Japan Trip, Grand Illumination, Max Bump, Takeshita Dream Match

March 29, 2016

Heads up everyone, I’m about to go on holiday to Japan for the next two weeks. Bad news is I won’t be able to update the blog until maybe the 3rd week of April. The good news is I’ll be going to see Saitama Slam at Kasukabe Hall on the 2nd. I’ll hopefully have a good report written up for that show and my experience of it.

DDT “DNA 15”, 01/04/2016
Kitasenju Theatre 1010

1. Guanchulo Vs Rekka
2. Daichi Kazato Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
4. Rainbow Kawamura Vs Antonio Honda
5. Shunma Katsumata Vs Kouki Iwasaki
6. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Mao Inoue

This is Rekka’s first appearance as a full time member of DNA.

Dai Suzuki has gone under surgury to repair a meniscus in his left knee.

DDT “DRAMATIC GRAND ILLUMINATION!”, 03/04/2016
Shizuoka Izuguranparu Park

1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
2. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
3. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Shunma Katsumata & Guanchulo
4. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda
5. DDT Extreme Title: Super Sasadango Machine (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie
6. DDT Special 4 Vs Happy Motel Falls Count Anywhere 8-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo & Hiroshi Fukuda

Shigehiro Irie got the better of Super Sasadango Machine at their last meeting. What does Sasadango have planned to beat him?

DDT “MAX BUMP 2016”, 24/04/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo
2. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

Last May Kazusada Higuchi used a Right To Challenge contract to get a title match. His undefeated streak was ended by the champion HARASHIMA. Now almost a year later Higuchi finds himself in a similar position. He wants to get revenge on HARASHIMA for ending his win streak.

The New Gen Combo were granted a rematch for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.

The current Right To Challenge contract holders are Toru Owashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Danshoku Dino, Antonio Honda and Saki Akai.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS VOL. 3 ~FLOWERS ARE FLOWERS PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE~”, 22/05/2016
Osaka Yodogawa Ward Community Center

1. Twelve New Year’s Eve Dream: Konosuke Takeshita Vs HUB

It’s been a dream for Konosuke Takeshita to wrestle HUB. He’s been a fan of his going well back to his Osaka Pro days as zero.

Other wrestlers expected to compete are Jinsei Shinzaki, Magnitude Kishiwada, Kikutaro, Kuishinbo Kamen, Shuji Ishikawa, Kengo Takai, Shoichi Uchida and Super Sasadango Machine. Dick Togo will also appear.


DDT “DRAMATIC 2016 MARCH SPECIAL” Results

March 27, 2016

harashima-beats-ohka

DDT “DRAMATIC 2016 MARCH SPECIAL”, 26/03/2016
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi when Ihashi pinned Takagi with a School Boy (8:05).
2. Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Mizuki Watase when Irie pinned Machine with the Flying Sausage (10:45).
3. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo defeated Hoshitango & Guanchulo when Takeshita pinned Guanchulo with a Texas Cloverhold (9:39).
4. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Shunma Katsumata & Kouki Iwasaki (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda when Katsumata pinned Umeda with the Nebula Storm (14:14).
*V1 for Higuchi-gumi.
5. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Saki Akai, Danshoku Dino, amd Antonio Honda all won Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts (11:25).
5a. Saki Akai eliminated Makoto Oishi by Ring Out (3:50).
*Saki Akai wins a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
5b. Danshoku Dino eliminated Keisuke Ishii with a Lip Lock (6:10).
*Danshoku Dino wins a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
5c. Hiroshi Fukuda eliminated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (8:24).
5d. Akito eliminated Hiroshi Fukuda by Ring Out (8:24).
5e. Antonio Honda defeated Kazuki Hirata with a Crucifix Pin (11:25).
*Antonio Honda wins a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki (c) & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae when Sasaki pinned LeRae with the Vietnam Driver II (18:11).
*V1 for Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Ken Ohka with the Somato (16:11).
*V1 for HARASHIMA. Ken Ohka cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

Ken Ohka made several appearances throughout the show before the main event. Each time he demanded HARASHIMA to come out so they could begin their KO-D Openweight Title match. But whenever HARASHIMA appeared Ohka backtracked and instead claimed he was out to get advice from the other wrestlers in the ring. The match finally happened in the main event as originally scheduled. Ohka hit the Spear Of Flame but only got a two count. He surprised HARASHIMA with a Dragon Suplex but another Spear was avoided and HARASHIMA hit the Somato to win. The champion didn’t expect Ohka to be so driven to win and was impressed by how strong he has gotten. Ohka cried and thanked HARASHIMA before leaving.

Kazusada Higuchi was invited to the ring to set up HARASHIMA’s next title match on 24th April. Higuchi said he’s been disciplining himself ever since HARASHIMA handed him his first loss in Sapporo last year. He said he has youth on his side and that is what will make him win.

Love is over! Daisuke Sasaki had to put his feelings for Candice LeRae aside as the two duked over the KO-D Tag Team Titles along with Shuji Ishikawa and Joey Ryan. At one point the canvas was covered in candy and gave Sasaki the Ball Plex onto them. But it all fell apart for the challengers when Ishikawa gave LeRae the Fire Thunder onto the candy. Sasaki was in tears and told LeRae “I’m sorry, I love you!” before hitting a Super Kick. He then gave her the Vietnam Driver II for the victory. After the match Sasaki thought it was a good time to propose to LeRae one more time but he was turned down as usual. Sasaki wouldn’t take no for an answer and tried to leave the ring with LeRae over his shoulders. The New Gen Combo came to the rescue and then challenged the champions to a rematch. Sasaki instead demanded a match with LeRae and Johnny Gargano! Amon Tsurumi said there was no chance of it happening so the New Gen Combo are now the No. 1 Contenders.

Three more Right To Challenge contracts are now in play. A Battle Royal was held with a contract given to whoever could score an elimination by pinfall or submission. Saki Akai, Danshoku Dino and Antonio Honda won the remaining contracts. Kazuki Hirata once again failed to get one. At least he still has Aja Kong.

Team DNA just barely got out of Shinjuku FACE with the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles still in their grips. Shunma Katsumata caught Kota Umeda with a cradle but the two teams continued fighting after the bell rang. When they were kept apart Katsumata said their win wasn’t a fluke, it instead proved they can’t be stopped. Their goal as champions is to beat all of the senior wrestlers in DDT.

KENSO interfered in the opening match to again ask Sanshiro Takagi if he could join DDT permanently. Gota Ihashi got involved and got in a fight with KENSO. A missed Big Boot hitting Takagi allowed Ihashi to win the match via a roll up. KENSO ignored that and went back to asking about joining DDT. He will not give up because it his his dream to join DDT and wrestle for its amazing fans. Takagi said no. He instead brought out Taiwanese wrestler Rekka and asked him to join DDT and DNA. KENSO said he wanted to join more than Rekka but he was again told no. Takagi revealed he’s been in contact with New Taiwan Pro Wrestling and was impressed with Rekka’s hard work. DDT will hold its first show in Taiwan this November and DDT hopes Rekka will become a star in time for the show. KENSO yet again tried to get Takagi’s attention so a decision was made to have KENSO Vs Rekka in Saitama on 2nd April.

In a preview of their DDT Extreme Title match next week, Shigehiro Irie pinned Super Sasadango Machine. Sasadango didn’t even realise Irie was his next opponent until after the match. But he might have learned a few clues towards what Irie’s weaknesses are.


Ohka Desires Title, Sasaki Desires Candice, Sasadango Desires Not Losing

March 24, 2016

DDT “DRAMATIC 2016 MARCH SPECIAL”, 26/03/2016
Shinjuku FACE

1. Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi
2. Super Sasadango Machine & Mizuki Watase Vs Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
3. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Hoshitango & Guanchulo
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Danshoku Dino Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Saki Akai Vs Antonio Honda Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yasu Urano Vs Akito Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Shunma Katsumata & Kouki Iwasaki (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki (c) & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Ken Ohka
*Ken Ohka will cash in in Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

The first Right To Challenge Contract is already being cashed in. Ken Ohka is wasting no time and wants to fight HARASHIMA for the KO-D Openweight Title this Saturday. Ohka is not giving HARASHIMA any time to recover from Sumo Hall while he himself got through the show without a scratch. He knows HARASHIMA isn’t 100% and probably has an injured knee or foot from his match with Isami Kodaka. He has all the respect in the world for the champion and they have a strong bond after their match with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu last year. But his desire to win the KO-D Title again is even stronger.

