DDT “AUDIENCE 2015” Results

May 31, 2015

kudo-kod

DDT “AUDIENCE 2015”, 31/05/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,200 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. King Of Dark Title: Kota Umeda defeated Gota Ihashi (c) with a High Kick (3:43).
*D11 for Gota Ihashi.
1. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Yasu Urano, Akito & Aja Kong when Takanashi pinned Akito with the Takatonic (9:20).
2. T2Hide New Members Audition: Sanshiro Takagi, Kazuki Hirata, Devin Sparks & Ric Ellis defeated Toru Owashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, DJ Nira & Kouki Iwasaki when Takagi pinned Iwasaki with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (8:22).
3. MIKAMI & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Shunma Katsumata when MIKAMI pinned Katsumata with the 450 Splash (9:50).
4. Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita & Hiroshi Fukuda when Oishi pinned Fukuda with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (11:56).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) defeated Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake when Ishii pinned Miyatake with the Kneel Kick (13:53).
*V2 for Team Dream Futures.
6. KO-D Openweight Title: KUDO defeated HARASHIMA (c) with the Diving Double Knee Drop (23:27).
*HARASHIMA fails in V2. KUDO cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract. KUDO becomes the 51st KO-D Openweight Champion!

enzui-diving-double-knee

If you were expecting HARASHIMA to go on another lengthy KO-D Openweight Title run, prepare to be surprised. KUDO has kicked his way to the top instead. The Shuten-dōji leader is one of the few to win the KO-D Title with a Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract cash in. He countered the Somato with a high leaping Double Knee Drop stopping HARASHIMA in mid-air. He also dodged the Swan Dive Somato and stuck HARASHIMA with Buzzsaw and Back Spin Kicks for a few nearfalls. KUDO sealed the deal with the Diving Double Knee Drop to the back of HARASHIMA’s head as the champ was on all fours followed by the regular Diving Double Knee Drop for the finish.

ohka-appears

Ken Ohka and Yumehito Imanari suddenly appeared during KUDO’s victory toast. Ohka had his own Right To Challenge contract in possession. Ohka congratulated KUDO and pointed to his contract. Ohka said in Ganbare☆Wrestling he works hard everyday to achieve his goal of turning it into a major wrestling league. Tonight is not an appropriate time to cash in but the warning was clear. Ohka is going after the title for Ganpuro! KUDO wasn’t bothered by the threat and said tonight the Ebisuko Tavern will serve him its best wine to celebrate his championship win!

miyatake-tablets

Suguru Miyatake consumed some mysterious tablets to go with his usual energy drink in a bid to boost his performance during the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles Match. It gave him enough power to Lariat each Team Drift member a bunch of times and also the strength to Body Slam Shigehiro Irie. But he was stopped dead by Keisuke Ishii’s Kneel Kick.

mikami-ishikawa

Shuji Ishikawa is confident that he and MIKAMI can beat Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi for the KO-D Tag Team Titles on 14th June. Ishikawa is used to wrestling the champs but they are not used to wrestling MIKAMI.

new-t2hide

The T2Hide audition turned out to be an 8-Man Tag Match. Those who impressed Sanshiro Takagi and Kazuki Hirata enough would be accepted. The two American participants Devin Sparks & Ric Ellis fared well and the time came for dancing they were there with Hirata step for step. One of them missed a Coast To Coast Diving Headbutt but the attempt still impressed Takagi. He accepted both Sparks & Ellis into T2Hide after the match and said they are probably better and more interesting than Hirata.

mizuki-watase

DDT introduced Mizuki Watase of the comedy duo Tenori Tiger as their newest trainee. Mizuki said it has been his dream since elementary school to become a pro wrestler. His goal is to become a wrestler while continuing his career as an entertainer. He hopes to have his debut match as soon as possible.

Genichiro Tenryu was announced to compete at this year’s Sumo Hall show on 23rd August!

Dick Togo made an appearance to announce his new venture New Vietnam Pro Wrestling. He has opened up a wrestling school in Vietnam and is aiming to hold its first shows at the end of August.

Isami Kodaka and the Dropkick Bar are organising Tavern Wrestling shows over the next couple of months in the Wrestle Fighter Museum and Shin-kiba. Similar to the Beer Garden series, the shows are all about fans getting to drink loads of beer while watching live wrestling.

Soma Takao announced he will spend all of June competing exclusively in All Japan Pro Wrestling. This means he will not be wrestling in the King Of DDT tournament. Takao explained that he wants to improve his skill and learn how to wrestle in a different environment.

