DDT “APRIL FOOL 2019 IN SHINKIBA” Results

April 14, 2019

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2019 IN SHINKIBA”, 11/04/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
192 Fans

1. Dance Vs Nori! Enchanted Single Match: Hiroshi Yamato defeated Kazuki Hirata with a Fisherman Suplex (7:19).
*Hiroshi Yamato wins Kazuki Hirata’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
2. Single Match Of A 40 Year Old Indie Wrestler Trial: Mad Paulie defeated Makoto Oishi with the Paulie Buster (3:59).
3. Asuka, Sanshiro Takagi, Yuki Iino & Rionne Fujiwara defeated Saki Akai, Masahiro Takanashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Mizuki Watase when Asuka pinned Watase with the Moonsault (8:06).
4. 3 Way Tag Match: Ricky Starks & Mike Rollins defeated Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani and MAO & Mike Bailey when Rollins pinned Shimatani with the Psycho Punch Baby (10:15).
5. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Keisuke Okuda ended in a Double Knockout (8:22).
6. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno defeated Antonio Honda, Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda when HARASHIMA pinned Honda with a Cradle (14:11).
7. Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata when Endo pinned Katsumata with the Shooting Star Press (17:03).

DDT is back to work after their American vacation and there is a lot to get through. After the main event Konosuke Takeshita expressed his desire to win back the KO-D Openweight Title. However he has an even bigger desire to avenge his defeat to Daisuke Sasaki so he challenged him to a KO-D Tag Team Titles match instead! Takeshita picked Shunma Katsumata to be his partner, partly because Akito is out of action and Yuki Iino is more suited for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. After his challenge was made, The Moonlight Express came out demanding their title rematch against DAMNATION. If that wasn’t enough the team of Ricky Starks & Mike Rollins also came out wanting a title shot. Sasaki refused to hand out a title match to anybody until Tetsuya Endo talked to him. Endo said there are only two kinds of people in the world, those who take challenges and those who refuse them. Which one is Sasaki? That convinced Sasaki to make a 4 Way Tag match for the Tag Titles on 28th April!

When that was over with, Endo announced his first challenger for the KO-D Title on 28th April. It’s… Makoto Oishi? Even Oishi was surprised to hear this but he asked the fans to support him in Korakuen Hall. Oishi then became more confident, telling Endo he will be a weak champion if he can’t win on the 28th. Oishi will show Endo how he uses his head to win matches. Endo closed out the show telling the audience he was reborn in New York and grew up in New York. There are two kinds of people in this world, losers and the winner, Tetsuya Endo!

HARASHIMA had intentions to tell Antonio Honda their DDT Extreme Title stipulation today but he hasn’t been able to think of anything. Honda asked if he could be given time to come up with the match idea instead. HARASHIMA agreed and they shook hands as a promise to come up with the best rules to create the best match.

One High Kick after another resulted in a double knockout between Yukio Sakaguchi and Keisuke Okuda. Sakaguchi told Okuda he enjoyed that match and to remember they will be together again for a tag match in Yokohama next week.

Although Asuka and Saki Akai were opponents today, they were on the same page after the match. Asuka said she is starving to win a championship again and if Akai can help her, she’ll be happy to team up. Akai now needs one more person to join her team so she can challenge for the 6-Man Tag Titles.

Springtime means that Mad Paulie’s face is turning red again because he is back in heat.

Kazuki Hirata and Hiroshi Yamato complained that the other’s entrance is too long.

Antonio Honda talked about his experience in New York at the start of the show. He doesn’t understand why everyone booed his Hulk Hogan impersonation at the DDT show but when the real Hogan appeared at WrestleMania he was greatly cheered.

The 2019 King Of DDT tournament will begin on 29th April. So far 14 names have been revealed. They are Konosuke Takeshita, HARASHIMA, Daisuke Sasaki, Yukio Sakaguchi, Akito, Soma Takao, Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi, MAO, Mike Bailey, Kota Umeda, Naomi Yoshimura, Yuki Ueno and Kazuki Hirata. A Battle Royal for the 1st Round losers will take place on 6th May and the winner will qualify for the 2nd Round happening that same day. The tournament winner will receive a KO-D Title shot at “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2019” in July along with a million yen cash prize.


DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2019” Results

March 21, 2019

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2019”, 21/03/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,433 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Under Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Mizuki Watase with a Casadora Foot Stomp (5:42).
1. Bull James, Kota Umeda & Naomi Yoshimura defeated Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani when James pinned Shimatani with the Doink Drop (14:49).
2. A Miraculous Ending! Goodbye Michael! Till We Meet Again! – Michael Nakazawa Send-Off Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Masahiro Takanashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Keisuke Okuda & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Michael Nakazawa when Yamato pinned Nakazawa with the Sliding X (0:18).
2a. Rematch: Sanshiro Takagi, Masahiro Takanashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Keisuke Okuda & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Michael Nakazawa when Okuda submitted Nakazawa with the Cross Armbreaker (0:25).
2b. Another Match: Michael Nakazawa, Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Keisuke Okuda & Hiroshi Yamato when Nakazawa pinned Takagi with the Michael Slam (8:50).
3. The Hirata Dance Is The Best! No, It’s The Pro Wrestling Exercise! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Asuka defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai (w/ Furitsuke Kamen) when Oishi pinned Hirata with a Cradle (8:27).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Riki Choshu, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno defeated KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Gota Ihashi when Higuchi pinned Ihashi with the Doctor Bomb (9:26).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako & Chihiro Hashimoto defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino (c) when Hashimoto pinned Iino with the Albright (15:34).
*ALL OUT fails in V3. Sendai Girls become the 38th KO-d 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao defeated Mike Bailey & MAO (c) when Takao pinned MAO with the Gin And Tonic (14:52).
*The Moonlight Express fails in V4. DAMNATION becomes the 66th KO-D Tag Team Champions!
7. DDT Extreme Title – #IThoughtOfTheExtremeRules Best 2 Out Of 3 Match: HARASHIMA (c) (2) defeated Muscle Sakai (1).
7a. Daruma-san ga Koronda Death Match: Muscle Sakai defeated HARASHIMA (c) by TKO (4:20).
7b. Telephone Death Match: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Muscle Sakai (4:50).
7c. Get Pinned For 3 Seconds Match: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Muscle Sakai with a High Kick From Below (4:25).
*V1 for HARASHIMA.

The creative juices were flowing for HARASHIMA and Muscle Sakai in their DDT Extreme Title match. It was best two out of three with a different stipulation in each fall. First fall was a game of Daruma-san ga Koronda. When that phrase was shouted into the microphone, both wrestlers had to freeze. If anyone moved they would be deducted a point and the first one to lose three points would be disqualified. Both HARASHIMA and Sakai lost their first point at the same time because the phrase was said while they were in the middle of a Brianbuster. HARASHIMA lost his second point while he was doing the Swan Dive Superplex. He was then DQ’ed when the phrase was called while he hit Sakai with the Somato.