Daisuke Sasaki nominated The World’s Cutest Tag Team as the No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles. He wants revenge on Candice LeRae for turning down his marriage proposal just to get engaged to someone else afterwards. Sasaki admits he’s thinking with his crotch instead of his head. He even wants to fight LeRae’s fiancée Johnny Gargano! Amon Tsurumi is allowing the title match to happen due to Sasaki’s insistence but did point out the former champions Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo also want a title rematch.

Turns out there is one more Right To Challenge Contract up for grabs.

In an odd turn of events Super Sasadango Machine wanted to vacate the DDT Extreme Title and reward it to Antonio Honda. Tsurumi asked why and he said he wanted to give the belt to Honda as a lifetime achievement award. His request was refused so he asked if he could lend the belt to Honda instead. When that was turned down he admitted he didn’t want to defend the title until the 20th Anniversary show in Saitama Super Arena next year. Then he admitted he would rather give the belt to Honda instead of losing it to him.

DDT “TENNOJI WRESTLING ZOO! 2016”, 27/03/2016
Osaka Tennoji Ward Community Center

1. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae
2. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Kota Umeda
3. Satoshi New War Broke Out! Special Singles Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Masa Takanashi

Danshoku Dino and Joey Ryan are in the same ring together for the first time since that match at “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015”.

BASARA “VAJRA 6 ~OWARI NAGOYA WITH THE CASTLE~”, 28/03/2016
Nagoya Chikusa Small Theatre

1. Ryu Gouma Vs Naoshi Sano
2. Hi69 Vs Yukihiro Abe
3. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Atsushi Maruyama
4. Hiroshi Fukuda & SAGAT Vs Kazuaki Mihara & Shinya Ishida
5. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Daichi Kazato & Tsutomu Oosugi
6. Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Ryuichi Sekine & Koji Iwamoto

Who let Naoshi Sano in here?

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “POKEBERU GA NARANAKUTE 2016”, 29/03/2016
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. World’s Strongest Phantom Rumble ~Bracken Of The Living Dead~: J-Soul Pandita III IV Vs Dr. Kirico Vs Potato Head Sera Vs Hong Kong International Police Man Vs Hong Kong Domestic Police Man Vs Hong Kong International Women’s Police Man Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Choun-Shiryu
2. Special Tag Match: Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Shibata & Mitomi Masayuki
3. Special Dream Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Viper
4. Ganpuro Vs Tomodachi-gun: Ken Ohka, Shota & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Minoru Fujita, Madoka & Yukihiro Abe

Yumehito Imanari’s original opponent Bambi had to pull out due to poor health. Ganbare☆Wrestling struck a deal with Stardom to bring in Scottish wrestler Viper to replace Bambi. Imanari is thrilled with the decision.

DDT “DNA 15”, 01/04/2016
Kitasenju Theatre 1010

1. Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao
2. Rainbow Kawamura Vs Antonio Honda
3. Shunma Katsumata Vs Kouki Iwasaki
4. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Mao Inoue

Mao Inoue is being thrown into the deep end so soon after his return from injury.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “HOP! STEP! KASUKABE, JUMP!”, 02/04/2016
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

1. Hyper Misao Vs Yuu
2. KANNA & Yuka Sakizaki Vs Azusa Takigawa & Marika Kobashi
3. Nonoko Vs Nodoka-oneesan
4. Ai Shimizu Tokyo Joshi Pro Graduation Match: Ai Shimizu & Shoko Nakajima Vs Miyu Yamashita & Rika Tatsumi
5. Iron Mask Girl Legend ~ Farewell Saki Akamiya: Saki Akamiya Vs Poison Miura (w/ Poison Sawada JULIE)

Ai Shimizu gets to have her graduation match with the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion.

BASARA “VAJRA 7 ~TOSHOGONGEN~”, 10/04/2016
Oyama Municipal Cultural Center

1. Hardcore Match: Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs FUMA & Yusuke Kubo

This will be BASARA’s first Hardcore Match.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2016”, 24/04/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

No matter who the KO-D Champion is they will defend the title against Kazusada Higuchi on this show.

LiLiCo will appear on the show looking for revenge on Saki Akai.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~” Results

March 21, 2016

judgement2016

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
6,938 Fans – No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title: DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki defeated Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango when Nira pinned Morohashi with the Ravioli (3:31).
*D1 for Seiya Morohashi.
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Yuka Sakazaki defeated Shoko Nakajima with the Osaekomi Backslide (8:37).
Order Of Elimination: Poison Miura, Yuu, Hyper Misao, Nodoka-onesan, Ai Shimizu and Rika Tatsumi, Marika Kobashi, Nonoko, Azusa Takigawa, KANNA, Miyu Yamashita.
0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue defeated Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Katsumata pinned Shimatani with the Lightning Spiral (6:53).
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT defeated Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma when FUMA pinned Kazato with the HEAVY METAL ANTHEM (5:28).
1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao with the Goten (16:53).
1a. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Blue: Ken Ohka (6:26).
1b. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Yellow: Tomomitsu Matsunaga (8:27).
1c. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Red: Toru Owashi (10:43).
1d. Right To Date Aja Kong: Kazuki Hirata (13:19).
Order Of Elimination: Gorgeous Matsuno, Cherry, Ryuichi Sekine, Masa Takanshi, Yoshihiko, Ryota Nakatsu.
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae and Akito & Yasu Urano when Irie pinned Akito with the Beast Bomber (9:57).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard when LiLiCo submitted Oishi with a Manjigatame (9:38).
*V1 for LiLiCo.
4. Special Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA defeated Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda when Fujinami submitted Fukuda with the Dragon Sleeper (12:10).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Kendo Kashin (c) with a Cross Armbreaker Crush (7:07).
*Kendo Kashin fails in V4. Super Sasadango Machine becomes the 35th DDT Extreme Champion!
6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai and KENSO & Michael Nakazawa when Ibushi pinned Nakazawa with the Phoenix Splash (23:12).
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Yukio Sakaguchi by TKO with the Sleeper Hold (16:15).
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Akebono defeated Danshoku Dino with the Danshoku Yokozuna Impact (10:20).
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) when Sasaki submitted Takeshita with La Mistica Cross Facelock (17:22).
*New Generation Combination fails in V2. Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa become the 54th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: HARASHIMA defeated Isami Kodaka (c) with the Swan Dive Somato (18:15).
*Isami Kodaka fails in V4. HARASHIMA becomes the 56th KO-D Openweight Champion!

judgement2016-2

A lot happened at DDT’s 19th Anniversary show. I mean a lot. Three title changes, a mental Falls Count Anywhere match, bare asses, new challengers determined and a few announcements for DDT’s future too. DDT also had an entire seating setup of Sumo Hall available to them instead of having one side blocked off for the entrance stage like in previous years.

judgement2016-kodmain

In the main event HARASHIMA took the KO-D Openweight Title from Isami Kodaka to become an 8-time KO-D Champion. No amount of Isamuashi Zan kicks and Zeyyari knee strikes could keep the challenger down. Once again the Somato was the difference maker. During an intense back and forth HARASHIMA hit a short range Somato and followed up with a Swan Dive version to put Kodaka away. HARASHIMA said that little difference between him and Kodaka was needed to win and he will keep on winning. He said the scenery around him in Sumo Hall was amazing and when DDT returns in the summer he’ll be ready for whoever is thrown in front of him.

When HARASHIMA’s victory speech was over a message was shown on the video screen. On 20th March, 2017 DDT will hold its 20th Anniversary show in Saitama Super Arena! Previously DDT ran the Community Hub area of the building but this time the show takes place inside the main hall! Sanshiro Takagi said he wants to chase the dream with everyone and the show ended with the ring showered in cherry blossoms raining from the sky.

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The KO-D Tag Team Titles changed hands when Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa dethroned the New Generation Combination. The former champions went down fighting though. Ishikawa took out Tetsuya Endo with the Fire Thunder but Konosuke Takeshita never tapped out to Sasaki’s La Mistica Cross Facelock. Instead the referee had to call for the bell when Takeshita went motionless. After the match Sasaki said if the New Gen Combo can hear him then they should know the future is now in his and Ishikawa’s hands. In the post-match interview the former champions said they will go back to the drawing board but they also don’t know what their next step will be. Sasaki was quick to nominated The World’s Cutest Tag Team as the No. 1 Contenders. He still wants revenge on Candice LeRae for rejecting his marriage proposal earlier this year.

judgement2016-akebono-dino

We finally got to see what Danshoku Dino wanted to do with the collection of asses he gathered for Akebono. Dino had the turnbuckle pads removed from all corner posts and in their place was the bare asses of the DDT roster! Four corners and three asses per corner meant twelve asses surrounding the ring. However Akebono had his own trick up his sleeve. He put Dino in a Lip Lock then put on a pair of Danshoku tights. He used the power of Danshoku to deliver the Danshoku Yokozuna Impact to Dino and that was the end of that.

judgement2016-suzuki-sakaguchi

Minoru Suzuki didn’t care where he was or what company he is fighting in. It could be DDT or NOAH or some joshi promotion, as long as there was a squared circle to stand in Suzuki was ready for his match. It didn’t matter that his opponent Yukio Sakaguchi is a former KO-D Champion and somebody he never faced before. He was ready regardless. Sakaguchi had the rest of Shuten-dōji in his corner and tried to go hold for hold. His attempts to hit the Right Knee Of God were foiled but he was able to lock on the Modified Cobra Clutch. The big turning point came when Suzuki hit Sakaguchi with a Dropkick. By this point Sakaguchi barely had enough energy to fight off the Sleeper Hold and Gotch-Style Piledriver. But Suzuki was quick to catch him in another Sleeper Hold and choke him out to earn the victory. Suzuki showed good sportsmanship after the match and hugged Sakaguchi. Despite the loss Sakaguchi thinks he has grown stronger because of that match.