The King Of DDT 2015 1st Round was determined by lottery after the show. The matches are Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Keisuke Ishii, Makoto Oishi Vs Hiroshi Fukuda, Akito Vs Masa Takanashi, Konosuke Takeshita Vs Antonio Honda, either Ryota Nakatsu or Kota Umeda Vs Daisuke Sasaki (Nakatsu Vs Umeda takes place in DNA on 4th June), Kota Ibushi Vs Kazuki Hirata, Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi and Yasu Urano Vs Shigehiro Irie. The 1st Round takes place in Kasukabe Hall on 6th June. The 2nd Round on 14th June is in Osaka and will be Winner #1 Vs Winner #2, Winner #3 Vs Winner #4 and so on.

The 2015 Beer Garden schedule in Shin-kiba 1st RING is DDT on 1st August, DNA and DDT doubleshot on 2nd August, Team Drift on 3rd August, T2Hide on 4th August, Smile Squash on 5th August, Happy Motel on 6th August, Shuten-dōji on 7th August, Tokyo Joshi Pro and Danshoku Dino/Super Sasadango Machine doubleshot on 8th August and the final night is DDT on the 9th August.


Arrogant Bastards Heading To DDT, Ohka’s Road To KO-D, Brahmans Prepare For Union

May 26, 2015

DDT “AUDIENCE 2015”, 31/05/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs Kota Umeda
1. Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita & Hiroshi Fukuda
2. Yasu Urano, Akito & Aja Kong Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Saki Akai
3. MIKAMI & Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Shunma Katsumata
4. T2Hide New Members Audition: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Kouki Iwasaki, DJ Nira, Devin Sparks & Ric Ellis
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake
6. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) Vs KUDO
*KUDO will cash in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

The main event is back on! KUDO reclaimed his Right To Challenge contract from Daisuke Sasaki and still intends to cash it in at Korakuen Hall at the end of the month.

Devin Sparks & Ric Ellis are a Californian tag team known as The Arrogant Bastards. They approached Sanshiro Takagi requesting to participate in the audition for new T2Hide members. Takagi’s advice to them on Twitter is if they can dance better than Kazuki Hirata, they will pass the audition.

Aja Kong is back. She is still the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion last time I checked.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “HOWEVER 2015”, 07/06/2015
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Power Of Dreams Vs Enjo-gun: Yumehito Imanari & Chikara Vs Shibata & Mitomi Masayuki
2. Oretachi Nario No – Road To KO-D!?: Ken Ohka Vs Yukihiro Abe

Ken Ohka is now a marked man because of the Right To Challenge contract he currently possesses. Yukihiro Abe has challenged him to a match for the contract. Abe sees this as an opportunity to return to DDT, win the KO-D Title and face all of the new wrestlers that have appeared since he left. Ohka is determined not to lose. However there is danger lurking in the background. Mitomi Masayuki from Enjo-gun also wants a match with Ohka and is not happy to be ignored.

UNION “AMANIMOMAKEZU UNION 2015”, 17/06/2015
Shin-kiba 1st RING

1. Union Fly To Everywhere World Title: Hibiscus Mii (c) Vs Mio Shirai
2. UWA World Tag Team Titles: Shuji Ishikawa & Masato Shibata (c) Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
3. Union MAX Title: FUMA (c) Vs Yusuke Kubo

The Brahman Brothers are coming to challenge Shuji Ishikawa & Masato Shibata for the UWA Tag Team Titles. The Brahmans think the champions are freaks. In their minds Ishikawa acts like he’s Jesus and Shibata looks like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. The Brahmans are preparing for the match by eating a lot of hamburgers and coming up with tactics to attack Shibata’s feet because that is his weak point.


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

May 24, 2015

harashima-higuchi

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN SAPPORO ~DRAMATIC DREAM CLOCK TOWER~”, 24/05/2015
Sapporo Teisen Hall
744 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. 3 Way Match: Kazuki Hirata defeated Antonio Honda and Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Hirata pinned Honda with a Cradle (9:54).
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai defeated Yasu Urano & DJ Nira when Akai submitted Nira with a Camel Clutch (9:14).
3. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao defeated MIKAMI, Tomoya & Makoto Oishi when Ishii pinned Oishi with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (9:57).
4. Akito defeated Kouki Iwasaki with the Scorpion Deathlock (11:19).
5. KUDO & Masa Takanashi defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake when KUDO pinned Sasaki with the Diving Double Knee Drop (13:25).
*KUDO wins one of Daisuke Sasaki’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts.
6. Falls Count Anywhere Special 4 Way Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kota Ibushi, Sanshiro Takagi and Danshoku Dino when Takeshita pinned Dino with the German Suplex (13:28).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Kazusada Higuchi with the Somato (20:18).
*V1 for HARASHIMA. Kazusada Higuchi cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.