Fall #2 was a Telephone Death Match. Both wrestlers had to constantly have a conversation with other people on their phones while they wrestled. If they get interrupted for three seconds they will lose. Sakai said he was at a disadvantage because he had poor reception in the ring. He was on the line to Michael Nakazawa and told him to come out and help when HARASHIMA was beating him. Nakazawa came out but his attack backfired and knocked Sakai’s phone away. Sakai couldn’t pick up his phone in time and he was counted out.

The third and final fall could only be won by a wrestler if he was pinned by his opponent. HARASHIMA purposely used moves that placed himself on his back and shoulders so he could get pinned but Sakai struggled away. Sakai gave HARASHIMA the Lehmann Shock twice and tried to do it a third time, enough to statistically guarantee he would win the match! But HARASHIMA suddenly kicked Sakai in the head and Sakai fell on top of him for the unintentional pin. This means HARASHIMA won the third fall and is ultimately the winner and still the Extreme Champion!

HARASHIMA thanked Sakai for the match but was quickly interrupted when Antonio Honda entered the ring only wearing a t-shirt, underwear and socks. He didn’t think about putting pants on because he is only focused on getting an Extreme Title shot! The matches he’s had when fighting for this title is the most he’s enjoyed wrestling so he wants to experience that again. Tetsuya Koda was against the idea because Honda doesn’t have the track record to deserve a title match. Hisaya Imabayashi stood up for Honda by pointing out he recently main evented Sumo Hall. That was enough to convince Koda and the title match was booked for the 28th April Korakuen Hall show.

The show was reaching its end so HARASHIMA invited Nakazawa to come out and have his farewell ceremony. Sanshiro Takagi handed Nakazawa a bouquet and admitted that even though he beat Nakazawa up over the last 14 years, he would have liked him to stay in DDT. But if Kenny Omega needs Nakazawa over in America for AEW then Takagi is more than happy to send him over. Nakazawa also said he would like to stay in DDT but he wants to help out his best friend Kenny. Nakazawa was given the 10 bell salute but it was interrupted by a video message from Omega himself! In the video Omega said it’s been a long time since he’s been with the DDT fans and he wishes he could have been at the show today. He apologised to DDT for stealing Nakazawa from them to be the AEW Vice President’s Vice President. AEW needs Nakazawa but Omega also knows that you should never forget your family. So even though Nakazawa is a part of AEW he will also continue to be a part of DDT! Nakazawa can still wrestle in DDT and who knows, maybe Kenny will also show up in DDT again someday? The video ended and Takagi’s first response was to give Nakazawa a Stunner. Maybe out of celebration for keeping Nakazawa or maybe because Omega is coming back to DDT someday. Either way it’s good news.

Both of the KO-D Tag Titles changed hands on the show today. The KO-D Tag Team Titles are back in the hands of DAMNATION when Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao beat The Moonlight Express. For weeks Sasaki had been in a slump losing one match after another. But with nothing left to lose he went to his cheating ways and that gave DAMNATION the chance to win. Sasaki attacked Mike Bailey with a chair then threw it at MAO when MAO jumped off the turnbuckle. The Express fought back and looked to have the match won when MAO went for the Cannonball 450 on Soma Takao while Bailey Moonsaulted out of the ring onto Sasaki. Bailey hit his target but Takao rolled away from MAO’s Cannonball. MAO tried to give Takao the Michinoku Driver I but Takao countered it into the Gin And Tonic to win.

Takao told everyone it’s been seven years since his previous KO-D Tag Title reign. He finally has it back. He would talk about it more but he has somewhere to go so he passed the microphone over to Sasaki. The DAMNATION leader mourned about today being his last day in DDT. He’s been here for 10 years and while it was good he now wants to go abroad and sign with a company like AEW. Tetsuya Endo and Mad Paulie cried as Sasaki walked away. Takao said thank you to Sasaki, something he has never said out loud. Nobuhiro Shimatani however saw an opportunity and declared himself the new leader of DAMNATION! It only lasted a few seconds because Sasaki got back into the ring and he gave Shimatani a Low Blow. Sasaki changed his mind. He is staying in DDT and will take over from Shimatani to become the new, third leader of DAMNATION!

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles also changed hands when the Sendai Girls defeated ALL OUT! The growing rivalry between Konosuke Takeshita and Meiko Satomura continued while they led their teams into battle. Yuki Iino found himself matching power with power against Chihiro Hashimoto while Akito faced off with DASH Chisako. Chisako dealt out RKOs and used a Top Rope Hurricanrana to fling Hashimoto onto Takeshita. Her momentum was stopped dead by Iino’s Spear. Hashimoto used her own Spears to great effect. The Sendai Girls isolated Iino and dropped him big with a Triple Tower Of Doom where Satomura & Chisako Superplexed him from an assisted Hashimoto Power Bomb. Iino struggled to fight out of Hashimoto’s grasp so Satomura hit him with the Scorpio Rising. From there Hashimoto pulled off the Albright German Suplex, resulting in new champions!

Satomura and Takeshita faced off after the match but a frustrated Takeshita backed off and left. Hashimoto told everyone that the Sendai Girls are the strongest out there among both men and women. Saki Akai then came down to the ring. She congratulated the new champions then said she wanted to be part of their first defence. Tetsuya Koda asked Akai if she has any tag partners. Akai admitted she doesn’t have any. She was so excited to come out and challenge the Sendai Girls that she never thought about who her partners should be. Satomura told Akai to go out and find her team. There is something about Akai that hasn’t been shown yet and Satomura wants to help wake up this sleeping talent.

The time for redemption was here for Gota Ihashi. After so much hard work he finally got to step in the ring again with Riki Choshu. Did he win Choshu’s respect? Eh… not really. Ihashi did his best and had the fan support despite getting pinned by Kazusada Higuchi. His effort even had Yukio Sakaguchi calling out to Choshu after the match to give the poor lad some credit. When asked about it backstage, Choshu said he didn’t care. He was fine teaming with Higuchi and Yuki Ueno though.

A sneaky Kazuki Hirata discovered that Furitsuke Kamen is unable to do his Pro Wrestling Exercises without his mask. So Hirata stole the mask before their match took place. Kamen confronted Hirata in the ring and the two duelled while the match continued. When Hirata thought he won he celebrated but Kamen chopped him in the neck and reclaimed his mask. Hirata then recovered and chopped back at Kamen. The two continued fighting until they started to like each other. They approached and looked like they were about to kiss when Makoto Oishi cradled Hirata for the three count. Hirata agreed to give Kamen his mask back so the entire venue could experience the Pro Wrestling Exercise. Everyone who was in the match was joined by Hiroshi Yamato, Pokotan and some masked dancers for a big dance performance.

Michael Nakazawa’s farewell match had a couple of restarts because he kept getting pinned within seconds. Eventually they all agreed to changed the 5 Vs 1 Handicap Match into a regular trios match. Miraculously, Nakazawa won by pinning Takagi! He got hug Takagi, Masahiro Takanashi and Tomomitsu Matsunaga and his farewell ceremony was pushed to the end of the show.

