When the two were finished thanking each other for the match, Kota Umeda entered the ring and challenged Aoki to a match as part of Umeda’s “Mad Dog” series. Aoki asked if Umeda had recovered from his injury and the two agreed to a bout for the 17th September episode of Maji Manji. Umeda promises it will be a way more serious match compared to what Aoki experienced today.

Cherry won the 4 Way Match but was surprised to find out it didn’t mean she would get to date Rintaro Oyaizu from The Bachelor. When Hisaya Imabayashi put the match together he never agreed to the stipulation that the winner automatically gets Oyaizu. Instead Oyaizu would get to choose whoever impressed him the most. In a shocking twist, Oyaizu apologised to all of the women in the ring because there is another attractive woman he saw today working as the lighting assistant at ringside. The assistant revealed herself to be Aja Kong! She got the lighting assistant job because DDT stopped booking her to wrestle. When Kong and Oyaizu left to go out on their date to any place that has meat, the four women in the ring all attacked Imabayashi for wasting their time.

The combined firepower of the RENEGADES were too much for KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi & Keisuke Ishii to handle. Mizuki Watase has added the Koji Cutter to his moveset and he shouts “Kojikoji-kun” during the move. Takanashi was pummeled with a Lariat from Ryan Davidson, a corner to corner Dropkick from Watase and then the Beast Bomber from Irie for the finish.

Kazusada Higuchi encouraged Hirata to wear the Hirata GO! glasses during their tag match because he wanted to see him dance. Hirata didn’t want to do it because he was going to win without them. So Higuchi knocked him out of the way and wore the glasses himself. Higuchi’s dancing was very different but was fun enough to get Mike Bailey & MAO also involved. The weird dancing annoyed Hirata and distracted him enough to get rolled into a School Boy. Hirata kicked out but then got pinned by a Buzzsaw Kick from Bailey. After the match Bailey & MAO announced their new team name. They are now the Moonlight Express! The name came about because both of them would like to go to the moon where there is less gravity. They can then jump very high like they do on trampolines.

Yuki Iino was building up momentum when he hit Mad Paulie with the Spear. He went to repeat the move but the second Spear was blocked by Paulie’s Lou Thesz Press. A Backflip and the Reverse Splash got DAMNATION the win over ALL OUT.

Antonio Honda’s Gongitsune went badly wrong to the point where his hand got stuck pinching his own nipple. Honda had to go out into the audience to get help letting go.

Some unit organisations were made for the Dramatic General Election. Dieno formed The Compliance with Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda, Kazusada Higuchi and Super Sasadango Machine as the other members. Each member has a different role in the group all with the goal of keeping DDT under control and out of trouble. Oishi’s job is to crack down on wrestlers’ romantic relationships with women, Honda is cracking down on animal cruelty, Higuchi is cracking down on anti-social behaviour and Sasadango is cracking down on internet flame wars.

Tomomitsu Matsunaga announced that he and the currently absent Michael Nakazawa are bringing back Booing for their annual election run. This time around Ihashi will not be a part of the group. Instead Matsunaga promises a super big mystery wrestler will join himself and Nakazawa to form Booing 2018. Nakazawa is also a last second entry in the singles portion of the election. He just missed the cutoff date but DDT decided to let him in because they think he isn’t going to get many votes anyway.


Dieno Vs Meiko Tomorrow, Campsite Match, Kasai Joins DDT, Rygoku Update

August 27, 2018

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #15”, 28/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

0. NO TV Match I ~ “Self-Proclaimed” Interim Mr. Maji Manji Appears In His 2nd NO TV Match!: Makoto Oishi Vs Antonio Honda
0. NO TV Match II: Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
1. Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kazuki Hirata
2. Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Ryan Davidson Vs KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi & Keisuke Ishii
3. 2nd Generation Bachelor Rintaro Oyaizu Dating Rights 4 Way Match: Cherry Vs Yuna Manase Vs Maki Ito Vs Yuki Kamifuku
4. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Gota Ihashi
5. DAMNATION Vs DISASTER BOX!: Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno (c) Vs Meiko Satomura
*Meiko Satomura will cash in her Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.