In the short space of six months, Kazusada Higuchi went from his debut pro wrestling match in DNA to challenging for the KO-D Openweight Title in the main event of a DDT show. He’s been undefeated throughout that period and cashed in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract in Sapporo to gain a home field advantage. But despite the former sumo’s power advantage, HARASHIMA withstood his attacks and fought back with the John Woo Dropkick and Reverse Frankensteiner. Higuchi ducked the Buzzsaw Kick and hit a desperation German Suplex for a nearfall. HARASHIMA quickly recovered and hit the Buzzsaw Kick twice before finishing him off with the Somato. HARASHIMA called Higuchi really strong for someone who has just been a pro wrestler for six months. He permitted Higuchi to ask for more matches against himself in the future.

sapporo-anywhere1sapporo-anywhere2sapporo-anywhere3sapporo-anywhere4

As part of today’s farewell party to Sapporo Teisen Hall, DDT put together a special Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Match that pulled out all the stops. Sanshiro Takagi brought a bowling ball, Kota Ibushi was armed with fireworks, Danshoku Dino lustfully attacked the audience and Konosuke Takeshita found a dolly tray. Takagi placed a chair flat on Dino’s stomach and dropped the bowling ball onto it. Ibushi dragged everyone outside the building so he could attack them with fireworks and also Moonsault off of a vending machine. Takeshita placed Ibushi and Takagi onto the dolly at separate times and pushed them into a row of chairs. Yoshihiko then suddenly appeared to aid Dino. Takeshita German Suplexed Ibushi while Ibushi was German Suplexing Yoshihiko. Takagi then delivered a stacked Sit Down Himawari bomb to Dino with Yoshihiko sitting on Dino’s shoulders. Yoshihiko was still wrapped around Dino’s neck when Takeshita hit a German Suplex of his own on Dino for the win. Ibushi then ignited his remaining fireworks as he left ringside while Yukinori Matsui yelled at him.

Daisuke Sasaki was introduced as the “Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Triple Crown Holder”. But by the end of the day he would have lost all of it. The first defeat was to KUDO in a tag team match. The rest happened on the second show which I will bring up later. Sasaki tried to flee from the match whenever he could to protect his investments. KUDO got revenge and won back the contract he lost to Sasaki one week ago. KUDO confronted HARASHIMA at the end of the show to tell him their KO-D Title match at Korakuen Hall on 31/5 is back on schedule!

Kouki Iwasaki was the other wrestler celebrating his homecoming today. He is a martial arts graduate of Kenichi Yamamoto’s POWER OF DREAM dojo in Sapporo. He even had new theme music.

Antonio Honda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga began the opening 3 Way Match before Kazuki Hirata could do his dance entrance. He got to do it after he won.


Road To Ryogoku, HARASHIMA Title Rush, Dino Vs Shinzaki

May 2, 2015

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN SENDAI ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAN~”, 04/05/2015
Miyagi Yume Messe West Wing Hall

1. MIKAMI Vs Suguru Miyatake
2. Masa Takanashi Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Hoshitango & Ryota Nakatsu
4. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi “Yakiniku Small Iron” Infomercial Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Gorgeous Matsuno
5. Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito

Smile Squash became No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles when HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano defeated Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao at Saitama last month.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN AOMORI ~DRAMATIC DREAM TSUGARU SHAMISEN~”, 05/05/2015
Aomori Hamanasu Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi & MIKAMI Vs Hoshitango & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
2. Masa Takanashi Vs Ryota Nakatsu
3. Akito Vs Gorgeous Matsuno
4. KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
5. HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano Vs Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda
6. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao Vs Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake

For those keeping track the current Right To Challenge Contracts holders are Daisuke Sasaki (he has two), DJ Nira, KUDO and Kazusada Higuchi.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN YAMAGATA ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAMAKON’NYAKU~”, 06/05/2015
Yamagata Big Wing

1. Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao Vs MIKAMI & Hiroshi Fukuda
2. Hoshitango Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Gorgeous Matsuno
5. Kota Ibushi & Suguru Miyatake Vs Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita
6. HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi

With 5 contracts in play surely one of them can beat HARASHIMA to win the KO-D Openweight Title.

DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA”, 17/05/2015
Nagoya Nakamura Sports Center

1. Different Life ~Sound Of Impermanence~: Danshoku Dino Vs Jinsei Shinzaki
2. DDT Extreme Title – Last Man Standing Match: Akito (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano

We’re getting close to HARASHIMA holding a bunch of DDT championships at the same time again.

The Last Man Standing Match will be pinfall rules. The 10 count only begins after a wrestler is pinned for a three count or gives up from a submission hold.

For the past month Danshoku Dino has been on a pilgrimage to rediscover Danshoku Life. His journey has been relatively peaceful and without danger. But when Dino found out he will be facing Jinsei Shinzaki next his calm demeanour began to fade and he was left shaking in fear. This will be the first big test of his pilgrimage.

DDT “AUDIENCE 2015”, 31/05/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

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

If KUDO still has his Right To Challenge Contract he will cash in at this Korakuen Hall show.