When Bull James was running wild in the opener, DAMNATION threw the trainee Nakamura into the ring to try and stop him. James picked up Nakamura and threw him out of the ring onto them instead! James went on to crush Shimatani with a Samoan Drop and then the Doink Drop for the win.

Shunma Katsumata used the Casadora to set up a Double Foot Stomp to win the pre-show match against Mizuki Watase.

Tenshin Nasukawa will be a special guest at the AbemaTowers Wrestling show on 29th March. Danshoku Dieno will also be there looking for the AbemaTV president again.

Next month’s Korakuen show will be sponsored by Souken Holdings. The company spokesman Mr. Nakano tried whatever he could to be part of the show opening announcements. He also offered to make entrance music for some of the wrestlers. His eagerness was such a nuisance that Takeshita had to chop him while Imabayashi held Nakano back. With Nakano taken care of, Takeshita changed the subject to his recent trip to the UK. He missed a connecting flight so his entire journey from Japan to England lasted 36 hours!


A Whole Lot Of News For March

February 25, 2019

BASARA “BASARA 90 ~FEAST~”, 26/02/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Ryuichi Sekine Vs Masato Kamino
2. FUMA, SAGAT & Trans-Am ★ Ryuji Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, Takato Nakano & Yasu Urano
3. Turnabout Pro Wrestling Trial: Gouma Ryu Vs Banana Senga Vs Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
4. Aiseki Tag Vs Stretchmen!: Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka Vs Best Stretchman V3 & Best Stretchman Amazon
5. Yusuke Kubo Vs Jun Masaoka
6. Sparky Vs Sento Minzoku!: Ryota Nakatsu, Naoki Tanizaki & Akiyori Takizara Vs Isami Kodaka, Minoru Fujita & Daiki Shimomura

This is the last BASARA show currently on schedule before their Korakuen Hall return on 21st March.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SPRING TOUR ’19 ~ READY SET, GO!”, 02/03/2019
Osaka Okinawa Hall

1. Rika Tatsumi Vs Himawari Unagi
2. Maki Itoh & Raku Vs Marika Kobashi & Mina Shirakawa
3. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Yuna Manase & Yuki Kamifuku
4. Shoko Nakajima, Haruna Neko & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Natsumi Maki, Pinano Pipipipi & Pom Harajuku
5. Mizuki Vs YUMI
6. Miyu Yamashita & Hikari Noa Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Miu Watanabe

No sign of Sakisama or the former Hyper Misao anywhere since Masao’s unexpected actions over the weekend. She has abandoned her entire persona to join Sakisama’s side and become stronger.

DDT “OSAKA 24 DISTRICT TOUR ~TAISHO WARD~”, 02/03/2019
Osaka Okinawa Hall

1. Bull James Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
2. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi & Yuni
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Keisuke Okuda, Kota Umeda & Shunma Katsumata
4. Gongitsune Vs Yellow Devil In Tokushima!: Antonio Honda Vs Maku Donaruto
5. Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs MAO, Asuka & Mizuki Watase
6. Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino Vs HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura
7. As Always I Like It! Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: Mike Bailey Vs Daisuke Sasaki

Former NXT wrestler Bull James will be touring with DDT throughout March. He’s been busy wrestling in the New York indy scene over the last few years.

DDT “THREE DREAMS 2019”, 03/03/2019
Hiroshima Aster Plaza Multipurpose Hall

1. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Rey Paloma Vs Asuka, Kenshin Chikano & Lowther
2. HARASHIMA & Takeshi Okada Vs Keisuke Okuda & Makoto Oishi
3. Raw Oysters, Grilled Oysters, Steamed Oysters 3 Way Match: Antonio Honda Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko
4. Soma Takao Vs Akito
5. Hiroshima Specialty! Jingi Naki Special Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Bull James

The three Right To Challenge Gauntlets are now in effect. Tetsuya Endo, Makoto Oishi and Yuki Iino currently possess them.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2019”, 21/03/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Riki Choshu, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Yeno Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Gota Ihashi
2. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Meiko Satomura, DASH Chisako & Chihiro Hashimoto
3. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao
4. DDT Extreme Title – #ExtremeRuleThoughts: HARASHIMA (c) Vs Muscle Sakai

The DDT fans have been asked to tweet ideas for rules and match stipulations for the DDT Extreme Title bout between HARASHIMA and Muscle Sakai under the hashtag #エクストリームのルール考えました. HARASHIMA will pick his favourite idea on 11th March. Sakai apologises for the current state of the pro wrestling world because a man like him can qualify for a championship match without having any skills or previous achievements. But when he watched HARASHIMA wrestle Shinya Aoki in Sumo Hall he was inspired by what he saw and became determined to challenge the winner no matter what.

Daisuke Sasaki is falling down the well and falling hard since he lost the KO-D Openweight Title. He just lost a match clean to Makoto Oishi for cripes’ sake! He is now so down in the dumps that he believes his wrestling career is coming to an end and he will have no choice but to leave Japan in shame. But before he goes he wants to make some final happy memories to keep him company so he and Soma Takao are challenging The Moonlight Express for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.

The Sendai Girls are coming back for a shot at redemption and also the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. They failed to beat ALL OUT for the belts last July and the result has been festering inside Meiko Satomura all this time. She wants to take out her frustration on Konosuke Takeshita most of all. DASH Chisako is along for the ride again but this time the third member of the team is Chihiro Hashimoto! She too is holding a grudge with Takeshita because an enemy of Satomura is an enemy of hers too!

Speaking of redemption, finally Gota Ihashi will face Riki Choshu again inside the ring! For over a year Ihashi has worked tirelessly on his fitness and his pro wrestling to make up for an embarrassing performance he had while teaming with the legendary Choshu. All his hard work is leading up to this match.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GIRLS SHINING, I WILL FLY TO HAKATA”, 31/03/2019
Hakata Star Lanes

1. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Yuka Sakazaki

Yuka Sakazaki has been chosen by Miyu Yamashita to be her next challenger for the TOKYO Princess Title. Yamashita’s goal is to get at least 10 title defences in her current reign. She is currently on 8. She also wants this match to happen before Sakazaki travels to America for her AEW debut.

Aja Kong, Mika Iwata and Rina Shingaki will all be on the show.

DDT “GOODBYE HAKATA STAR LANES”, 31/03/2019
Hakata Star Lanes

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Jiro Kuroshio

It’s about bloody time they’re doing this match! In January 2018, Jiro Kuroshio defeated Takeshita in a non-title match as part of the first D-Ou Grand Prix tournament. Normal wrestling etiquette suggests that a rematch with the KO-D Title on the line would come out of it. That never happened. Well a year has passed, Takeshita is the champion again and now the match is happening as part of Takeshita’s plan to defend the KO-D Title against a wider variety of wrestlers. But there is something that could happen to make the match even more interesting. Kuroshio is challenging T-Hawk for the WRESTLE-1 Title on 21st March. If Kuroshio wins and becomes champion then the match with Takeshita may become a double title match!