Danshoku Dieno is in rough shape going into tomorrow’s KO-D Openweight Title match. On Sunday’s show, Dieno revealed he wouldn’t endorse a match between himself and Shigehiro Irie because he secretly quit as the DDT Producer. Irie then damaged Dieno’s already injured right shoulder with an Inverted Armbreaker. So now Dieno has to defend his title against Meiko Satomura with a dodgy shoulder. Irie’s attack was out of anger of being tricked but it also inadvertently works in his favour because Satomura has said she would give him a title match if she becomes the champion. With that exception, tomorrow is currently the last scheduled KO-D Title defence before Sumo Hall in October unless the other Right To Challenge Gauntlet makes its way back to Japan. Saying who has it now would spoil a whole bunch of stuff elsewhere so would that be fair game for something that’s meant to be swept under the rug by DDT’s storyline anyway?

DDT “CAMPSITE PRO WRESTLING 2018 ~ HISTORY’S STRONGEST 40,000 TATAMI MOVEMENT DRAMATIC DREAM NATURE LAND TWINS AND THEIR YOUNGER BROTHER~”, 02/09/2018
Yamanashi Natureland Om

1. Falls Count Anywhere 6 Way Tag Match: Mike Bailey & MAO Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Michael Nakazawa Vs Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei

I think this is the biggest match yet in the history of DDT’s Campsite visits.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018”, 23/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Kasai, Sabu & X Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata

Jun Kasai has signed on to be a regular for DDT and intends to be on as many shows as he can as long as it doesn’t clash with his other bookings. He quickly sent out a warning that Konosuke Takeshita might go back on the injury list if he isn’t careful. Also Sabu is there to participate in Shunma Katsumata’s deep dive into hardcore wrestling.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SABAKU NO TAKA 2018”, 14/10/2018
Fukuoka Oki Gakuen Dome

1. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Priscilla Kelly

The Tokyo Joshi Freedom Fighters of Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki & Shoko Nakajima will be competing in Chikara for the annual King Of Trios tournament this weekend in Easton, Pennsylvania. They take on The Shimmer Collective of Madison Eagles, Shazza McKenzie & Jessica Troy in the 1st Round on Friday.

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018 ~FALL WRESTLING CULTURE FESTIVAL~”, 21/10/2018
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. The World’s Crazy Couple Battle: Makoto Oishi & Misaki Ohata Vs Joey Ryan & Laura James
2. Will You Eat Or Be Eaten!? Giant Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Andreza Giant Panda
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

Being angry all the time was the right decision to make for Daisuke Sasaki. He won King Of DDT and now he main events Sumo Hall!

Super Sasadango Machine battles Andreza Giant Panda in an effort to curb the creature’s eating habits and save the environment in the process.

Regardless of tomorrow’s outcome, Meiko Satomura will be wrestling at the Sumo Hall show.


Dieno’s Plan Succeeds, Korakuen Double Header, Imanari Everywhere

August 17, 2018

Still a lot to unpack over the last few days. Danshoku Dieno is the new KO-D Openweight Champion after pulling off a plan that was months in the making. Super Sasadango Machine gave Dieno his Right To Challenge Gauntlet so Dieno could cash it in and win the title from a beaten up Shigehiro Irie after the main event of this week’s “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI” episode. According to Dieno’s interview after the show, he’s been planning this ever since the ending of “JUDGEMENT 2018” back in March! That Irie was the champion when he pulled this off is a little bit of a coincidence. Sure, Irie holds a grudge with Dieno over the current state of DDT and Dieno got in a panic when Irie briefly lost the title in America but Dieno’s motivation in this is purely to get himself into the main event of “JUDGEMENT 2018” in October. He also didn’t break any rules to achieve this. Gauntlet owners are allowed to transfer their prize to another person, which has happened before and his cash in was not at all unusual for that kind of gimmick. To insure that he makes it there with as few road blocks as possible, Dieno will only defend the title against those with a Right To Challenge Gauntlet. That there is only one left active in Japan right now means in theory he only has to make one successful defence and it is smooth sailing from there. If only it was that easy…