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Before Kota Ibushi’s comeback match began a teaser trailer played for DDT’s next movie called Dai Kaiju Mono, directed by Minoru Kawasaki. He is behind such films as Calamari Wrestler, Executive Koala, Kabuto-O Beetle, Everyone But Japan Sinks and Crab Goalkeeper. The Treasure Hunt Match began with Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai carrying a locker and barbed wire board to the ring before everybody walked out of Sumo Hall to the outdoor starting area. When the bell rang there was chaos. Takagi and KENSO went straight for each other, Kasai threw Ibushi into the crowd of people watching them, everybody went over to cardboard cutouts of sumo wrestlers so they could takes pictures then Ibushi kicked Michael Nakazawa down a flight of stairs. Nakazawa was then dragged indoors to a restroom and Ibushi gave him a Piledriver into a toilet! Back in the arena everyone fought throughout the crowd and a giant hammer was brought out. KENSO and Takagi fought in the lobby and eventually found their way down to ringside. They both got on bicycles and cycled around the ring until they crashed into each other. Meanwhile Ibushi did a Moonsault from an entrance onto Nakazawa and Gota Ihashi below. Kasai brought Ibushi over to a table and climbed the top rope. He put Ibushi through the table with the Pearl Harbour Splash but he only got a two count. Back in the ring Takagi got the better of KENSO and wanted to throw him into the locker. He opened the longer and inside was former DDT wrestler Tanomusaku Toba! The kickboxer popped out and attacked whoever got in his way. Ihashi entered the ring with boxing gloves and got immediately knocked out. Ibushi entered with gloves and faired much better. Ihashi was somehow knocked out again during this by Toba and then Ibushi. In fact Ibushi lost track of what was happening and decided to beat up his partner until Toba regained his attention. Toba knocked out Ibushi and decided to leave. KENSO hit a Diving Elbow on Ibushi but his pin was interrupted by Takagi spraying him with a fire extinguisher. Nakazawa tried to clear the ring but was stopped by Kasai and a piece of the broken table. Nakazawa was then thrown into the barbed wire board. Kasai climbed the locker and hit the Pearl Harbour Splash on KENSO but Ibushi stopped the pin. With encouragement from Ibushi, Ihashi hit a Running Body Press onto both Takagi & Kasai outside the ring. Ibushi prevented Nakazawa from doing the Ultimate Venom Arm and knocked him out with a straight right hand punch. Ibushi paid tribute to Hayabusa by doing his pose before climbing the turnbuckles and then hit the match winning Phoenix Splash.

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After the match Takagi and Ibushi shared an emotional moment in the ring. Takagi congratulated Ibushi for his return, called him crazy and said he can now do whatever he wants to do. He hopes the Ibushi Wrestling Institute will discover new and interesting ways to do pro wrestling. Ibushi thanked him and said he would like to come back to DDT in the future. He did some backflips for the fans and then left. But KENSO was still there and he wanted to talk to Takagi. He said he came to DDT to chase after Takagi but then discovered DDT is the best and their fans are the best. So he wants to join DDT! Takagi instantly refused and demanded his music to cut off KENSO’s mic. KENSO asked again and Takagi instantly refused again. KENSO asked one more time and this time Kasai stepped in to offer his opinion. Kasai thinks a psychopath like KENSO joining DDT wouldn’t be a bad idea. Takagi thought about it but said no and left the ring to his music while KENSO fainted.

judgement2016-ultimate

The Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules match began with Super Sasadango Machine doing a PowerPoint presentation on a laptop that was surrounded in barbed wire and rigged to explode in 5 minutes. Thankfully there was no explosion because Sasadango got to explain the rules of the match within the time limit. He was joined by four men wearing Machine masks and he called them the Sasadango Machine Army. During the match a wrestler can pull out one of three Ultimate Royal cards. Doing so would activate Ultimate Royale Mode and the Machine Army will attack their opponent to the music of Chocoball Mukai’s entrance theme. Oh and the cards have a drawing of The Ultimate Warrior on them. Sasadango pulled out a card while Kendo Kashin had him in an Indian Deathlock. Kashin stole the second card and used it to turn the Army against Sasadango. This time they and also Yukinori Matsui wore Kashin masks. Kashin tried to lock in the Cross Armbreaker when Sasadango pulled out the final card. Matsui switched the Kashin mask with a Machine mask and fast counted the pin to make Sasadango the new DDT Extreme Champion!

judgement2016-fujinami

There was really nothing that Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda could do to beat Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA. Even Fukuda singing “Macho Dragon” to distract Fujinami so Honda could sneak attack him didn’t do much in the long run. Fujinami said wrestling in Sumo Hall again for the first time in years made him feel nostalgic. LEONA admitted to being nervous by teaming with his father in such an important building. LEONA was asked in an interview if he would like to wrestle in DDT again in the future and he answered “By all means, please.” Fujinami thinks it will be good experience for him to do it.

judgement2016-lilico

LiLiCo now stands triumphant over the Kawaii Connection. She escaped from Makoto Oishi’s Miracle Ecstasy and locked on a Manjigatame after Kota Umeda softened Oishi up with a Back Spin Kick. LiLiCo bragged about her success and credited it to being beautiful and eating good meat because she will forever be a carnivore. Saki Akai snuck up and gave her a School Boy to try and win the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title but LiLiCo kicked out. Umeda & Mizuki Watase then blocked off Akai from any further attacks. LiLiCo demanded revenge and said she will keep her schedule open for the 24th April Korakuen Hall show.

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Team Drift came out on top in the 3 Way Tag match. Joey Ryan’s penis got to do the voodoo that you do so well and Candice Lerae delivered a double Ball Plex as part of a Tower Of Doom spot but she was then taken out with a Black Hole Slam from Shigehiro Irie. Akito tried his best to stop Irie but the Beast Bomber put an end to him and the match. The World’s Cutest Tag Team were still happy to wrestle in Sumo Hall and noted that although they didn’t win, they didn’t take the fall either. Keisuke Ishii felt confident about the win and revealed his goal is to now main event Sumo Hall. Irie is also disappointed that he went from headlining Sumo Hall a few years ago to wrestling in an undercard tag bout although he is happy he won with his friend Ishii.

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The show began with the first Right To Challenge Rumble to take place inside Sumo Hall. Kazuki Hirata entered at No. 1 hoping to grab a contract before anyone else could but someone was always there do stop him. Ken Ohka easily grabbed the first contract when he headbutted Hirata off of the ladder. Tomomitsu Matsunaga grabbed the second when he spat Lotion Mist at Hirata and he fell. Hirata was able to pull down the third contract when Soma Takao Dropkicked him off the ladder but the contract slipped out of his hands and Toru Owashi picked it up to win possession. One more was left and Hirata fought his heart out to claim it, escaping Kazusada Higuchi’s Canadian Backbreaker to step up the ladder and grab his prize. The Rumble part of the match continued and Higuchi outlasted both Takao and Ryota Nakatsu to win. Higuchi now has a KO-D Title shot on 24th April in Korakuen Hall. The contract holders returned to reveal their prize. Ohka, Matsunaga and Owashi all got Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts as expected. Hirata however got something different. His prize is a date with Aja Kong! She came out wearing HIRATA GO! glasses and she told Hirata they will go out dancing together. Hirata ran away and Kong chased after him. When that was done Ohka announced he will not wait long to cash in his contract. He wants his title match to take place on 26th March in Shinjuku FACE! Matsunaga and Owashi declined to say when they will cash in their contracts.

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Sumo Hall got a taste of heavy metal when FUMA’s team won the BASARA match. Although SAGAT is not a part of Kotetsu Gundan he fit in pretty well with his aggressive wrestling style. His GOREGRIND followed by Yusuke Kubo’s Goro Suplex left Daichi Kazato as an easy picking for FUMA’s HEAVY METAL ANTHEM Diving Elbow finisher.