Isami Kodaka and Takumi Tsukamoto will be on the show so BASARA can be a part of DDT’s final event in Hakata Star Lanes.

DDT “DDT IS COMING TO AMERICA”, 04/04/2019
La Boom, Queens, New York

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Maki Itoh
2. Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda Vs Joey Ryan & Royce Isaacs
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Saki Akai (c) Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Yoshihiko Vs Kikutaro Vs Colt Cabana Vs X
4. Soma Takao & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi
5. 3 Way Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Akito & Ethan Page Vs Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid
6. Weapon Rumble In U.S.A.: MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi
7. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita

That’s an authentic looking DDT card for sure. The “JUDGEMENT 2019” main event rematch, the Weapon Rumble rematch, Tokyo Joshi Pro representation, a Rumble for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and Danshoku Dieno crosses paths with Joey Ryan again. There’s even a RENEGADES reunion with Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid. The North American talent announced so far have all been established in DDT too.

DDT “SHUTEN-DOJI 5TH ANNIVERSARY ~DRINKING TURNS YOUR LIFE AROUND~”, 17/04/2019
Shinjuku FACE

1. KUDO & HARASHIMA Vs MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba
2. Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Masahiro Takanashi

The Shuten-dōji unit will be taking a break from each other after this show. KUDO is taking an indefinite leave of absence from pro wrestling so he can recover from a list of different injuries he’s been living with. He has nerve paralysis in his left eye, a lumbar hernia and suffers from dizziness from time to time. His doctor told him the best treatment is to take rest. KUDO promises he will return to the ring eventually and even apologises if this only turns out to be a short break and he quickly returns.

With KUDO out of action, the rest of Shuten-dōji agreed to call it a day as a group. Yukio Sakaguchi and Masahiro Takanashi will be going their separate ways as wrestlers. They will face each other one on one to celebrate the end of Shuten-dōji for now. KUDO meanwhile will team with his old partner HARASHIMA to take on the reunited Suicide Boyz for this special occasion. This will be MIKAMI’s first match for DDT in over three and a half years.


DDT “DRAMATIC 2019 FEBRUARY SPECIAL” Results

February 23, 2019

DDT “DRAMATIC 2019 FEBRUARY SPECIAL”, 23/02/2019
Shinjuku FACE
351 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Jason Kincaid & Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi & Space Monkey when Kincid pinned Monkey with a Piledriver (9:14).
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Keisuke Okuda & Gota Ihashi when Sakaguchi pinned Ihashi with the God’s Right Knee (7:49).
3. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 4 Way Match: Makoto Oishi defeated Shunma Katsumata, Kazuki Hitata and Asuka when Oishi pinned Katsumata with a Modern Times (7:12).
*Makoto Oishi wins the Blue Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
4. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Single Match: Yuki Iino defeated Kota Umeda with the Spear (10:58).
*Yuki Iino wins the Yellow Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
5. Mike Bailey, MAO & Mizuki Watase defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie when MAO pinned Sasaki with the Michinoku Driver I (16:47).
6. Konosuke Takeshita & Akito Vs Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura ended in a Time Limit Draw (30:00).
7. Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere 3 Way Match – Over The Top Rope Rules: Tetsuya Endo defeated HARASHIMA and Kazusada Higuchi (18:33).
7a. Tetsuya Endo eliminated HARASHIMA by Ring Out (13:08).
7b. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Kazusada Higuchi with the Shooting Star Press (18:33).
*Tetsuya Endo wins the Red Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.

The Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets were reintroduced today for their annual run. Three Gauntlets were on the line in three matches each with different stipulations. Tetsuya Endo won his in a 3 Way Battle Royal against HARASHIMA and Kazusada Higuchi. Endo eliminated both of them by himself. Yuki Iino won a Gauntlet by beating Kota Umeda in a regular match. Makoto Oishi won the third one by winning a 4 Way. This year the Gauntlets can only be cashed in for a KO-D Openweight Title shot on the spot. They also will not become active until tomorrow. Endo and Oishi weren’t aware of that and they both wanted to get their title match today. Hisaya Imabayashi had to tell them they couldn’t a bunch of times. The usual rule where if the Gauntlet holder is beaten in a match they must give the Gauntlet to the winner still stands. Oishi wanted to cash in today because he isn’t convinced he can beat Daisuke Sasaki tomorrow.

The new team of Yuki Ueno & Naomi Yoshimura have today showed they mean business. They weren’t able to beat Konosuke Takeshita & Akito but taking them to a 30 minute draw is no small task that’s for sure. Takeshita told Ueno & Yoshimura that some day maybe he will fight one of them in a Sumo Hall main event. Maybe Ueno and Yoshimura will be fighting each other in that main event instead. Whatever it is, Takeshita will look forward to it. Ueno said he isn’t feeling proud over the draw. Both he and Yoshimura became pro wrestlers so they could beat Takeshita. They will be a challenge for him from now on!

When they left, Takeshita was joined by the rest of ALL OUT in the ring. He said that what just happened will probably lead to them defending the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles against Disaster Box. He was interrupted when the room lights switched off and a video played on the screen. It was Meiko Satomura! She hasn’t forgotten when Takeshita humiliated her when the Sendai Girls failed to win the KO-D 6-Man Titles from ALL OUT last year. She wants to challenge them again with DASH Chisako and one other person. The room lights switched back on and standing in the ring behind Takeshita was Chihiro Hashimoto! She grabbed Takeshita and gave him a German Suplex. She introduced herself to the audience then repeated Satomura’s challenge. She has never seen Satomura look so angry over something so Hashimoto will never forgive Takeshita for it! The Sendai Girls team will get their title shot at Korakuen Hall on 21st March. When she left the ring, Makoto Oishi walked down to cash in his Gauntlet only to be told he can’t do it until tomorrow. Yuki Iino then performed a Haka inside the ring as a warning to Hashimoto.

The descent of Daisuke Sasaki is getting noticeable. First he loses the KO-D Title then on the next show he gets pinned by MAO. Sasaki now fears that his career his approaching its end. But before it’s time to call it a day and flee the country he asked MAO for a favour. “Uncle Sasaki” asked MAO & Mike Bailey for a KO-D Tag Team Titles Match so he could have one last happy memory in Japan before he quits wrestling. Soma Takao will be Sasaki’s partner. The Moonlight Express accepted and the match will happen on 21/3.

Jason Kincaid finishes his latest tour with DDT with a win. Antonio Honda hopes Gon Gift can continue to team together if Kincaid ever returns. This tour was a chance for the team to develop together. Next time they can aim for higher targets like matching red and white gear, a tag team championship shot and forming a folk duo musical act together.