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TENMUSU~”, 18/08/2018
Nagoya City East Sports Centre No. 2

1. Keisuke Okuda Vs Yuki Iino
2. Keisuke Ishii & Yuki Ueno Vs Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
3. Makoto Oishi, Akito & Cherry Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki
4. Shigehiro Irie, Jason Kincaid & Ryan Davidson Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kouki Iwasaki
5. T2Hide Goodbye Series: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs KUDO, Alex Ace & Nobuhiro Shimatani
6. Antonio Vs Pale One For The First Time In 42 Years! Nagoya Specialty Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Konaka = Pale One
7. King Of DDT 2018 Best 8 Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo Vs Mike Bailey & MAO

The bad news for Dieno coming out of his win is he injured his right shoulder on the show. It isn’t clear if he was hurt by Irie’s Beast Bomber during the title match or if Dieno got hurt by the scheduled match he participated in earlier in the show. Dieno is taking the situation seriously and has taken himself off of this weekend’s shows.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018 ~DRAMATIC DREAM TONDOYAKI~”, 19/08/2018
Osaka Nishi Kumin Center

1. Keisuke Okuda Vs Yuki Ueno
2. My Study Of Toughness ~ Yuni’s Study Of Freedom: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Yuni Vs Antonio Honda & Masahiro Takanashi
3. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Akito & Yuki Iino
4. Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
5. Makorin Dangerous Affair Once A Year 2018: KUDO Vs Makoto Oishi
6. RENEGADES Vs DAMNATION!: Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
7. King Of DDT 2018 Best 8 Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Keisuke Ishii

Mizuki Watase sprained his ankle at Maji Manji so he too will be out of action this weekend. Both Dieno and Watase are expected to return in time for the 25th August Korakuen Hall show.

DDT “KING OF DDT 2018 3RD ROUND”, 25/08/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Toru Owashi, Yuki Ueno, Akito & Yuki Iino Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Kouki Iwasaki, Daiki Shimomura & Rekka
2. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine Vs KUDO, Masahiro Takanashi & Gorgeous Matsuno
3. DAMNATION Vs RENEGADES!: Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Mizuki Watase, Jason Kincaid & Ryan Davidson
4. Special Tag Match: Shigehiro Irie & Taiyo Kea Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda
5. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 1: Mike Bailey Vs MAO
6. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 2: Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazuki Hirata
7. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 3: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
8. King Of DDT 2018 – Quarter Final 4: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Keisuke Ishii

Some of the recent roster changes have come into effect. Kouki Iwasaki, Daiki Shimomura and Rekka will have their chance to say goodbye to DDT. For Rekka it will be goodbye to Japan. I assume Iwasaki and Shimomura will be back here and there whenever DDT needs a undercard spot to fill.

DDT “BLACK OUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2018 FINAL ROUND”, 26/08/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Kouki Iwasaki Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
1. King Of DDT 2018 – Semi Final: Winner Of Quarter Final 1 Vs Winner Of Quarter Final 2
2. King Of DDT 2018 – Semi Final: Winner Of Quarter Final 3 Vs Winner Of Quarter Final 4
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei Vs Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Special Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno
5. Danshoku Dieno, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Shigehiro Irie, Mizuki Watase & Jason Kincaid
6. King Of DDT 2018 – Final: X Vs X

Dieno better pray he makes it out of Korakuen in one piece if Irie gets his hands on him. But I wouldn’t be giving him enough credit to think he doesn’t have a plan in place to protect himself.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #15”, 28/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Special Single Match: Shinya Aoki Vs Gota Ihashi
2. Right To Date 2nd Generation Bachelor Rintaro Oyaizu 4 Way Match: Cherry Vs Yuna Manase Vs Maki Ito Vs Yuki Kamifuku
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno (c) Vs Meiko Satomura
*Meiko Satomura will cash in her Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.

Meiko Satomura currently has the last remaining Gauntlet in Japan and she intends to get her title match on 28th August. If she wins and becomes the champion her first action will be to grant Irie a title shot. She originally wanted her championship match to be against Irie before Dieno got involved.