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Mao Inoue’s return to action in the DNA match ended with him on the winning team. He wiped out Kouki Iwasaki and Rainbow Kawamura with the Alien Plancha allowing Guanchulo to set up Nobuhiro Shimatani for Shunma Katsumata’s Lightning Spiral.

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Poison Sawada JULIE appeared in the Tokyo Joshi Pro Battle Royal with his protege Poison Miura. He tried to eliminate everyone with his snake magic but Hyper Misao stopped him and eliminated Miura. When the match came down to three girls the Fighting Comedians double-teamed Miyu Yamashita to eliminate the TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion. Yuka Sakazaki then pinned her teammate with a Leg Clutch Backslide to score the biggest win of her career.

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DJ Nira won a match in Sumo Hall. This is the first sign of the apocalypse. Seiya Morohashi was pretty lackadaisical with a pin attempt and Nira capitalized by shifting his dead weight on Morohashi’s shoulders.

DDT announced plans of an overseas expansion for later this year. They will hold a show in Taipai, Taiwan this November at the ATT SHOW BOX. The show is being sponsored by Nitori, a brand of furniture stores.

After the dark matches were over Amon Tsurumi and Mita Sayoko announced the winners of this year’s Dramatic Awards.

MVP: HARASHIMA
Best Bout: HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu (DDT “#OHKAEMPIRE BOX OFFICE ~MUSCLE MATES 2015~”, 17/11/2015)
Best Tag: Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine
Best Microphone: Minoru Fujita (GANBARE☆WRESTLING “WOW WAR TONIGHT 2015”, 16/05/2015)
Worst Bout: All Japan Hand Sumo Championship Final: Kazunori Huzioka Vs Ryota Yamazato (DDT “#OHKAEMPIRE BOX OFFICE ~MUSCLE MATES 2015~”, 17/11/2015)
Best Sexy: Shigeru Matsuzaki singing “Obsession” (DDT “SAITAMA SUPER DDT 2015”, 15/02/2015)
Best Shot: Ayano Fujiwara for Sanshiro Takagi 20th Anniversary Falls Count Anywhere Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs Kota Ibushi & Suguru Miyatake (DDT “JUDGEMENT 2015”, 29/03/2015)
Best SNS: Sanshiro Takagi
Best Hype Video: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015 ~FROM DDT WITH LOVE~”, 23/08/2015)
Best Tonpachi: Kota Ibushi
Best Joshi: Saki Akai
Best Performance: Kazuki Hirata


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

March 19, 2016

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DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. King Of Dark Title: Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango Vs DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nonoko Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Azusa Takigawa Vs Yuu Vs Nodoka-onesan Vs Marika Kobashi Vs Ai Shimizu Vs Poison Miura Vs KANNA
0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT
1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Masa Takanshi Vs Soma Takao Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Cherry Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yoshihiko Vs Ken Ohka
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard Vs LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
4. Special Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA
5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Kendo Kashin (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine
6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs KENSO & Michael Nakazawa Vs Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Minoru Suzuki
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Akebono
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs HARASHIMA

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DDT celebrates the 19th year of its existence with the first of two visits to Sumo Hall in 2016. After drawing a disappointing number back in August, they have packed this card with everything they have in their arsenal. Spin offs BASARA, DNA and Tokyo Joshi Pro all have spots on the pre-show so there is a sense of DDT getting everybody they can on their rosters onto the show in a WrestleMania kind of manner. Things to look forward to this year are the aces of DDT and BASARA facing off, one man and his dog chasing after tag team gold, sumo being challenged by the power of asses, two grumpy fighters being grumpy to each other, the return of a Golden Star to shine over the least wanted feud in wrestling, the presence of a Dragon and his son and the most extreme PowerPoint presentation known to mankind.

0. King Of Dark Title: Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango Vs DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki

Seiya Morohashi has the unwanted honour of defending the King Of Dark Title at one of DDT’s biggest shows of the year. The belt has been in existence for over a year now and has been a nightmare for everyone who held it. Morohashi needs to pin either DJ Nira or Dai Suzuki to transfer the belt to them and escape from dark match hell.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nonoko Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Azusa Takigawa Vs Yuu Vs Nodoka-onesan Vs Marika Kobashi Vs Ai Shimizu Vs Poison Miura Vs KANNA

The girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro take the stage with a Battle Royal. Miyu Yamashita is currently leading the brand as the first and only TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion. She doesn’t have a No. 1 Contender at the moment so the winner here might grab that spot.

0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani

The rookie brand DDT New Attitude has been a highlight for DDT throughout the year. The shows are uploaded to DDT’s official Youtube channel and are a great showcase for the younger and newer talent. In fact two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions are captaining the two teams in this match. Shunma Katsumata is teaming with his Chilean amigo Guanchulo and the returning Mao Inoue. Inoue debuted at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015” and is one of the more flashier wrestlers in DNA. But a jaw injury at “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015” in November put him on the shelf. On the other side, one-third champ Kouki Iwasaki has the now more colourful Rainbow Kawamura and recently debuting Nobuhiro Shimatani to partner with.

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT

It’s been go, go, go for Pro Wrestling BASARA since its first show earlier this year. As a replacement for Union, BASARA put together a much busier schedule than its predecessor and the shows held so far have been a success. One of the main storylines going on right now is FUMA’s obsession for heavy metal music resulting in the creation of Kotetsu Gundan. FUMA wants to spread around his love of heavy metal and convinced the now masked Yusuke Kubo and a slightly confused Madoka to join his cause. FUMA won’t shut up and it’s starting to annoy the rest of BASARA. Takumi Tsukamoto has a massive hammer to smash FUMA’s mouth shut, Daichi Kazato has a megaphone to drown out the noise and Ryu Gouma has his lawbook so surely he can find something to declare FUMA’s antics as noise pollution.

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1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Masa Takanshi Vs Soma Takao Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Cherry Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yoshihiko Vs Ken Ohka

The show starts off proper with the annual Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere match appearing in Sumo Hall for the first time. It is a combination of a Money In The Bank Ladder Match and the Royal Rumble. The winner of the Rumble itself gets a guaranteed KO-D Openweight Title shot at Korakuen Hall on 24th April. However the competitors can instead try and claim one of several contracts held high above the ring. Those who grab a contract then leave the match with a prize. This year the prize is a MITB style title shot for any show from 26th March to 28th August, the date of the next Sumo Hall event. But this being DDT things are not always that simple. Rules can change but based on previous years the contract holder is forced to defend the contract in every single match they appear in until the contract is cashed in. This way the contract holder cannot just rest on their laurels and accept defeat after defeat knowing that they can claim an easy title shot whenever they want (see WWE booking). Plus it’s a bit unfair for the champion to have up to 4 or 5 people waiting to ambush him at any time so this concept keeps the roster scrambling amongst themselves for a few months.

After a string of wins including a Battle Royal victory, Kazuki Hirata offered to take the No. 1 entry spot in the match. He originally demanded to enter last but was convinced all of the contracts would be gone by the time he enters. So he’s entering first to grab a contract as soon as possible. He also has new heart shaped HIRATA GO! glasses on sale at the event. The rest of DDT’s misfits fill up the field. Masa Takanashi is aiming to win a title shot so he can become a double champion, one in Japan and one in Singapore. Toru Owashi is currently battling a flu but he also wants to snap every pair of HIRATA GO! glasses he sees. He also wants to flush Hirata down a toilet in the sumo locker room. Kazusada Higuchi held one of the contracts last year during his impressive rookie unbeaten streak. This time he wants to get a successful cash in. Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Cherry both want to finally achieve their goal of becoming KO-D Champion. Cherry wants to defend the title 41 times, one for every year she’s been alive. She believes this will end with her becoming reborn into an even more beautiful woman. Ryota Nakatsu is ready to get into a baseball dugout brawl if he has to. Ryuichi Sekine calls himself the best orthodox wrestler in BASARA and him getting a title shot will guarantee the belt either stays or comes back to his home company. Ken Ohka who briefly became KO-D Champion last year thanks to the Right To Challenge concept, sees himself as the outsider of the match due to being a representative of Ganbare☆Wrestling. At the press conference he challenged everybody to fight him one on one. Higuchi then gave him a Headbutt and he backed off, instead complimenting everybody for being so enthusiastic for the match. The other wild card is Yoshihiko. It probably just wants to watch the world burn.