Before the show began, Shuten-dōji held a press conference to give a few announcements about their future. On the 17th April at the end of their self-produced show in Shinjuku FACE, Shuten-dōji will be coming to an end. KUDO is planning to take a break from pro wrestling in order to give his body much needed rest. This month will mark be KUDO’s twentieth year in combat sports, he begun with kickboxing before transitioning over to pro wrestling. He does not know how long he will stay out of action for. With KUDO taking a break, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi agreed that Shuten-dōji could only work with the three of them together so the unit will go away. at least for now. To mark their last show together, the 17/4 main event will feature Sakaguchi Vs Takanashi as the main event. KUDO will team with HARASHIMA to face The Suicide Boyz of MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba in a special throwback match for longtime DDT fans.

Nobuhiro Shimatani will return to action on 21st March.

DDT will be holding a Falls Count Anywhere match inside AbemaTV headquarters on 29th March.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~” Results

February 17, 2019

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
4,177 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Sekine submitted Nakano with the Let’s Combine (6:14).
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe when Tenma pinned Noa with the Killswitch (11:49).
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey defeated Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura when Ueno pinned Yoshimura with a Frankensteiner (12:55).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Saki Akai defeated Asuka (c), Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi, Keisuke Okuda, Kazuki Hirata, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Hoshitango, Gota Ihashi, Yuni, Yasu Urano, El Lindaman, Scorpio X2, Yuka Sakazaki, Mina Shirakawa, Chinsuke Nakamura and Maku Donaruto (20:23).
2a. Makoto Oishi eliminated Yuri with a Hurricanrana Cutback (2:14).
2b. Hoshitango eliminated Gota Ihashi and Tomomitsu Matsunaga with a Body Press (3:28).
2c. Makoto Oishi eliminated Super Sasadango Machine by Ring Out (4:25).
2d. El Lindaman eliminated Hoshitango by Ring Out (5:18).
2e. Everyone eliminated Scorpio X2 by Ring Out (5:25).
2f. Makoto Oishi eliminated Keisuke Okuda by Ring Out (6:40).
2g. Maku Donaruto eliminated Makoto Oishi with the McShake Bomb (10:17).
2h. Yasu Urano eliminated Maku Donaruto and Gorgeous Matsuno by Ring Out (12:00).
2i. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Mina Shirakawa with the Koromogawa (12:52).
2j. Chinsuke Nakamura eliminated El Lindaman by Ring Out (14:51).
2k. Asuka (c) eliminated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (15:39).
*V? for Asuka.
2l. Asuka (c) eliminated Chinsuke Nakamura with a School Boy (18:82).
*V? for Asuka.
2m. Saki Akai eliminated Yuka Sakazaki by Ring Out (19:03).
2n. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Asuka (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (19:30).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,349th champion.
2o. Saki Akai eliminated Kazki Hirata (c) with the Quetzalcoatl (20:23).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,350th champion.
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya defeated Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino when Higuchi pinned Iino with the Doctor Bomb (13:09).
4. Special Single Match: T-Hawk defeated Akito with the Night Ride (13:50).
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO when Ishii pinned Pokotan with the igh Angle Double Arm DDT (11:28).
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito when Takao pinned Takagi with the Diving Foot Stomp from the Ladder (19:54).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi and CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka when MAO pinned Takanashi with the Cannonball 450 (13:06).
*V3 for The Moonlight Express.
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: HARASHIMA defeated Shinya Aoki (c) with the Somato (12:11).
*Shinya Aoki fails in V2. HARASHIMA becomes the 43rd DDT Extreme Champion!
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion (18:08).
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) with the Cross-Arm German Suplex (32:08).
*Daisuke Sasaki fails in V2. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 69th KO-D Openweight Champion!

Konosuke Takeshita has completed his comeback to the top of DDT! He survived the Super Elbow Drop, a Spear through a table, a Canadian Destroyer and several attempts at chair attacks to beat Daisuke Sasaki and become the new KO-D Openweight Champion. Victory was in Takeshita’s sight when he prevented Sasaki from doing an Avalanche Pedigree. Instead it was turned into the Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! But the top turnbuckle was removed earlier in the match so instead of landing on that, Sasaki instead fell even further and took the impact on the ring canvas! Takeshita followed it up with the Fable but Sasaki still tried to get back up. Sasaki was finished off with the Cross-Arm German Suplex, ending his title reign.

When DAMNATION took Sasaki back to the locker room, Takeshita rubbed it in by pointing out how fast Sasaki was leaving after being defeated. It was a year ago when Takeshita last headlined Sumo Hall. Since then he’s suffered injuries and had what he considers some of the most disappointing moments in his career. But with the support of ALL OUT he was confident he would become the KO-D Champion again. He received 2,000,000 yen in prize money today and will use some of that to pay off the bill DAMNATION left at his mother’s restaurant. As champion Takeshita now wants to have more defences take place outside Tokyo so the fans who cannot go to Korakuen Hall will get to see such matches in their own towns. He also wants to defend the title against wrestlers from all over the wrestling scene. That is how he will make the KO-D Title become more valuable.

Tetsuya Endo and Naomichi Marufuji took part in a battle of wills and Thrust Kicks. Marufuji was able to get one step ahead when Endo missed a Shooting Star Press. Endo landed on his feet but Marufuji’s dodge put him in perfect position to hit the Ko-oh knee kick. Endo thought he stunned Marufuji with a Thrust Kick but Marufuji responded with his around the back Thrust Kick then hit another Ko-oh this time to the back of Endo’s head. From there Marufuji hit the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion to win the match. Marufuji applauded Endo after the match. In the backstage interview, Marufuji joked that the results means Endo has to go to NOAH. But seriously, Marufuji doesn’t understand why Endo isn’t a championship contender right now. Endo was a lot harder on himself and he called himself a loser. His entire career from his debut to teaming with Takeshita to joining DAMNATION was all leading up to this match and he lost.

Pride and the DDT Extreme Title were both on the line when Shinya Aoki and HARASHIMA had a rematch of their October meeting. HARASHIMA was in trouble early thanks to Aoki’s ground game. When a rope break was called for Aoki reaching over while in HARASHIMA’s Cross Armbreaker that was when everyone realised the match was held under normal wrestling moves. Aoki never explained it to anyone beforehand. That was when HARASHIMA got into his groove despite being on defence against Aoki’s submission holds. He countered a Front Neck Lock into a Falcon Arrow only for Aoki to apply a Cross Armbreaker. But when Aoki went for a Back Drop, HARASHIMA countered it into a Piledriver and then hit the Somato to win the title! Aoki was in good spirits after the match despite losing. He gave the new champion a fist bump with a smile.

Super Sasadango Machine entered the ring and congratulated HARASHIMA. He asked for a title match but Hisaya Imabayashi refused to grant it. Sasadango’s PowerPoint presentations are usually longer than his matches so he does not deserve a shot. After hearing this, Sasadango took off his mask and said that Muscle Sakai was now asking for a title match! Sakai successfully promoted a Muscle show in Sumo Hall yesterday and he thinks that is more than enough to earn a championship match. Tetsuya Koda pushed Imabayashi away and granted Sakai’s request. HARASHIMA Vs Sakai for the Extreme Title will take place on 21st March at Korakuen.