Rintaro Oyaizu is the star of Japan’s version of The Bachelor season 2. He appeared on Maji Manji this week and had several women wrestlers pushing each other out of the way to get his attention. The solution is to have a match where the winner gets to date him. It’s kind of odd because three of the participants are banned by their company from dating men but hey, a blind eye can be turned if it gets some mainstream attention I guess.

Good news about Gota Ihashi. He looks in better shape every time I’ve seen him this year. Bad news about Ihashi, he has to fight MMA star Shinya Aoki. I’m not even sure if this is part of his trial series.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “KIDS RETURN 2018”, 13/09/2018
Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic

1. Rain With Fists In Ichigaya In Fine Weather! Summer Punching Fever In Ichigaya!!: Yumehito Imanari Vs Tanomusaku Toba
2. From Commando To Tomb Raider! The Soul Was Handed Over! Rain Of Slaughter Falls In Ichigaya In Fine Weather!!! Tomb Raider Haruhi Is Born!!!: Moeka Haruhi Vs Shin Mokujin Ken (Special Referee: Yumehito Imanari)
3. Kouki Iwasaki Belongs To Ganbare 1st Round Special Tag Match: Yumehito Imanari & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shota

Ken Ohka has gone AWOL from Ganbare☆Wrestling which means Yumehito Imanari is taking over the main event and then some. Imanari is going to be all over this show and is already featured in every match announced so far. He’s welcoming Kouki Iwasaki to Ganpro, passing over his heroic attributes to Moeka Haruhi and getting into a kickboxing scrap with Tanomusaku Toba.


DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #14” Results

August 14, 2018

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #14”, 14/08/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
240 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. NO TV Match: Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase with the Sorarina (7:22).
0. NO TV Match: Ryan Davidson & Facade defeated Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Davidson pinned Shimatani with the Davidson Driver (8:25).
1. Akito & Gota Ihashi defeated Yuki Ueno & Yuki Iino when Akito submitted Iino with a Modified Leg Lock (7:23).
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Meiko Satomura defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Cherry when Satomura pinned Oishi with the Scorpio Rising (7:05).
*Meiko Satomura wins Makoto Oishi’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
3. KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda when KUDO pinned Honda with the Diving Double Knee Drop (9:07).
4. Road to King Of DDT 2018 3rd Round 4 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated HARASHIMA & Mike Bailey, Yukio Sakaguchi & MAO and Keisuke Ishii & Kazuki Hirata when Endo pinned Hirata with a Swan Dive 450 Splash (10:20).
5. RENEGADES Vs DAMNATION!: Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie when Irie pinned Paulie with the Beast Bomber (19:20).
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Shigehiro Irie (c) with the Gaydo Clutch (1:37).
*Super Sasadango Machine gives his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract to Danshoku Dieno. Shigehiro Irie fails in V1. Danshoku Dieno cashes in his Right To Challenge Gauntlet. Danshoku Dieno becomes the 65th KO-D Openweight Champion!

Today’s episode sparked plenty of changes in the DDT landscape. There was the planned roster switch-up freshening up some of the units but some added surprises completely changed the course of as we head towards the King Of DDT finale. Things seemed normal during the main event. Shigehiro Irie made his first appearance in DDT since his latest US tour and after the title loss incident in Ohio he had the KO-D Openweight Title with him safe and sound. He and Jason Kincaid were victorious over Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie but it was a close call. Irie kicked out of a Double Choke Slam and the Reverse Splash. It was only when he hit a desperate Beast Bomber to Paulie that he was able to win the match. Ishikawa said he got to have a strong match after spending time away from DDT. He told everyone when he is the Triple Crown Champion he would like to face Irie again.

When DAMNATION left the ring, Meiko Satomura came out with her eyes set on Irie. With the yellow Right To Challenge Gauntlet in her possession, Satomura challenged Irie to a title match on the 28th August episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI”! An exhausted Irie got up and accepted the challenge. But when they were about to shake hands, Danshoku Dieno interrupted them with important news. Producer Dieno will not accept Irie Vs Satomura as the next KO-D Title match because the next title match will happen right now! Dieno then suddenly pulled out the blue Gauntlet belonging to Super Sasadango Machine. A video played on the screen of Sasadango announcing that he is giving his Gauntlet to Dieno as a gift. It now belongs to Dieno and he is cashing it in straight away!