DDT “MAX BUMP 2015” Results

April 29, 2015

ibushi-harashima

DDT “MAX BUMP 2015”, 29/04/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,200 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda defeated Ryota Nakatsu & Kouki Iwasaki when Higuchi submitted Iwasaki with the Canadian Backbreaker (8:51).
0. King Of Dark Title: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Gota Ihashi (c) with the Goten (0:52).
*D9 for Gota Ihashi.
1. Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Purgatory (4:04).
2. BOYZ Vs YaroZ Final Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Brother Tommy & Takayuki Ueki defeated Makoto Oishi, Akito, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata when Takagi pinned Hirata with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (9:51).
3. KUDO & Masa Takanashi defeated Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita when KUDO pinned Honda with the Buzzsaw Kick (10:50).
*KUDO wins Antonio Honda’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contention Battle Royal: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Danshoku Jinsei, MIKAMI, Yasu Urano, Hoshitango, Suguru Miyatake, Saki Akai, Hiroshi Fukuda and DJ Nira when Sasaki grabbed the contract (11:40).
4a. MIKAMI eliminated Hoshitango with the School Boy (3:59).
4b. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated Yasu Urano with a Sunset Flip (5:12).
*Daisuke Sasaki wins Yasu Urano’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
4c. Danshoku Dino eliminated MIKAMI with the Buddha Danshoku Driver (6:01).
4d. DJ Nira eliminated Saki Akai with a School Boy (9:27).
*DJ Nira wins Saki Akai’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
4e. DJ Nira eliminated himself by Ring Out (9:49).
4f. Daisuke Sasaki and Suguru Miyatake eliminated Hiroshi Fukuda by Ring Out (10:49).
4g. Daisuke Sasaki grabbed the contract (11:40).
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Sekimoto pinned Ishii with the Deadlift German Suplex (18:46).
*V2 for Strong BJ.
6. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA defeated Kota Ibushi (c) with the Swan Dive Somato (25:54).
*Kota Ibushi fails in V2. HARASHIMA becomes the 50th KO-D Openweight Champion!

swandive-somato

In a rematch of their Saitama Super Arena main event, HARASHIMA got his revenge and the KO-D Openweight Title back from Kota Ibushi in front of a packed house at Korakuen Hall. Neither men held anything back. Ibushi hit the Phoenix Splash for a nearfall. HARASHIMA pulled out the Firebird Splash, a move he hasn’t used in years for a nearfall of his own. The match went dangerously close to ending the same way as Saitama when Ibushi stopped HARASHIMA from doing the Swan Dive Somato and held him in position for the Phoenix Plex. This time around HARASHIMA avoided the ultra finisher by Headbutting Ibushi until the champion lost his grip. HARASHIMA then lifted Ibushi up for a Canadian Backbreaker and dropped him vertically into a Facebuster. With Ibushi taken out by this new move, HARASHIMA hit the Swan Dive Somato to seal the deal. With a gleaming smile HARASHIMA graciously accepted a bowing handshake from Ibushi. The former champion could only say “Thank you” before he was helped to the back by his Golden☆Storm Rider team mates. HARASHIMA said he was insanely happy to be champion again and he called Ibushi the best and the strongest.

higuchi-harashima-kudo

Kazusada Higuchi came out to announce the possible KO-D Title match between himself and HARASHIMA at Sapporo Teisen Hall on 24th May. Higuchi said he didn’t see the match but still he thought it was really terrible. HARASHIMA called Higuchi an awesome threat for a rookie and wished him luck. KUDO then came out and said he will get his KO-D Title shot at Korakuen on 31st May. HARASHIMA noted how tough it will be to have two title defences in two weeks but he’s up for the challenge. Why? Because he trains!

strong-drift

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi saw off the challenge from Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie to keep the KO-D Tag Team Titles around their waists. Ishii showed great strength when he gave Sekimoto the High Angle Double Arm DDT but Okabayashi stopped the pin. Sekimoto ducked the Kneel Kick and deadlifted Ishii into a Vertical Drop Brainbuster. Ishii kicked out at 2 but was finished after a Lariat and the Deadlift German Suplex. The champions identified Drift as a great tag team in a backstage interview and credited them for being prepared and for having a strong bond. Okabayashi wants to defend the titles more and more until they beat everyone in DDT.

sasaki-miyatake-rightchallenge

The remaining Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract was up for grabs in another Royal Rumble Ladder match. Two other contracts were on the line since the wrestlers holding them were in the match. Those two contracts did in fact change hands. Daisuke Sasaki pinned Yasu Urano to win his contract and DJ Nira pinned Saki Akai to win hers, ruining her chance to cash in later in the night. DJ Nira eliminated himself to prevent getting pinned by jumping out of the ring. Sasaki tried the same but the remaining wrestlers stopped him. Sasaki convinced his team mate Suguru Miyatake that he wanted no further part in the match and he would let Miyatake grab the last contract. Miyatake climbed the ladder and Sasaki knocked it over, knocking Miyatake onto the ropes. Sasaki then repositioned the ladder and climbed it to pull down the prize. He now has two contracts in his possession.