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2. 3 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akito & Yasu Urano

It’s safe to say DDT has fallen in love with The World’s Cutest Tag Team. Last year’s video of Joey Ryan overpowering Danshoku Dino with his dick made him famous and the DDT roster fell head over heels for Candice LeRae, one of them even going so far to propose to her almost immediately. For their return to Japan they have two mainstay tag teams thrown in their way. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie are former KO-D Tag Team and All Asia Tag Team Champions. Yasu Urano & Akito are busy working their strategy for the match. They understand that communication is key to winning and both of their opposing teams have strong bonds. However the one thing Ryan & LeRae have over Ishii & Irie is the language barrier. Ishii & Irie are terrible at English! Urano & Akito however understand English and can work out what Ryan & LeRae will be saying to each other. They don’t speak it themselves but they still understand it. Ishii tried to prove them wrong at the press conference by having Irie translate his message to both teams in English.

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3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard Vs LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase

The Kawaii Connection reunite to deliver their cuteness to the entire world. Cute model Saki Akai, cute wrestler Makoto Oishi and cute crossdresser Lady Beard are ready to get revenge on LiLiCo for what she did to Akai. Back in December Akai finally achieved her goal and won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title for the second time in her career. But a few weeks later LiLiCo made a surprise return to choke out Akai with a steel chain and win the title. Now they will finally meet in the ring properly but LiLiCo has some back up. She recruited DNA wrestlers Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase. mostly based on their looks, to protect her and her championship. They’ve been living a lavish lifestyle in the run up to the show. LiLiCo’s been bragging about eating delicious meat with her handsome men. Umeda thinks the full stomach he has from the meat puts him in peak physical condition. Meanwhile a war of words has erupted between Akai and Watase over each other’s appearances. It’s gotten so bad that the two had to be pulled apart from each other during the press conference.

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4. Special Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA

The latest puroresu legend to step into DDT’s ring is WWE Hall Of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami! He’s been looking for a new challenge for himself and his son LEONA to overcome so DDT gave them a call and here they are. Antonio Honda spent the last few months chasing after the DDT Extreme Title and trying to get Kendo Kashin to notice him. The experience left him in a bad state of mind so when he heard he will be teaming with Hiroshi Fukuda it cheered him up. He said he always had fun when he’s in the ring with Fukuda. That it’s against Fujinami & LEONA is icing on the cake for both. Fukuda claims he recently received a WWE tryout and he wonders if Fujinami gets a Legends discount for the WWE Network because he’s in their Hall Of Fame.

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5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Kendo Kashin (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine

And now we go to whatever the hell this is. Kendo Kashin’s DDT Extreme Title run has been complicated in ways that should not be so. He created rulesets for his title defences that turn out to be exactly like normal match stipulations. Instead of a normal match it is an Amateur rules bout with 3 count pins, submissions allowed and 20 count ring outs. Instead of a tag team match it is a single match but both wrestlers have partners they can swap places with. Instead of a Triple Threat it is a singles match but with three wrestlers involved. And so on and so forth. Add in Super Sasadango Machine who is a master of bizarre match stipulations and you have a recipe for a beautiful disaster.

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So what exactly is an Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules match? Does it have anything to do with that stupid 4 Way MMA Gauntlet match New Japan did for its 2005 Tokyo Dome show? Actually yes it does but there’s only two wrestlers involved this time. Also Kashin has never seen the match so he’s not entirely sure what the rules for that are. Does it have anything to do with the Barbed Wire Explosion matches FMW was famous for? Again yes it does but explosions of that size are banned in Sumo Hall so they won’t be included. Instead barbed wire will be wrapped around the laptop Sasadango uses for his PowerPoint presentations and it will be rigged to explode after 5 minutes.

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6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs KENSO & Michael Nakazawa Vs Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi

There are two stories surrounding this match. First is the feud that no one wanted resurfaced last year and has lingered in DDT ever since. Sanshiro Takagi and KENSO had a feud in 2006 that ended with a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Match on a show where everything just fell apart. How bad was it? There were power outages during the match caused by the barbed wire ruining the explosions. KENSO showed up in DDT last year wanting to rekindle the feud. It was the most alive he ever felt and he wanted to experience it again. It turned smarky on social media with Takagi tweeting about KENSO’s failures in wrestling including losing to an actor when he wrestled in HUSTLE. KENSO’s response was usually just linking a picture of Takagi’s election poster, an embarrassing part of his past. A dark match 60 minute Ironman Match couldn’t decide a winner of the feud so it’s off to Sumo Hall for another final battle. Jun Kasai is coming to bring back his Crazy & President tag team with Takagi. KENSO has to rely on Michael Nakazawa who is returning from Singapore just to do this match. The stage is set for an out of control Falls Count Anywhere Match that will spread all over Sumo Hall. What could possibly take the spotlight from that?

Oh hey there, Kota Ibushi. How’s it going?

So get this. Last October Ibushi starts dropping out of shows including him missing a KO-D Title Match. Turns out he was diagnosed with a herniated cervical disc. So that’s him gone for God knows how long. Months pass and he’s all quiet until all of a sudden videos appear on Twitter of Ibushi working out and taking bumps with a training dummy. The herniated disc wasn’t as bad as expected and he was getting close to a full recovery. DDT and New Japan fans get excited for what will surely be his inevitable glorious comeback for both companies. Then in February he drops a bombshell. Ibushi decided to quit both DDT and New Japan. The double schedule took its toll on his body and he also felt he wouldn’t be able to do the kind of pro wrestling he wants to do while tied down to both companies. So he “graduates” from DDT and New Japan and then creates the Ibushi Wrestling Institute. What that is we still don’t know. What we do know is Ibushi’s first match back will be in this clusterfuck. He gets to wrestle Takagi and Nakazawa again, two men he has the deepest respect for and he gets to do a Falls Count Anywhere Match in Sumo Hall, which he has never done before.

What he does after the next few weeks is anyone’s guess. Maybe the WWE fans get their wish and he enters the Global Cruiserweight Series. Maybe NJPW fans can still get their wish of Ibushi Vs Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome next year. Or maybe he’s just going to do what he thinks is fun even if it means hardcore fans tearing out their hair because his big goal is to fight in Kaiju Big Battel. I mean fair play to EVOLVE and all but it has to be a bit embarrassing when everyone hears that the main reason a big star took your booking is because he wants to fight a devil monkey, a dust bunny, a murderous can of soup and a giant waffle in the same town that weekend.

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7. Dramatic Dream Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Minoru Suzuki

The last time Yukio Sakaguchi was in Sumo Hall for DDT he won the KO-D Championship. The last time Minoru Suzuki was in Sumo Hall for DDT he was part of some nonsense with Takagi, Kasai and Nakazawa. Both are grumpy hybrid wrestlers so it’s only natural for a showdown between the two. Sakaguchi isn’t in the mood to talk about the match. Suzuki cares a little more but he’s rather enjoying teasing Sakaguchi over his public reputation for being a bad guy. Expect this match to get physical.

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8. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Akebono

Danshoku Dino is an ass man. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. What could be a surprise is Dino might not be able to handle the next ass he’s in the ring with. Akebono was last in DDT for “SAITAMA SUPER DDT” at the Saitama Super Arena. Since then he’s won some titles, created his own wrestling company Odo and got punched in the back of the head by Bop Sapp. You know, the usual stuff Akebono likes to do. For this match Dino has been trying to hunt down the asses of various wrestlers as some sort of power up but the plan hasn’t been a success. He’ll need to pull out every trick he can think of to win but it’s possible. Dino once defeated Bob Sapp. He can do the same to Akebono!

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9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa

The New Generation Combination are currently DDT’s top tag team. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo are the leading examples that DDT’s future is in good hands. But for the last month they’ve had a duo barking up their tree and snapping at their heels. Daisuke Sasaki is a crafty veteran who has had success in the past. However his luck changed when he fell in love with Candice LeRae. After teaming with her he bent down on one knee and proposed. She turned him down and he had a mental breakdown when he found out she got engaged to someone else immediately afterwards. Unable to handle rejection Sasaki started bringing a dog leash with him. When he demanded a tag team title shot without having any tag partners he went out and got a dog named Adrien. The “dog” then showed up and attacked the New Gen Combo. He unmasked and was revealed to be Shuji Ishikawa! Sasaki now has a partner and together they want the tag titles. Takeshita & Endo believe they are the future of pro wrestling and they’re not going to drop the titles to a dumped man and his pet dog.

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10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The KO-D Openweight Championship has been around Isami Kodaka’s waist since November. Things have been great for him. His new promotion BASARA is doing well, he’s a tag team champion in All Japan and he’s been unbeatable in DDT. If there is anyone who has the best shot at winning the title from him it’s good old Mr. Reliable himself, HARASHIMA. For the 5th time in his career HARASHIMA is in the headline match for DDT at Sumo Hall. The last time was in 2014 in a 3 Way Match with Kodaka and Kenny Omega. HARASHIMA got the pin on Kodaka to keep the title. This time he’s going in as challenger and he aims to leave with the belt. Kodaka equates this match to the rivalry between Kenshiro and Raoh in Fist Of The North Star. Isami is Kenshiro, HARASHIMA is Raoh. Isami is desperate to win and he’ll even use the Muso Tensei if he has to!


DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2016” Results

January 31, 2016

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DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2016”, 31/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,658 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Falls Count Anywhere Iron Man Match: Sanshiro Takagi (16) Vs KENSO (16) ended in a Draw (60:00).
0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Hiroshi Fukuda & Mizuki Watase when Ihashi pinned Watase with a Diving Body Press (3:42).
*Gota Ihashi passes D2. Mizuki Watase becomes the 11th King Of Dark Champion.
1. Daisuke Sasaki & Guanchulo defeated Shunma Katsumata & Kota Umeda when Sasaki pinned Katsumata with the Vietnam Driver II (10:11).
2. Makoto Oishi & Cherry defeated Saki Akai & DJ Nira when Cherry pinned Nira with the Cherryton Bomb (6:18).
3. Only One Hold In The World Match: Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata ended in a Draw when all wrestlers were eliminated by Ring Out (10:41).
4. Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo defeated Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Kouki Iwasaki when Takeshita pinned Iwasaki with a Texas Cloverhold (10:19).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Single Match With Partners: Kendo Kashin (c) & Ryu Gouma defeated Yasu Urano & Akito when Gouma pinned Urano after a Statute Book Attack from Kashin (10:41).
*V2 for Kendo Kashin.
6. Special 4 Way Match: Shigehiro Irie defeated HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi and Kazusada Higuchi when Irie pinned Higuchi with the Beast Bomber (10:50).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated Masa Takanashi with the Isamuashi Zan (27:03).
*V3 for Isami Kodaka.

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The Korakuen Hall ring was filled with orange tape when Masa Takanashi entered the ring for his KO-D Openweight Title match against Isami Kodaka. The little alcoholic was in a familiar place as the underdog but he’s been able to pull off miracle victories before. He went for a big move when he and Kodaka were both on the apron. Takanashi attempted to do the Takatonic onto the floor but Kodaka escaped and hit a Tope Suicida to the challenger instead. Kodaka had a rough landing and wound up with a bloodied eye. Takanashi hit the Takatonic inside the ring for a nearfall. Late in the match he hit another Takatonic and then the Diving Double Knee Drop in tribute to KUDO for another close call. Kodaka fired back with two Diving Double Knee Drops but Takanashi still had fight left in him. He was able to block the first Isamuashi Zan but Kodaka immediately struck him with a Right Knee Strike. The second Isamuashi Zan found its target and put an end to Takanashi.

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Amon Tsurumi announced HARASHIMA Vs Shigehiro Irie on 28th February to determine Kodaka’s challenger at Sumo Hall on 21st March. Irie said he never beat HARASHIMA before. Getting over that hump and beating Kodaka for the championship will the best birthday gift he can give himself. HARASHIMA said Irie won today’s match but he will not win next month. It will be HARASHIMA winning the title at Sumo Hall. Kodaka said no matter who wins between HARASHIMA and Irie, it will be himself as the last man standing. The winner of the Sumo Hall main event will also get a 2 million yen cash prize from Good Com Asset.

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Two other big matches for Sumo Hall were announced. Danshoku Dino Vs Akebono and Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Minoru Suzuki! Dino said he does not know sumo but he will welcome Akebono to DDT! Sakaguchi said both he and Suzuki will be prepared to kill and slaughter each other. Also Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard reform the Kawaii Connection to face LiLiCo and two mystery partners.

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Shigehiro Irie literally ran through his opponents to win the 4 Way Match. He crashed into HARASHIMA to stop him from hitting the Somato then laid out Kazusada Higuchi with the Beast Bomber.

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In the days leading up to the DDT Extreme Title match Kendo Kashin kept saying he had a consultant to help him choose his partner to face Yasu Urano & Akito. The consultant was BASARA’s wrestling lawyer Ryu Gouma. Antonio Honda entered the ring expecting to be Kashen’s partner. Gouma was ready to announce the partner when Kashin interrupted and said it was him! Gouma took a beating throughout the match but Honda distracted the referee and Kashin nailed Urano with a chair shot. Kashin passed the chair over to Akito and convinced the ref that Akito was the one who used it. With the ref distracted again Kashin grabbed Gouma’s lawbook and hit Urano repeatedly with it. He then dragged Gouma on top of Urano for the pin. Gouma winning the match counts as a successful title defence for Kashin. Honda entered the ring again waiting for Kashin to nominate him as the next challenger. Kashin said he picks Honda… and Yoshihiko!

thebigdog

Happy Motels were pretty happy with a victory over Team Drift. Amon Tsurumi approached them after the match to talk about Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo’s next KO-D Tag Team Title defence. Suddenly Daisuke Sasaki appeared and he said he found a tag team partner. He brought out The Big Dog!!! His mystery partner came to the ring to the Rocky theme song wearing a mascot dog costume. Sasaki said the dog’s name is Adrien. The New Gen Combo accepted their challenge for Sumo Hall. They offered a handshake but Sasaki & Adrien attacked! Adrien hit the champs with the Running Knee Lift and Fire Thunder Driver. He then took off his costume and revealed himself to be Shuji Ishikawa!

sasadango-apology

Super Sasadango Machine gave an apology through his latest PowerPoint presentation. The apology was for the delay of production and publication date for DDT’s next movie. He also revealed the stipulation for the #OhkaEmpire Vs T2Hide Tag match. The Only One Hole In The World Match refers to Amon Tsurumi. The match could be won by pinfall, submission, Ring Out or by inserting a unique one of a kind item into Tsurumi’s… um… hole. Tsurumi had his pants pulled down but no one was able to achieve the goal. The Hirata GO! Glasses came out and everyone danced until all four knocked each other over the top rope to the floor. The match ended in a draw and Tsurumi was left in the ring with his backside exposed.

takagi-kenso-ironman2

The Ironman match began 10 minutes before the doors opened to the public. Both Sanshiro Takagi and KENSO appealed to the absent audience for their support before locking up. The score was already 1-1 when fans began to enter Korakuen Hall. By that point Takagi and KENSO were fighting around ringside. A castle of chairs was constructed 20 minutes into the match. At the 25 minute mark both wrestlers brawled their way into an elevator and took the fight outdoors in front of the fans lining up outside the building. Takagi was winning 4-2 when he and KENSO went into a kiosk and the match was away from view. During this time KENSO somehow scored 9 points in a row to take the lead 11-4! He then got another pin to make it 12-4. They returned to the ring at the 30th minute and Takagi threw KENSO into the castle of chairs. The damage was so much that Takagi pinned him several times to bring the score up 12-11. The two disappeared backstage and both returned on bicycles, Takagi on his Combat Bicycle and KENSO on a Granny Bicycle. The Battle Of The Bicycles ended when they crashed into each other. KENSO stared down a female fan for eating rice balls near him. Takagi said “DDT is good at eating rice balls!” KENSO grabbed the rice balls and threw them away. Takagi got angry and attacked KENSO for what he did. He then promised the woman that she will be reimbursed for the rice balls. The fans in the building then started chanting “Reimburse!” With 45 minutes gone and 25 minutes until the show began properly it was time for the King Of Dark Title match to begin!

takagi-kenso-ironman3

The Ironman match was still going when dark match wrestlers made their entrances. Takagi and KENSO decided to join in, unofficially making the match a 6-Man Tag. Takagi sided with Hiroshi Fukuda & Mizuki Watase but accidentally hit Watase with a Lariat. KENSO gave Watase a Brainbuster and Gota Ihashi Splashed Watase to win the match! Ihashi happily placed the King Of Dark Title belt on Watase’s body while Takagi and KENSO brought out lockers for the final minutes of their match. Takagi pinned KENSO against the turnbuckles with a locker and then Dropkicked the locker into KENSO to tie the score 15-15. One minute was left to go and both men were exhausted. KENSO gave Takagi a Brainbuster but both of them landed on top of the other locker. Both were counted out because they couldn’t stand and the match ended in a draw, 16-16. KENSO demanded a 25 minute long overtime while Takagi said they should start a 61 minute Best 2 out of 3 match right now! Amon Tsurumi called the requests unreasonable. Takagi brought up doing the rematch at Sumo Hall on 21st March. Tsurumi agreed and made the match. It will be a Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Tag Team Match. Takagi will team with Jun Kasai and KENSO will team with Michael Nakazawa! Takagi and KENSO accepted the match and gave each other a fist bump just like Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles did at the Tokyo Dome.

miyatake-injury

Suguru Miyatake is taking time off to recover from injuries to his shoulder ligaments. He said he could be gone for as long as 15 months but he would return in one second if he could. He’ll use his recovery time to become stronger and stronger.

dna-newtrainees

Two new students will debut for DNA on 5th March. Daiki Shimomura was born in Yamaguchi on 27th February 1996, is 157cm high and weighs 72kg. Tsunehiro Shimatani was born in Saitama on 9th January 1998, is 163cm high and weighs 70kg. They both come from the nkw university wrestling club.