The match began and Dieno immediately gave Irie the Danshoku Driver several times. Irie kicked out of them and fought back. He hit the Beast Bomber but when Irie went for the pin, Dieno caught him in the Gaydo Clutch and pinned him! Danshoku Dieno is the new KO-D Champion! A furious Irie had to be held back by the rest of RENEGADES until they finally got him to leave the ring. He still tossed a chair from the front row at Dieno as he was leaving. Dieno taunted Irie by telling him what he did today was all in the rules. Dieno waited so long and played the good boss all this time so he could pull this off. This plan was why Dieno did not enter King Of DDT this year. He may be the weakest champion of any wrestling company right now but that doesn’t matter. He is going straight to the main event of “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” as the champion! Just one problem. Meiko Satomura is still here with the last Right To Challenge Gauntlet (more about that below) and her intention to challenge the champion on 28th August still stands. She told Dieno she will win the KO-D Title, defend it against Irie and then defend it at the main event of Sumo Hall!

The DNA Draft and resulting roster reshuffle took place at the start of the episode. It was already decided that Daiki Shimomura would join BASARA and Kouki Iwasaki would join Ganbare☆Wrestling. Rekka also announced he will be leaving Japan for a while so he will not be transferring to another brand. The remaining DNA wrestlers were given the chance to nominate the group or unit they wished to join and it would be up to those groups to accept them or not. Some of the obvious moves were made first. Mizuki Watase chose RENEGADES (side note: Ryan Davidson has also joined the unit) and Shunma Katsumata picked ALL OUT. No surprises there. MAO wants to continue teaming with Mike Bailey so he picked the default DDT Sekigun group. Yuki Ueno also picked DDT. Naomi Yoshimura didn’t pick anybody. Instead he will go wherever he wants, whenever he wants. Konosuke Takeshita of all people asked him to join ALL OUT instead. Yoshimura declined because he has no motivation to fight with them. He’d rather fight against them. Yuki Iino asked if he could join ALL OUT. Akito wasn’t convinced so he would use their match later as an audition. Kota Umeda chose to stick with DDT. He will be on the same side as his old unit Shuten-dōji and he wants to set a fire under his former older brothers. Nobuhiro Shimatani declared himself the leader of DAMNATION but Daisuke Sasaki said the unit doesn’t need him. Shimatani then nominated Tokyo Joshi Pro but their producer Tetsuya Koda outright refused him. Shimatani went back to DAMNATION and promised to find a beautiful blonde woman for Sasaki, cook delicious meat for Mad Paulie, handcraft a new ring costume for Soma Takao, give Tetsuya Endo a better haircut than the one he currently has and teach new songs to Shuji Ishikawa. Sasaki finally gave in and inducted Shimatani into DAMNATION, but only as a temporary manager. Good enough!

In the middle of the draft, T2Hide announced they are splitting up. Kazuki Hirata is doing well without them although he protested the decision. HARASHIMA approached Toru Owashi and asked him to reform Disaster BOX, their old unit from the 2000s. Owashi liked the idea but they needed a third member to make them a unit. They nominated Yuki Ueno. He has no idea what Disaster BOX is or how important they are in DDT’s history but ok, he’ll join them instead of the default DDT side.

Now all of that craziness has been touched upon, let’s get into the rest of the show. The eight remaining King Of DDT participants met in an 4-Way Tag Match. Some of the pairings were unusual and led to a mix up. MAO & Mike Bailey were on two different teams but in the heat of the action they worked together to wipe out a few of the other wrestlers with a Double Moonsault to the outside. Kazuki Hirata tried to continue his miracle run by going straight at Tetsuya Endo with Cradles but in the end he was pinned by Endo with a Swan Dive 450 Splash. Despite winning the match, Endo says he does not feel any momentum from today’s result. That stuff means nothing when you’re only in the Quarter Finals.