shuten-doji-rightchallenge

Another Right To Challenge Contract changed hands when KUDO pinned Antonio Honda in a tag match. All of Shuten-dōji celebrated with a toast in the ring.

guyz-beats-boyz

Who was the mystery partner for the YaroZ team? It was “Mr. Policeman” Takayuki Ueki and he’s here to arrest the BOYZ team! Ueki pulled out a gun late into the match but Kazuki Hirata was quick to disarm him. Brother Tommy accidentaly broke the HIRATA GO glasses but Ueki came to the rescue with glasses for everbody! “TOKYO GO” played over the speakers and everyone decided to dance. As that went on Sanshiro Takagi pinned Hirata with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb.

sakaguchi-katsumata

Today is the one year anniversary of Shunma Katsumata’s debut match. Yukio Sakaguchi didn’t care and knocked out the rookie with some High Kicks.

higuchi-ihashi

After the dark match Gota Ihashi stormed out and complained about not being booked on this show. He demanded a match and to put his King Of Dark Title on the line so he can finally escape from dark match hell. Kazusada Higuchi accepted the match despite having just wrestled. Ihashi hit him with the title belt but then ran into a Big Boot. Higuchi then pinned him with the Goten.

Danshoku Dino’s Buddhist pilgrimmage will lead him towards a very spiritual wrestler. On 17th May Dino will take on Jinsei Shinzaki! Dino is now in deep meditation and was silent for his entire post-match interview. Also on the show Akito defends the DDT Extreme Title against Shigehiro Irie in a Last Man Standing match.

Masa Takanashi has decided to cash in his Right To Host Box Office contract. With this contract the holder can book his own show. Takanashi decided he will share the prize with KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi and so on 22nd July there will be a Shuten-dōji produced event at Shinjuku FACE.


Max Bump & Golden Union Cards, Upcoming Title Matches, Goodbye Teisen

April 22, 2015

DDT “MAX BUMP 2015”, 29/04/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Dark Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Kouki Iwasaki
1. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Shunma Katsumata
2. BOYZ Vs YaroZ Final Match: Makoto Oishi, Akito, Soma Takao & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & X
3. Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita Vs KUDO & Masa Takanashi
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contention Battle Royal: Danshoku Dino Vs MIKAMI Vs Yasu Urano Vs Daisuke Sasaki Vs Hoshitango Vs Suguru Miyatake Vs Saki Akai Vs Hiroshi Fukuda Vs DJ Nira
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs HARASHIMA

So two of the wrestlers fighting over the last Right To Challenge Contract already have contracts. That’s a little unfair. I assume Hiroshi Fukuda’s and Yasu Urano’s contracts will be safe if they are just eliminated by ring out.

UNION “GOLDEN UNION 2015”, 29/04/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yusuke Kubo Vs Ryota Nakatsu
2. Madoka (w/ Harumi Tachibana) Vs Ladybeard (w/ Ryu Gouma)
3. 2nd Generation Muscle Sakai Final: Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Super Sasadango Machine
4. Union Fly To Everywhere World Title – 3 Way Match: Cherry (c) Vs Aoi Ishibashi Vs Hibiscus Mii
5. Ken Ohka & Mio Shirai Vs Kengo Ohka & Seiya Morohashi
6. MEN’S Teioh, Kazushi Miyamoto & SAGAT Vs Daichi Kazato, Mitomi Masayuki & Masato Shibata
7. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
8. Union MAX Title – 1,000 Rose Death Match: FUMA (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

The King Legion will be represented in full.

DDT “DNA 5”, 01/05/2015
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Kouki Iwasaki Vs Dai Suzuki
2. Kota Umeda Vs Masaya Takahashi
3. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Atsushi Aoki
4. Suguru Miyatake Vs Yuji Hino
5. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shunma Katsumata

Tomoya Kawamura will miss the show due to injury. Kota Umeda takes his place.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN SENDAI ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAN~”, 04/05/2015
Miyagi Yume Messe West Wing Hall

1. Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito

New challengers at last!

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN AOMORI ~DRAMATIC DREAM TSUGARU SHAMISEN~”, 05/05/2015
Aomori Hamanasu Hall

1. Akito Vs Gorgeous Matsuno
2. KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi
3. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao Vs Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake

After spending months and months legitimising the DDT Extreme Title, Akito now faces his toughest test, Gorgeous Matsuno’s karaoke.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN YAMAGATA ~DRAMATIC DREAM TAMAKON’NYAKU~”, 06/05/2015
Yamagata Big Wing

1. Kota Ibushi & Suguru Miyatake Vs Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita
2. HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & Akito Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi

I’m assuming the KO-D Openweight Champion, if it’s either Kota Ibushi or HARASHIMA will be on all three shows on the week beginning 4th May. Maybe a Right To Challenge cash in can take place here?

DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA”, 17/05/2015
Nagoya Nakamura Sports Center

1. DDT Extreme Title: Akito (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie

Akito has picked Shigehiro Irie to be the next challenger for the DDT Extreme Title. It means a lot for Irie to get the title shot in Nagoya where he wrestled for several years before joining DDT.

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN SAPPORO ~DRAMATIC DREAM CLOCK TOWER~”, 24/05/2015
Sapporo Teisen Hall

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

The DNA stand out Kazusada Higuchi has made it public that he will cash in his Right To Challenge Contract in his home prefecture of Hokkaido. All he has to do is not lose it until then. He’s on the right track because he has yet to drop a fall in his young pro wrestling career.

Saki Akai and Tomoya will wrestle on the show.

DDT “THANK YOU TEISEN! GOODBYE TEISEN! ~WITH LOVE AND GRATITUDE FROM DDT~”, 24/05/2015
Sapporo Teisen Hall

1. Thank You Teisen! Goodbye Teisen! Special Match: X Vs X

Sapporo Teisen Hall will be closing down in June. The venue has been a popular destination for indie wrestling with DDT and Big Japan among others hosting shows whenever they were in Sapporo. Apparently Big Japan will hold the final wrestling show in the building but before that DDT will say goodbye with a double show in May.


Soma Injured, Max Bump Matches, Golden Roses For Union

March 31, 2015

DDT “FURIMUKEBA YOKOHAMA 2015 SPRING”, 04/04/2015
Yokohama Radiant Hall

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
1. Sanshiro Takagi & MIKAMI Vs Danshoku Dino & DJ Nira
2. Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Shunma Katsumata
3. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Kota Umeda
4. Kazuki Hirata Tokyo GO Numbers Game – 2nd Round: Kazuki Hirata Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
5. HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano Vs Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake
6. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Okabayashi & Kazuki Hashimoto

There were two injuries coming out of “JUDGEMENT 2015” this past weekend. Soma Takao suffered an ankle injury and is unable to wrestle until 10th April at the earliest. Kota Ibushi sprained his middle and ring finger on his right hand but won’t miss any shows.

DDT “SAITAMA SLAM! VOL. 1”, 19/04/2015
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo

Tetsuya Endo cashes in his boobie prize from the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Royal Rumble. I bet he’ll be glad to get rid of it.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2015”, 29/04/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Anytime, Anywhere Contention Battle Royal: X Vs X
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs HARASHIMA

Two months after “SAITAMA SUPER DDT 2015” we get the rematch of the main event, unless somebody successfully cashes in their Ring To Challenge Contract. I mean it’s not like anybody in DDT watched Wrestlemania on Sunday and a lightbulb suddenly flashed over their head during the big main event angle… Anyway, the current contract holders are Yasu Urano, Hiroshi Fukuda, Kazusada Higuchi and Antonio Honda. Like last year wrestlers can lose the contract if they are pinned or submitted during any match in Japan.

There was one contract left unclaimed in the Right To Challenge Rumble. Another Battle Royal will decide who gets it. What it is for exactly won’t be known until the match is over.

UNION “GOLDEN UNION 2015”, 29/04/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Union Fly To Everywhere World Title – 3 Way Match: Cherry (c) Vs Aoi Ishibashi Vs Hibiscus Mii
2. Isami Kodaka Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
3. Union MAX Title – 1,000 Rose Death Match: FUMA (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

FUMA’s ego has grown as quickly as his rise to the top in Union. So much so that he is willing to fight Shuji Ishikawa in a 1,000 Rose Death Match, a stipulation that has not been used in a year.

Hibiscus Mii (formerly Apple Miyuki) answered the call when Union went searching for someone to be in the Fly To Everywhere Title 3 Way Match.