The 3 Way Match for the KO-D Tag Team Titles saw The Moonlight Express go against teams representing Shuten-dōji and #STRONGHEARTS. A Michinoku Tornado Driver from the champions got rid of CIMA but Shuten-dōji were there to stop the pin. Yukio Sakaguchi took out Seiki Yoshioka with the God’s Right Knee but he too was put to the side. MAO used a Screw Kick to cut off Masahiro Takanashi’s Takatonic to Mike Bailey. From there the Express kept Takanashi down with the Ultima Weapon and then the Cannonball 450. With a third defence completed, the Express now want to defend the KO-D Tag Titles against foreign teams in countries like Germany and England.

DAMNATION’s only high point on the show came from the Hardcore 6-Man Tag. Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha spoiled the reunion of Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito in the craziest looking match of the night. Yes even crazier than the Battle Royal. This one had Takagi’s entire body painted to look like a Gundam for instance. Plastic boxes were smashed to pieces, Ito brought out a barbed wire baseball bat, Iroha used a Marvelous flag to defend herself, Nagayo’s team applied a trio of Scorpion Deathlocks, Paulie was put through a table and the Dream Go fell to its demise once again. Takao won the match for DAMNATION when he placed chairs on top of Takagi and hit a Double Foot Stomp from the top of a ladder. Takao isn’t satisfied with the win though.

Nagayo told Takao he should be persistent like she is. She also praised Iroha for how painful her kicks felt. Her wish after today is to see Takao carry DDT and Iroha carry Marvelous. Nagayo then held hands with Mad Paulie which sparked Takao to swear he will take over DDT so he can take Paulie back from Nagayo!

There were concerns that the Pokotan costume would not be finished before the show took place. I don’t know how he did it but Danshoku Dieno’s creation was completed and ready to go on the day. Pokotan has hidden feature where it pulls up part of its costume to reveal Danshoku underwear! That means it is able to do the Danshoku Nightmare. It did pretty well in the ring, doing a Flying Cross Body and a Shining Wizard. But it all went to Hell when Keisuke Ishii knocked Pokotan’s head off with the Kneel Kick, revealing it was Makoto Oishi wearing the costume. Ishii then hit the High Angle Double Arm DDT to win for his team.

Hisaya Imabayashi was beside himself after the match. He wanted to see Pokotan, not some forty year old man beneath the costume! Dieno promised there will be a change and somebody more suitable will be used to make Pokotan come to life. Oishi put Pokotan’s head back on and Pokotan told everyone (through Dieno’s voice) he will try his best next time so please support him.

#STRONGHEARTS finally have their win over Akito and it is all thanks to T-Hawk. His Chops were an effective way to break out of Akito’s Figure 4 Leg Lock. When T-Hawk gained control of the match he had Akito beaten with the BT Bomb followed by the Night Ride. Akito offered a handshake after the match but T-Hawk rejected him.

Yukio Naya’s first match in Sumo Hall was a successful one. He was on the winning side with Go Shiozaki & Kazusada Higuchi against Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino in a bout that was filled with big lads Chopping and Lariating each other. Iino took the brunt of the offence at the end. Naya gave him a Choke Slam and Higuchi followed with a Diving Body Press but Iino kicked out. Higuchi then put him away with the Doctor Bomb.

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title looked like it was staying with Asuka during the Battle Royal. She eliminated Yasu Urano and Chinsuke Nakamura from the match then made it to the final three with Kazuki Hirata and Saki Akai. Asuka’s momentum was cut short when Hirata pinned her with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the title. Asuka got revenge by Choke Slamming Hirata afterwards. Hirata almost escaped with the win when he used the Miracle One Shot Cradle on Saki Akai. But Akai kicked out and gave Hirata her new finisher the Quetzalcoatl to become Iron Man Champion for the 9th time. Other things of note were Yuka Sakazaki hoping to win so she could bring the belt with her to America, Hirata having not one but two group dance spots, Maku Donaruto being… well, Maku Donaruto and Sasadango Machine using his PowerPoint Presentation to reflect on yesterday’s “MUSCLE MANIA” show. Apparently he did a lot of things without getting permission.

The main show kicked off with the return of Shunma Katsumata. He has a new wild looking appearance that includes facepaint surrounding the part of his orbital area that was injured. He gelled well with his new ALL OUT teammate Space Monkey. He never wrestled with a monkey before. Together they did a Buzzsaw Kick/Tail Whip combo. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid fought back with Bionic Elbows while Naomi Yoshimura took care of Yuki Ueno. He couldn’t hit the Throwaway Power Bomb then got rolled up in a Frankensteiner by Ueno for the surprise three count.

Ueno got Yoshimura’s attention again after the match. He wondered why was Yoshimura ignoring his request to team with him? Ueno asked him one more time. Yoshimura smiled and shook Ueno’s hand. He’s in! He might also be joining DISASTER BOX too because of this. Ueno wants to change his costume to something as bright as Yoshimura’s orange hair.

In the Tokyo Joshi Pro pre-show match, Nodoka Tenma continues to build up momentum for her TOKYO Princess Title Match next week. She won the match for her team by pinning Hikari Noa with the Killswitch.

Sento Minzoku were victorious in the BASARA pre-show match. Ryuichi Sekine made Takato Nakano tap out while Daiki Shimomura wiped out Masato Kamino with a Plancha.

A special 6-Man Tag Match was announced for the 21st March show. Riki Choshu, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Gota Ihashi is the match. It will be the first time Choshu and Ihashi will be in the same ring since their infamous trios match from January 2018 when Choshu straight up said Ihashi should not be a pro wrestler.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

February 15, 2019

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The first pre-show match will begin at around 12:10pm JST/3:10am GMT. The main show begins at 1:00pm JST/4:00am GMT. For America that means the show begins at 11:00pm EST/8:00pm PST on Saturday.

———————————————————————–

Hey there. Back again to see what DDT is up to at Sumo Hall this time? Cool. The time between Ryogoku visits has been short for this one. Usually DDT books the venue every six or seven months. “JUDGEMENT 2019” is taking place only four months after “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” so it kind of feels like this weekend has snuck up on me. As I’ve written in a previous blog post I see this period of the entire wrestling scene as the final chapter of this current era. You can thank Kenny and his buddies for some of the reasons why. The landscape is changing, DDT is establishing new relationships around the world and there’s bound to be more surprising twists to come in the future.

But let’s not worry any further about that stuff. Ryogoku is set for a double header weekend from the DDT family. On Saturday the Muscle brand is back from the dead. What it has come back to do exactly I have no idea. Then on Sunday DDT is bringing together a packed card of matches that only they can provide.