Judging from his earlier performance on the episode you wouldn’t have thought Dieno would end up as champion by the end of it. He got into his usual shenanigans with Antonio Honda against KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi. Honda’s double Gongistune backfired when KUDO & Takanashi grabbed both of his hands and made Honda poke himself in both eyes. They then finised him off with the Takatonic followed by the Diving Double Knee Drop.

It turns out the Right To Challenge Gauntlet rules do apply overseas. Meiko Satomura apologised to the fans for losing the red Gauntlet during her recent visit to America for the Mae Young Classic. I’d go into more detail about the possible consequences for that but it veers into spoiler territory and I’m not in the mood to get into arguments about that right now. To make up for it Satomura made it her goal today to win another Gauntlet so she can challenge for the KO-D Title. Good thing she was in a match against the holder of the yellow Gauntlet Makoto Oishi. Satomura pinned Oishi with the Scorpio Rising and now holds the last remaining Right To Challenge Gauntlet in Japan. Before this match Sanshiro Takagi said if his team won then he would set up the Meiko Young Classic, a tournament for all women wrestlers over the age of 40. Meiko Satomura is 38.

Iino impressed ALL OUT enough in his match to be accepted into their unit. He hit Akito with the Spear but Akito grabbed onto Iino’s leg and pulled him down into a Leg Lock to make him submit.

There was an extra special guest appearing on the show this week. Rintaro Oyaizu from Season 2 of The Bachelor Japan greeted everyone and very quickly attracted attention from several wrestlers. Cherry, Yuna Manase, Yuki Kamifuku and Maki Itoh all entered the ring wanting to woo Oyaizu. They all agreed to fight each other in a 4 Way Match on 28th August with the winner getting a date with The Bachelor.


Irie Wins Back KO-D Title!

August 9, 2018

ROCKSTAR PRO “AMPED”, 08/08/2018
Rockstar Pro Arena, Dayton, Ohio
??? Fans

KO-D Openweight Title: Shigehiro Irie defeated Sami Callihan (c) with the Beast Bomber (??:??).
*Sami Callihan fails in V1. Shigehiro Irie becomes the 64th KO-D Openweight Champion!

Now don’t let that happen again!


Video Of KO-D Title Change In America

August 8, 2018


KO-D Title Fallout

August 3, 2018

A day has passed and I should write a bit more about yesterday’s news than just a proverbial slap on the forehead. Shigehiro Irie began his latest USA tour by losing the KO-D Openweight Title to Sami Callihan. Originally Irie was scheduled to defend the title in a 3 Way Match against Jake Crist and Trey Miguel. Crist pulled out of the match a day before the show due to injury and Callihan took his spot. As you know by now the match happened and Callihan pinned Irie to become the new KO-D Champion. It is the first time the title has changed hands outside of Japan. It was also the first time the belt was officially defended overseas. El Generico put the belt on the line when he was touring the UK a few years ago but DDT never acknowledged those matches as title defences.

The immediate reaction to the title change has been negative on a couple of fronts. For the storyline side, everybody in DDT is shocked by the result. Sanshiro Takagi and Danshoku Dieno are scrambling to sort out what to do to get the title back whether it’s by negotiating with Callihan to come over to Japan for a tour, hoping Irie gets a title rematch before he travels home or figuring out how to get another DDT wrestler out to America to chase after the champion. Takagi himself has volunteered to travel if that last option is chosen. His attempts at researching online who Callihan is immediately brought up pictures of Callihan kissing New Japan wrestlers in the ring back when he toured with that company last year. The wrestlers are also not happy with Irie. Those who remember Akito being the loudest critic of Irie’s behavior for the last year will not be surprised to learn that he accused Irie of embarrassing the company and damaging its reputation. This tour was supposed to show the strength of DDT to the world. Instead Irie loses their top prize to a complete outsider in his first match. And let’s not forget that this scenario was exactly the reason why Dieno and DDT were always hesitant to allow Irie to defend the championship overseas.