DDT “SAITAMA SLAM SPECIAL! 2015 ~TELETAMA BROADCASTING 1ST ANNIVERSARY~” Results

March 21, 2015

ibushi-yoshihiko

DDT “SAITAMA SLAM SPECIAL! 2015 ~TELETAMA BROADCASTING 1ST ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2015
Saitama Kasukabe Hall
1,344 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Dark Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda when Higuchi submitted Umeda with the Canadian Backbreaker (8:17).
1. Yasu Urano & Akito defeated Tomoya & Shunma Katsumata when Akito pinned Katsumata with the Kinniku Big Move (10:01).
2. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake when Dino pinned Miyatake with the Gotch-Style Danshoku Driver (12:37).
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Do It Or Die! – Special Single Match: Aja Kong (c) defeated Saki Akai with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (7:13).
*V? for Aja Kong.
4. Teletama Presents 8-Man Tag Team Elimination Infomercial Match: Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & DJ Nira defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & MIKAMI (11:36).
4a. DJ Nira eliminated MIKAMI by Ring Out (5:06).
4b. DJ Nira was eliminated by Ring Out (6:04).
4c. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Tomomitsu Matsunaga by Ring Out (6:16).
4d. Konosuke Takeshita eliminated Toru Owashi by Ring Out (9:00).
4e. Konosuke Takeshita eliminated Sanshiro Takagi by Ring Out (9:04).
4f. Konosuke Takeshita eliminated Kazuki Hirata with the Touchdown (11:36).
5. Eat Or Be Eaten! – Special Single Match: HARASHIMA defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Somato (16:30).
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi defeated Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) when Takanashi pinned Takao with the Takatonic (14:22).
*Team Dream Futures fails in V1. Shuten-dōji becomes the 18th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) defeated Yoshihiko with the Phoenix Splash (18:56).
*V1 for Kota Ibushi.

DDT returned to Kasukabe Hall to celebrate their one year anniversary of running shows in the venue. The main event was a rematch of one of DDT’s most infamous KO-D Openweight Title matches in recent memory. Kota Ibushi defended his championship against Yoshihiko in their first singles match since 2009. The challenger had been very aggressive to Ibushi in the build up to the match. Here it refused to shake hands before the match began. It also wrestled in a T-shirt which makes me wonder if Yoshihiko was in bad shape today. Yoshihiko did what it could to Ibushi. Piledrivers, Dangerous Back Drops, Brainbusters, Dragon Suplexes. It even countered Ibushi’s Phoenix Plex into a Hurricanrana! All this did was build up Ibushi’s meter and the champion unleashed a devastating top rope Power Bomb Driver followed by the Swan Dive German Suplex! Ibushi then hit the Phoenix Splash and it was the end for Yoshihiko’s title chances. Both fighters were wiped out after the match but Ibushi grabbed Yoshihiko’s hand and showed his respect. Ibushi was told his next defence will be on 29th April against the winner of the Battle Royal section of the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere match. He also has an IWGP Heavyweight Title match against AJ Styles before then. Ibushi said he hopes to defend his title and that the next time he is in Saitama he will be a double champion!

What is up with the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles? The list of short title reigns continue after Team Drift lost the belts back to Shuten-dōji in their first defence. Shigehiro Irie asked for a rematch. Masa Takanashi said no but KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi said yes, so another match is on the way.

An 8-Man Tag Team Elimination Match was sponsored by Television Saitama Co., Ltd, or Teletama for short. DJ Nira got a taste of success when he eliminated MIKAMI with a Rocket Punch that sent MIKAMI out of the ring. However Nira eliminated himself seconds later when he somehow slipped while climbing to the top rope and fell to the floor. Konosuke Takeshita and Antonio Honda both wore headgear in the shape of Teletama’s mascot and together danced to Teletama’s theme song to power up and win the match. Their prize is they will soon get to produce a video of themselves singing the theme song for Teletama.

I guess due to legal reasons DDT censors the name of Kazuki Hirata’s theme song in its show report. It is instead written as “●O●●O ●O!” while the Battle-News website writes it as “T●KY●,G●!”

Saki Akai is starting to show some growth in her wrestling career. In her pre-match video she admitted she was originally only going to wrestle for one year but has since become determined to regain the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title from Aja Kong. And she wants to do it as a DDT wrestler rather than as a guest celebrity. Unfortunately she still has a lot of work to do as Kong was still too much of a challenge for her to overcome. Kong complained about a lack of strong challengers to fight until Gota Ihashi suddenly ambushed her with his King Of Dark Title belt. Akai surprisingly defended Kong and stopped Ihashi with a High Kick. Kong knocked out Ihashi with the Uraken and despite being annoyed by what just happened, thanked Akai for helping. Kong then granted Akai a future rematch for the Iron Man Title.

Danshoku Dino is continuing his latest mission: to turn every town he visits into a “Gay Town”! It begun with Fukushima and today Saitama was his target. Sugaru Miyatake wanted to stop him but couldn’t after falling foul to the Gotch-Style Danshoku Driver.

The DDT Extreme Champion was not in attendance but he did leave a message for Akito about their title match next week. X wants to wrestle in a Total Count Match. It is a ten minute Ironman match and a point is scored for every second you pin your opponent. If there is a tie at the end then it will be sudden death with one more point needed to win.

Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki both qualify for the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal on 29th March.

A Road Wrestling match will be held in Izuguranparu Park, Saitama on 15th April. The match is Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs Gota Ihashi & Suguru Miyatake Vs Danshoku Dino & Saki Akai Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki.