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

One of the big movements happening in BASARA lately is several wrestlers banding together to form the Sento Minzoku unit. Formed by Isami Kodaka and taking inspiration from Dragon Ball Z, each member has grown a monkey’s tail to represent their power. Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura are the two guys from BASARA’s main roster to join Kodaka and Minoru Fujita in the group. Facing them are the two freshest faces on the BASARA roster Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino. Nakano has mostly been improving his skills while staying out of trouble. Kamino joined BASARA in December after DNA closed down. Injuries kept him out of action for almost the entirety of DNA’s run so his jump to BASARA so his career has more or less started all over again.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe

Some new girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro get to wrestle in Sumo Hall for the first time. Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma and Natsumi Maki have wrestled there before. Manase and Tenma were there for a Battle Royal during “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”. Maki wrestled there for All Japan’s 45th Anniversary show only one week later. Yuki Aino, Hikari Noa and Miu Watanabe however are all wrestling their first Ryogoku match.

Manase has quietly been one of the more protected wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi, regularly winning her matches with the Neck Screw Hold. Nodoka Tenma is weeks away from challenging for the TOKYO Princess Title and has a recent pinfall win over the champion Miyu Yamashita. Aino is there supporting her sister as always. Over on the other side Noa and Watanabe have shown the most progression out of the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) unit. Their recent name and costume changes have allowed them to express their personalities more. Watanabe has added a Laser Beam baseball swing into her chops while Noa has become more enthusiastic in the ring. She took the most out of the opportunity to train with Shinjiro Otani when the Up Up Girls visited the ZERO1 dojo in December. Noa also happens to be wrestling the day before her 21st birthday. Last but certainly not least there is Maki. Her arrival in Tokyo Joshi was surrounded in controversy thanks to a burned bridge with Yumiko Hotta and Actwres girl’Z. But once she started wrestling it became clear that she has moved on. Maki has yet to be pinned or submitted in Tokyo Joshi and she currently finds herself in a feud with Maki Ito over who is cuter. The match hasn’t happened yet but if Hotta is still pissed off with Maki she might spoil the result of that too.

1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura

A right orbital and cheek bone fracture has kept Shunma Katsumata out of action for almost three months. When he went under surgery in December his goal was to come back in February and here he is. While he was gone ALL OUT went out of this world to find a new member. They found one with Space Monkey who has been winning everyone in DDT over with his antics, bananas and all. Yuki Ueno has been stepping his game up as a member of DISASTER BOX. He’s also been scouting one of his opponents here in the hopes of forming a new tag team. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid are already teaming together as Gon Gift so that leaves Naomi Yoshimura. When he unexpectedly returned to DDT in December he was aiming straight for the top and gunning after the championship. In a scary moment right near the end of 2018, Yoshimura took a Pedigree wrong and was left needing medical attention inside the ring. He ended up getting a cervical sprain and made a full recovery, returning to the ring two months later. With his chance at the main event now far away from his reach he is beginning the climb all over again. Maybe Ueno’s idea for them to team up will get him back on track. Or how about Power Bombing him instead? Yoshimura usually likes to do that given their history together.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto

DDT has spent the last few months searching for fresh blood and obscure talent from across Japan to diversify their roster. Heading the pack is Asuka. No not the one who hasn’t been booked on TV since the Royal Rumble despite being a champion and tapping out the current big star of the company. I mean the one that’s been blazing through the puroresu scene over the last twelve months as “Japan’s First Genderless Wrestler”. When Asuka left WAVE to go freelance, DDT jumped at the chance to bring her back and promote her as a next generation star. Since then Asuka has won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and became so attached to it she now calls it her boyfriend. So far the relationship has worked out better than the last one she had in DDT, even though it’s made her a target for jealous eyes down in Roppongi.

(Sidenote: Most English speaking fans write down ASUKA in all caps to differentiate her from the other Asuka. Out of preference I only do this when the wrestler also spells their name in all caps. Asuka’s name in Japanese is written as 朱崇花 so that’s why I prefer writing it in the lower case).

There is a full field of different faces out to take the title from Asuka. Saki Akai has a new finishing move inspired from her current role in the Fate/Grand Order stage play. The move is called Quetzalcoatl and it is a Twisting Crucifix Bomb similar to Kaji Tomato’s Red Eye finisher. Keisuke Okuda has been settling into DDT by fighting at an outdoor sauna and hate-teaming with Makoto Oishi. Who knows what Super Sasadango Machine will be up to the day after his latest Muscle show takes place. OWE is represented by both El Lindaman and Scorpio X2. Tokyo Joshi are sending in Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa. Sakazaki in particular will have a lot of eyes on her after it was announced she will be appearing at All Elite Wrestling soon. Chinsuke Nakamura will no doubt be all up to date on whatever his inspiration is currently doing. And then there’s the rest of the usual low card DDT roster. That’s it. Nobody else. I’m not missing anybody…

… Sigh… Okay there’s one more. You know who I’m talking about. Behold the Twitch chat come to life, the one creation that makes Arby “The Meathead” McDonald look pure and wholesome, he’s ruined seven Valentine’s Days but saved two, it’s Maku Donaruto! This walking cease and desist waiting to happen was found in UDON Pro Wrestling and made an impression on DDT management. However his lewd wrestling style and obscene personality is making DDT a little unsure how often they want to continue booking him after Sumo Hall. A lot? A little? A seven match series with Kazuki Hirata? Here’s his biggest chance to leave an impression on everyone.

3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino

Let’s move on to some history, some legacy that is attached to Sumo Hall. Yukio Naya is only around a year into his wrestling career. He is getting attention because his late grandfather was a legendary sumo wrestler named Taiho Koki. Naya’s grandfather was one of the youngest wrestlers to become a yokozuna and he also earned many accomplishments throughout his distinguished career. Naya has said he is proud to wrestle in the same building where his grandfather achieved much of his success. Teaming with him is DDT’s sumo turned pro Kazusada Higuchi as well as D-Ou Grand Prix finalist Go Shiozaki. Facing them are a trio of big beefy boys! Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi and Yuki Iino are the opposition in a match that I bet will have many, many chops. And probably a Haka dance from Iino too.

4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk

The #STRONGHEARTS love to cause some commotion wherever they go but what do they do when somebody successfully stands up to them? During their feud with ALL OUT, they were able to get pinfall wins over every member except one. The one guy they haven’t been able to beat is Akito. In order to right this wrong T-Hawk is set to face Akito one on one. As the current WRESTLE-1 Champion, T-Hawk feels on top of the world. It would be nice to see Akito pull him down. Akito is confident wrestling on his own and is convinced that T-Hawk hasn’t watched any of his singles matches. Akito has a reason of his own to win other than keeping #STRONGHEARTS at bay again. He is looking into the idea of wrestling in other companies on behalf of DDT. A win over the WRESTLE-1 Champion can open some doors for him.