DDT will be launching a new bar lounge in Shinjuku next month. SWANDIVE will open in late February and is being run by DDT’s timekeeper Mic Inoue.


Marriage Tag In Osaka, Tag Titles Booked, BASARA Matches

January 6, 2016

DDT “DRAMATIC TENJINBASHI! 2016”, 10/01/2016
Osaka Oyodo Community Center

0. Chapter 0 Match: Dai Suzuki Vs Shunma Katsumata
1. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Guanchulo
2. Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. Yukio Sakaguchi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
4. HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
5. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Shoichi Uchida
6. Daisuke Sasaki, Suguru Miyatake & Candice LeRae Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo
7. Isami Kodaka & Masa Takanashi Vs Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao

In an unusual booking the KO-D Openweight Champion and the No. 1 Contender are teaming together on the next DDT show.

DDT “DRAMATIC TENMABASHI! 2016”, 11/01/2016
Osaka Oyodo Community Center

0. Chapter 0 Match: Dai Suzuki Vs Guanchulo
1. 4 Way Match: Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
2. Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata Vs Soma Takao & Kouki Iwasaki
3. Yasu Urano Vs Suguru Miyatake
4. Danshoku Dino & Mizuki Watase Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
5. HARASHIMA & Akito Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Candice LeRae Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata
7. Isami Kodaka, Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo

Daisuke Sasaki and Candice LeRae get to team together on both shows this weekend after Sasaki’s proposal.

HARASHIMA has a chance to avenge his loss to Masa Takanashi.

DDT “YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT 2016 ~NEW YEAR~”, 16/01/2016
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Masa Takanashi Vs Yusuke Kubo
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu

Isami Kodaka has single victories over both Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo which is enough to earn a KO-D Tag Team Title match. He and Ryota Nakatsu can bring another title into BASARA before its debut show.

BASARA “RAISING AN ARMY VAJRA 1 ~STAKE EVERYTHING~”, 21/01/2016
Shinjuku FACE

1. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Ikuto Hidaka
2. Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Daisuke Sekimoto
3. Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato

The big mystery I have about BASARA is what FUMA’s role will be. The leader of King Legion had until now been quiet about his participation with the new brand. He told Kodaka at “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! 2016” that he will not stay quiet when the show takes place and he intends to crush him.

Nakatsu is honored to face Ikuto Hidaka in the opener. It is the perfect match for him to wrestle his own way without any limits.

DDT “KEISUKE ISHII PRODUCE ~NEW YEAR! PINK KNEEL KICK 2016~”, 23/01/2016
Saitama Tokorozawa Citizen Gymnasium Sub Arena

1. Yasu Urano Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
2. Soma Takao Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
3. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie

Keisuke Ishii wants to regain the All Asia Tag Team Titles he and Shigehiro Irie held back in 2014. If DDT or All Japan can’t give it to them then he’s booking the match on his own show!

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2016”, 31/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi Vs KENSO
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Masa Takanashi

KENSO finally gets to go one on one with Sanshiro Takagi. The match will have special rules yet to be determined.


DDT “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! 2016” Results

January 3, 2016

isami-basara

DDT “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! 2016”, 03/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) & Hoshitango defeated Guanchulo & Dai Suzuki when Hoshitango pinned Guanchulo with the Nodowa Otoshi (2:00).
*D2 for Gota Ihashi.
1. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Tetsuya Endo & DJ Nira when Ishii pinned Nira with the Swivel Double Arm DDT (10:07).
2. New Year Kakizome Rumble: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Hiroshi Fukuda with the Fire Thunder (16:24).
Order Of Elimination: Kazusada Higuchi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Seiya Morohashi, Kouki Iwasaki, Gorgeous Matsuno, Soma Takao, Yuko Miyamoto, Antonio Honda, Hiroshi Fukuda.
3. Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata defeated Saki Akai & Cherry when Oishi pinned Cherry with a Saki Akai Assisted Cradle (4:09).
Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: LiLiCo defeated Saki Akai (c) with a Chain Attack (7:34 pm).
*LiLiCo becomes the 1,071st champion.
4. Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake when LeRae pinned Miyatake with the Ball Plex (10:40).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Scramble Bunkhouse Locker Coffin Anywhere Death Match: Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & KENSO defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) when KENSO threw Takagi into the Locker (13:22).
*T2Hide fails in V2. #OhkaEmpire becomes the 22nd KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda defeated HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano when Takanashi pinned HARASHIMA with the Takatonic (13:48).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Rasengan (18:56).
*V2 for Isami Kodaka.

isami-rasengan

Isami Kodaka has scored back to back KO-D Openweight Title defences against the two KO-D Tag Team Champions. Konosuke Takeshita came close to winning but his German Suplex was countered into a match ending Rasengan roll through pin. Kodaka threw out a challenge for a Tag Title match with Ryota Nakatsu as his partner. Amon Tsurumi decided the match will take place in Yokohama on 16th January. Tsurumi then announced the next KO-D Title matches will take place on 31st January in Korakuen Hall and 21st March in Sumo Hall. The Sumo Hall challenger will be decided with a tournament ending on 28th February. Masa Takanashi was chosen as the No. 1 Contender for the 31/1 show. Takanashi was hesitant with the decision but Yukio Sakaguchi encouraged him to accept it. Takanashi admitted he might be going into a losing battle and could suffer an embarrasing defeat. But if he can win the title he will do it for Shuten-dōji!

takanashi-celebrates

There was a loud Takanashi chant when he pinned HARASHIMA with the Takatonic in the semi-main event.

kenzo-locks-takagi

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles were put on the line in a Scramble Bunkhouse Locker Coffin Anywhere Death Match. The match could only be won if a wrestler was trapped for three seconds inside the locker provided. Kazuki Hirata was thrown in but he burst out of it wearing his HIRATA GO! glasses with the music provided. KENSO finally got his hands on Sanshiro Takagi and was able to lock him inside the locker to win the titles for #OhkaEmpire. Afterwards KENSO again demanded a singles match with Takagi. It was finally accepted and will take place in Korakuen Hall on 31st January.

sasaki-proposes-candice

Candice LeRae gained some new admirers after her debut match for DDT. As part of the World’s Cutest Tag Team with Joey Ryan they were successful against two-thirds of the Golden☆Storm Riders. Ryan got to show off the strength of his penis again while LeRae won the match with the Ball Plex. No one was more won over with her than Daisuke Sasaki. He spoke to Candice in English after the match, telling her “You are so really cute.” He then proposed to her. Candice reacted negatively so Sasaki reiterated that he meant they should team together in Osaka next week. Candice was happy with that idea and accepted the offer.

akai-lilico

Saki Akai & Cherry spent just as much time wrestling each other for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title than against their opponents during Match #3. Makoto Oishi capitalised by pressing down on Cherry when she tried to pin Akai with a Small Package. Oishi won the match but the pin counted against Cherry so there was no title change. Akai spoke on the microphone about her title defences but she was suddenly ambushed by LiLiCo with a steel chain! LiLiCo choked out Akai with the chain and pinned her to become the new champion!

shuji-kakizome

Every wrestler entering the Kakizome Rumble had a different special rule painted on their back by a calligrapher named Nachu. As part of a demonstration before the match she painted “Happy New Year” on Guanchulo’s chest. If a wrestler broke the rule painted on their back they were eliminated from the match. Since the wrestlers could not see their own paintings they had to figure it out based on how their opponents acted towards them. Kazusada Higuchi was eliminated for doing a Sumo Stomp, Tomomitsu Matsunaga was eliminated for doing his version of the RVD pose, Seiya Morohashi was eliminated for doing the “Strange Uncle” dance (the audience cheered him into doing an encore afterwards), Kouki Iwasaki was eliminated by a one count pin (and didn’t have his back painted for some reason), Gorgeous Matsuno was eliminated for climbing the top rope, Soma Takao was eliminated for speaking English (he complained to the ref after a nearfall by saying “Three” over and over), Yuko Miyamoto was eliminated for using a steel chair (the chair was planted behind him when he did a Suplex) and Antonio Honda was eliminated for giving a handshake (he kept doing Ric Flair style fake outs until he gave a proper handshake). The match was down to Hiroshi Fukuda (who was not allowed to say the words “You’re more beautiful than roses” yet sang parts of songs that contained those lyrics) and Shuji Ishikawa (who could not run the ropes). Ishikawa refused to do anything because he couldn’t figure out what rule he could not break. Fukuda charged Ishikawa but got hit with a Kneelift. When Ishikawa realised he wasn’t breaking any rules he gave Fukuda the Fire Thunder and pinned him to win the match.