Ibushi Prepares For Yoshihiko & AJ Styles, Mitomi Masayuki Comeback

March 18, 2015

Kota Ibushi’s run in New Japan just keeps getting better. After winning the New Japan Cup last weekend he now has an IWGP Title against AJ Styles match at Sumo Hall on 5th April. If Ibushi beats Yoshihiko this Saturday then the New Japan main event is guaranteed to be IWGP Champion Vs KO-D Champion, a first for New Japan and DDT’s relationship.

DDT “SAITAMA SLAM SPECIAL! 2015 ~TELETAMA BROADCASTING 1ST ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2015
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

0. Dark Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda
1. Yasu Urano & Akito Vs Tomoya & Shunma Katsumata
2. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake
3. Teletama Presents Infomercial Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & MIKAMI Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & DJ Nira
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Do It Or Die! – Special Single Match: Aja Kong (c) Vs Saki Akai
5. Eat Or Be Eaten! – Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Tetsuya Endo
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs Yoshihiko

So DDT has put up a fact sheet and list of career highlights for Yoshihiko before his KO-D Title match with Ibushi. Apparently Kurt Angle gave plenty of praise when he saw footage of Yoshihiko attacking Ibushi and laying down the challenge. When Ric Flair watched the same clip he just said “This is wrestling!” Also of note is Yoshihiko feels strongly about getting the 5th April IWGP Title shot if he beats Ibushi.

UNION “MARCH OF UNION 2015”, 28/03/2015
Yokohama Radiant Hall

1. Yuuya Kubo Vs Yuki Sato
2. Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Madoka (w/ Harumi Tachibana)
3. Mio Shirai & Aoi Ishibashi Vs Ryu Gouma & Ladybeard
4. Isami Kodaka Vs Ryota Nakatsu
5. Mitomi Masayuki Comeback: Seiya Morohashi & Tomoya Kawamura Vs Mitomi Masayuki & Daisuke Kanehira
6. Union Fly To Everywhere World Title: Cherry Vs Shu Shibutani
7. FUMA, Kazushi Miyamoto & SAGAT (w/ MEN’S Teioh) Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Masato Shibata & Daichi Kazato

Mitomi Masayuki is back after going through a bad period last December. He was suspended from Union and DDT for bad behaviour on Twitter and then got himself injured while wrestling on a micro indie show a week later. He will be teaming with Daisuke Kanehira from Pro Wrestling HEAT-UP for his comeback.


Ibushi Vs Yoshihiko II, Union Gets The Glory

February 17, 2015

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2015”, 21/02/2015
Shinjuku FACE

0. Kazusada Higuchi & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kota Umeda & Kouki Iwasaki
0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs Suguru Miyatake
1. Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Owashi & DJ Nira
2. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
3. Kazuki Hirata Tokyo GO Numbers Game – 1st Round: Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA
4. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie, Soma Takao & MIKAMI Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
5. Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuji Okabayashi
6. Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita

The new DDT Extreme Champion Shiori Asahi has been promoted to existential status and is no longer marked down as X on the match cards.

Not sure what to put down for Gota Ihashi if he loses the King Of Dark Title Match and stays as champion. D1 (defeat) defence, L1 (Loss) defence or should I just stick with V1 (Victory) for the irony?

UNION “GET THE GLORY MATINEE”, 22/02/2015
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Get The Glory 2015! Round 1: Ryu Gouma Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
2. Get The Glory 2015! Round 1: Daicho Kazato Vs Isami Kodaka
3. Get The Glory 2015! Round 1: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Cherry
4. Get The Glory 2015! Round 1: Seiya Morohashi Vs Goro Jr.
5. Get The Glory 2015! Round 2: SAGAT Vs Winner of Match #1
6. Get The Glory 2015! Round 2: Mio Shirai Vs Winner of Match #2
7. Get The Glory 2015! Round 2: Ladybeard Vs Winner of Match #3
8. Get The Glory 2015! Round 2: FUMA Vs Winner of Match #4

Union has two shows in one day for its Get The Glory tournament. The first two rounds take place in the afternoon and the later rounds take place in the evening.

UNION “GET THE GLORY SOIREE”, 22/02/2015
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Get The Glory 2015! Semi Final:
2. Get The Glory 2015! Semi Final:
3. Get The Glory 2015! Final:

Madoka will be in non-tournament action for the evening show.

DDT “SAITAMA SLAM SPECIAL! 2015 ~TELETAMA BROADCASTING 1ST ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2015
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs Yoshihiko

Kota Ibushi has picked Yoshihiko to be the No. 1 Contender for the KO-D Openweight Title. It’s been five and a half years since their classic battle. Ibushi thinks its time they tangled again. During the times they fought since then, Ibushi noticed Yoshihiko has become heavier. He thinks that is a little scary.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2015”, 29/03/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine

The new KO-D Tag Team Champions knew they now have a bunch of DDT tag teams chasing after them. They just didn’t expect Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine to be leading the pack.