On the international front this is already becoming the most unpopular decision by DDT among the foreign fanbase for as long as I have run this site. Given the scale of the audience now the immediate response might even be the most negative in the entire company’s existence (Kenny Omega Vs Haruka happened in Stardom so go annoy them if you’re still angry over it). Callihan is not liked by sections of the wrestling fanbase for a bunch of reasons both privately and professionally. The tonal whiplash between the different reasons makes it difficult for me to talk about this without coming off as insensitive so I apologise if that’s the case. The most serious opinions about Callihan involves past accusations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife. In regards to his wrestling career, his involvement in accidentally injuring Eddie Edwards’s eye with a botched baseball bat spot along with his behavior online in response to criticisms of that incident earned him a lot of scorn too. On the other hand Callihan’s supporters believe his actions and attitude at events since then is exactly what his gimmick is supposed to be. After all a heel is supposed to be hated and unlikable. For those who aren’t bothered by his behavior and see it as him playing the heel there are still parts of that audience who just think he’s not talented enough to warrant the influence he currently holds in America’s wrestling scene. Like it or not, if there’s one thing Callihan can do right it’s capitalize on his controversies and come out of it as a more larger than life figure. And pro wrestling is made for larger than life figures.

With that out of the way, I believe the intention here without a doubt was to serve the storyline between Irie and Dieno back in Japan. Irie believes Dieno in his current role as Producer represents everything that he now hates about DDT. The failed pushes, the change in wrestling styles, a perceived failure in evolving the entertainment side of the product and the promises that never came to fruition. Promises like Irie going abroad to defend the championship. When Irie finally got what he wanted Dieno was the person warning him to protect the KO-D Title and not to get in over his head. It could be that Irie will be more bothered by Dieno being proved right than he is with losing the championship. Even if Irie wins back the title soon he will still return to Japan with a lot of angry eyes on him.

Here are the directions I guess the story can go from here:

1. Irie still has several bookings in America before he returns to Japan. It’s possible that somewhere he can get a rematch with Callihan and win back the title. Irie returns to Japan with the belt but the damage has been done and he faces a lot of conflict with Dieno/DDT over the incident. This begins the push for whatever Irie does at Sumo Hall in October, either a KO-D Title defence against the King Of DDT winner or a grudge match with Dieno. I reckon this is the most likely option, a short-term international title switch to add a spark to what’s been quite frankly a poor main event storyline this year.

2. Irie returns to Japan without the belt. DDT brings in Callihan to defend the title for however long it’s going to last. I do think it’s likely DDT will book Callihan with or without the title this year because of how close Irie is with the Ohio Versus Everything crew in real life.

3. Irie returns without the belt but Callihan stays in America. DDT chooses the plan to send someone over to chase after Callihan and get the belt back. I don’t think this will happen. Only reason I mention it is because Takagi tweeted the idea yesterday and won a Right To Challenge Gauntlet today.

4. I joked on Twitter about Meiko Satomura cashing in her Right To Challenge Gauntlet on Callihan while she is over in America for the Mae Young Classic tapings. This is absolutely not happening. While the global wrestling scene this year is crazy enough that an idea like this can become a reality, it will not be where the story is going. The RTC gimmick is supposed to be Japan only anyway so don’t worry when Satomura loses to Taynara Conti in the 1st Round. Also those results won’t become canon until the Autumn when the Gauntlet will certainly be cashed in by then unless we get some sort of time paradox like Progress and the NXT Tag Team Titles. I’m rambling so long story short, everything in general is Progress’s fault because their WWE association allowed them to be dicks and mess with time travel………………… It’s too warm today.


Sami Callihan Wins The KO-D Title!

August 2, 2018

ROCKSTAR PRO “AMPED”, 01/08/2018
Rockstar Pro Arena, Dayton, Ohio
??? Fans

KO-D Openweight Title – 3 Way Match: Sami Callihan defeated Shigehiro Irie (c) and Trey Miguel when Callihan pinned Irie with a Backslide (??:??).
*Shigehiro Irie fails in V5. Sami Callihan becomes the 63rd KO-D Openweight Champions!

God damn it Irie! Dieno warned you about this!

After receiving this result DDT has begun negotiations with Sami Callihan.