Jun Kasai and Michael Nakazawa are confirmed to appear at DDT’s 19th Anniversary show in Sumo Hall on 21st March. Nakazawa is being brought in to do his infamous anal explosion opening ceremony. The Sumo Hall show will feature involvement from the entire DDT family of promotions and a special Dramatic Award ceremony is being planned to recognise DDT’s best over the last year.

The card for BASARA’s debut show on 21st January was revealed. The main event is Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato. Also on the show is Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Daisuke Sekimoto and Ryota Nakatsu Vs Ikuto Hidaka.

Keisuke Ishii is producing a show on 23rd January in Tokorozawa, Saitama. The main event will be Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto for the All Asia Tag Team Titles. Ishii feels that his momentum was taken from him when he & Irie lost the belts back in 2014.

Hyper Misao & Saki Akamiya made an appearance to promote Tokyo Joshi Pro’s Korakuen debut on 4th January. Poison Sawada JULIE interrupted their message and used his snake magic to move them out of the ring.

DDT will return to Izuguranparu Park for an outdoor Elimination match on 3rd April.

The Bed Inn Girls will return for the YaroZ show at Shinkiba on 1st March.


New Year Lottery, Tokyo Joshi In Korakuen, Tomodachi-gun Takes Over Ganpuro

January 2, 2016

DDT “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! 2016”, 03/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) & Hoshitango Vs Guanchulo & Dai Suzuki
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai (c) & Cherry Vs Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata
2. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Tetsuya Endo & DJ Nira
3. HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda
4. New Year Kakizome Rumble: Soma Takao Vs Antonio Honda Vs Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Kouki Iwasaki Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Seiya Morohashi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs X Vs X
5. Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & KENSO
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Konosuke Takeshita pinned Isami Kodaka in the semi-final of the New Year’s Eve Tag Tournament.

Sanshiro Takagi is determined to get rid of KENSO by throwing him into a locker.

Kakizome is the first calligraphy written at the beginning of a year. An artist named Nachu will write a kakizome for the Rumble winner.

It’s probably not a good idea for Saki Akai and Cherry to be teaming together. Cherry has been constantly trying to beat Akai for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title ever since Akai became champion.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’16”, 04/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yu and Nodoka Onesan Debut Match: Yu Vs Nodoka Onesan
2. Marika Kobashi Debut Match: Erin & Azusa Takigawa Vs Rika Tatsumi & Marika Kobashi
3. Ai Shimizu Vs KANNA
4. 3 Way Match: Nonoko Vs Hyper Misao Vs MIZUHO
5. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Candice LeRae
6. Saki Akamiya Vs Akane Miura (w/ Poison Sawada JULIE)
7. Tokyo Joshi Title: Shoko Nakajima Vs Miyu Yamashita

Before Wrestle Kingdom 10 takes place in Tokyo Dome, there is another wrestling show happening nearby. Tokyo Joshi is in Korakuen Hall for the first time and the main event crowns its first ever champion. Will it be Miyu Yamashita who was there from the beginning of the promotion’s reboot or will Shoko Nakajima add a title to go along with her Tokyo Princess Cup trophy?

The semi-main is filled with mystery. While Saki Akamiya has been unmasked she still denies being Saki Akai. Instead she is convinced she is an evil villain here to destroy. Meanwhile Akane Miura has been adopted as Poison Sawada JULIE’s protege. Is his Snake Magic all that she needs to become more powerful?

Has Candice LeRae ever fought a witch before? She can cross that off her bucket list when she faces Yuka Sakazaki.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “TOMODACHI-GUN PRODUCE NEW YEAR SPECIAL BOX OFFICE ~ RUBBISH HEAP☆WRESTLING 2016 (INNOCENT WORLD 2016)”, 24/01/2016
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. New Year Lottery 5 Way Match: Minoru Fujita Vs Hi69 Vs Yukihiro Abe Vs Osamu Namiguchi Vs Ken Ohka

After the events of “WHITE BREATH 2015”, Tomodachi-gun now have the matchmaking rights of Ganbare☆Wrestling’s January show. The show was previously called “INNOCENT WORLD 2016” and it is now renamed “RUBBISH HEAP☆WRESTLING” Minoru Suzuki has already booked the main event which is pretty much most of Tomodachi-gun against Ken Ohka.


Sakavivor Series, Happy Motels Looking For Revenge, New Tokyo Joshi Recruits

December 15, 2015

TAVERN WRESTLING “~BIG YEAR END PARTY~”, 18/12/2015
Shin-kiba 1st RING

1. Akito & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yasu Urano & Yusuke Kubo
2. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita & Hyper Misao Vs Shoko Nakajima & Yuka Sakazaki
3. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Daichi Kazato & Kota Umeda
4. Isami Kodaka Vs Kouki Iwasaki
5. U.S.A Sakavivor Series – Nerima World Order Vs U.S.A Superstars: “Big Sexy” Hiroshi Fukuda, Hanolek Hogaso & Nerima Sting Vs Sumo Rock, “Stone Cold” Sekine Ryuichin & Manmankaikind

The grudge between Nerima World Order and U.S.A has taken over Tavern Wrestling. Hiroshi Fukuda is now in the Kevin Nash role after betraying U.S.A to join the (other) nWo.

DDT “SAPPORO NEW LEGEND 2015”, 20/12/2015
Sapporo Sun Plaza

1. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
2. Sanshiro Takagi & Tomoya Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake
3. Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata
4. Tetsuya Endo & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Akito & Yasu Urano Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
6. Ganpuro Of Charisma, Stand To The North Of Earth!!: Ken Ohka Vs Masa Takanashi
7. Sapporo Specialty North Country Special 4 Way Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Shigehiro Irie Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The show is completely sold out.

DDT “NEVER MIND 2015”, 23/12/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. King Of Dark Title: Dai Suzuki (c) & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Gota Ihashi & Gorgeous Matsuno
1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai (c) & Lady Beard Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & Cherry
2. Yasu Urano Vs Daisuke Sasaki
3. 4 Way Tag Team Match: Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda Vs Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Suguru Miyatake
4. Ultra Heroes EXPO Collaboration Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda, Hiroshi Fukuda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka Vs Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine
6. DDT Extreme Title: Kendo Kashin (c) Vs Akito
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles Tournament – Final: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuji Okabayashi & Shigehiro Irie

Happy Motels have the chance to get some revenge on Yuji Okabayashi. They lost the KO-D Tag Team Titles to Okabayashi & Daisuke Sekimoto back in February. Now they can at least beat Okabayashi to reclaim the titles.

Kendo Kashin wants to defend the DDT Extreme Title in an Amateur Rules match with 3 count pins allowed.

#OhkaEmpire explodes… Kind of. Ken Ohka has been left out of the group’s attempts to win back the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. He and his new buddy HARASHIMA might go their own way if this problem can’t be settled.

Does Ultraman dance? We may see a bunch of Ultramen dance.

DDT “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! 2016”, 03/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & KENSO
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

Konosuke Takeshita quickly stepped up to challenge Isami Kodaka after his Happy Motels partner Tetsuya Endo lost to the KO-D Champion on Sunday.

Candice LeRae debuts in DDT with her World Cutest Tag Team partner Joey Ryan.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’16”, 04/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuka Sakazaki Vs Candice LeRae
2. Saki Akamiya Vs Akane Miura
3. Tokyo Joshi Title: Shoko Nakajima Vs Miyu Yamashita

The event will also feature the debut of three new wrestlers: Yu, Marika Kobashi and Nodoka Onesan.

Yu is 156cm high, was born on 19th July and is from Chiba. She became a fan of DDT when she was in elementary school and took up judo because she was too young to train for pro wrestling. She said it is a dream come true to enter the ring.

Marika Kobashi is 154cm high, was born on 17th May 2001 and is from Kanagawa. She is a fan of Big Japan and wanted to become a wrestler after seeing one of their local events. She is the first signed wrestler in the entire DDT company to be born in the 21st century.

Nodoka Onesan is 145cm high, was born on 7th June and is from Okayama. She became a wrestling fan by reading the manga 1·2 no Sanshirou. Her gimmick will be based on the “Older Sister” trope from Japanese children’s TV shows (Waracchao! on NHK is an example). She hopes this character will attract children to Tokyo Joshi and turn them into fans.