5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase

You know what’s big these days? Mascots. Put somebody in a big wacky costume, make them do stupid shit, put it online and watch those social media numbers shoot up. Most likely inspired by the popularity of such characters like Chiitan, Nyango Star and you can also include Andreza Giant Panda in that list, Danshoku Dieno now wants a piece of the pie. So he has created his own mascot and went through several names before picking something suitable for everyone. Or at least I assume it’s suitable. It’s probably not but whatever. Anyway the mascot is called Pokotan and it looks like a seal. Dieno himself was planning to be under the costume during the build up to the show. Unfortunately the costume has not been finished as of a week ago. Dieno only has the head ready and he is very upset over it. Will Pokotan be complete in time for his grand reveal?

6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
Around 14 years ago Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito teamed up for a 1,000m Barbed Wire And 100 Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match in Differ Ariake. They’re back together again to fight DAMNATION! Nagayo’s involvement in the show was already announced when the story of her saving a woman from an assault made the news in November so yay good publicity! What’s even more interesting is Nagayo’s protege Takumi Iroha is against her on the DAMNATION side. Since she is the Ikemen Joshi she might be there to take up the handsome looking role in the trio. Then again Mad Paulie is still on the team so that’s probably not the reason. Iroha is thrilled to face her mentor but is a little nervous that it’s in a Hardcore Match.

On a more serious note, Soma Takao is going into this match holding a grudge. For weeks leading into the show, Takagi has been poking Takao and questioning the current state of his career. Years ago Takao had the potential to become one of DDT’s best and yet he has never really attempted to take the torch. Maybe he’s gotten too comfortable being the mid-level guy in DAMNATION. Takagi wants to light a fire under Takao and see if he has any real ambition. Takao acts like he is angry at the world and everything around it. Now is his time to prove it.

7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka

#STRONGHEARTS have a reason for sticking around in DDT despite losing their feud to ALL OUT. After they lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, CIMA and his crew admitted defeat and wanted to head home to the OWE headquarters in Shanghai. OWE told them not to come back until they get revenge on DDT. The best way to do that is to win one of the DDT championships again. This time CIMA is setting his sights on the KO-D Tag Team Titles and he is bringing along one of his newer partners Seiki Yoshioka to get them.

They aren’t the only ones who want the belts. Shuten-dōji challenged for the belts before #STRONGHEARTS did. The solution was to give both of them a shot in a 3 Way Match. Yukio Sakaguchi doesn’t care as long as he fights somebody strong (and El Lindaman provoking him with spitting and insults only resulted in Sakaguchi kicking him half to death). Masahiro Takanashi is interested though since he’s been able to cross paths with CIMA again. The two are linked through the Toryumon system but split off into two completely different paths. Takanashi wants to show CIMA that his unpolished way of wrestling is just as effective as CIMA’s state of the art abilities.

The scenario leaves the champions looking like a third wheel. But maybe that gives The Moonlight Express the advantage. MAO & Mike Bailey are currently ruling the tag team divisions in DDT and K-DOJO, holding both the KO-D Tag Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles. MAO is as comfortable as ever in chaotic situations and Bailey always looks happy to go along for the ride, the crazier the better. MAO also feels the need to beat Shuten-dōji because they have beaten him so many times back when he was a part of NωA. He wants to move on from that part of his life but can’t if Shuten-dōji beats him again. The 3 Way stipulation being used is only one fall so a title change can happen without the Express being directly involved.

8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The rematch for the DDT Extreme Title sees HARASHIMA trying to win the belt back from Shinya Aoki. During his brief time in DDT, Aoki has defended the title in a Boxing Glove match and also got challenged into a fight at an outdoor sauna. This is what bad financial decisions can do to some people. But at least Aoki still has his pride. HARASHIMA has pride too so the two of them agreed to let their prides bring the best out of both of them. So that’s it. Nothing complicated, just a battle to see who is the best. Unless DDT decides to pipe in the Pride FC music during the match as a joke there isn’t much else that needs explaining. Well there is that one thing where HARASHIMA isn’t entirely sure what the exact ruleset for the match is. Aoki just keeps talking about pride and he hasn’t been the best at understanding the general pro wrestling rules. Is there even a three count?

9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo

Here we go! DDT usually has a dream match saved for Sumo Hall and they picked a good one this time round. Naomichi Marufuji returns to DDT and Tetsuya Endo is there waiting for him. You’d think Endo would see this as an opportunity to make a huge statement to the wrestling world but he’s a little distracted by his diet. No matter where he is or what he is doing Endo has been eating his handmade meals and drinking his protein shakes on a very strict timetable. This has interrupted several press conferences that were meant to promote this match. Marufuji doesn’t mind. There’s no bad blood between the two and Marufuji is looking forward to discovering Endo’s current potential. The match is also happening so soon after Marufuji’s return from injury so he gets to figure out what his own condition is like. We should get a nice, clean and competitive match out of this right. I mean it’s Marufuji in a DDT dream match. Nothing has ever gone wrong in a situation like that before. Right, Kenny?

10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

After vanquishing Dieno at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” in October, Daisuke Sasaki is headlining Sumo Hall for the second time in a row. This time he is going in as the KO-D Openweight Champion rather than the challenger. That role goes to Konosuke Takeshita for winning the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix. In the build up to the match something strange happened. Sasaki started acting friendly, wrestled clean and prohibited the other DAMNATION wrestlers from cheating. He even shook his opponent’s hand after matches. Takeshita wasn’t convinced by this new attitude at first but Sasaki behaved for long enough that Takeshita eventually bought into it. Of course it was at this point when Sasaki could not resist temptation any longer and went back to his usual dirty tactics.

That’s not all. While they wrestled their matches, some of the other DAMNATION members went to the restaurant owned by Takeshita’s mother Keiko. She was happy to serve them until they dined and dashed! That right there was the boiling point that turns Sasaki Vs Takeshita into a blood feud. Over the last few days Sasaki and Takeshita have gotten into fights wherever they find each other. Sasaki attacked Takeshita outside Sumo Hall during an interview and with a Hurricanrana threw Takeshita down a stairway. Takeshita got revenge on another night when he attacked Sasaki at a bar and gave him a Brainbuster onto a sofa. Things escalated even further when Sasaki vandalised Takeshita’s car with anime decals and then gave Takeshita a Pedigree onto the car roof! The match hasn’t even happened yet and both men are already trying to end each other’s careers before they even get to Sunday! Sasaki has said that he will not allow Takeshita win the KO-D title, otherwise DDT will be sent to the dark ages.


Kasai Out Injured, Kikutaro In Healthy, STRONG HEARTS Staying, Space Monkey On The Way

January 7, 2019

DDT “DRAMATIC AKASONAE! 2019”, 13/01/2019
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Toru Owashi, Keisuke Okuda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Akito, Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase
2. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid Vs Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Mad Paulie Vs Yuki Iino
4. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru)
5. Mike Bailey, MAO & Kota Umeda Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi & Sammy Guevara
6. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuni
7. Tomorrow Is Good! Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno

Jun Kasai is out of action with a knee injury, leading to a minor card shuffle for next weekend’s shows.

DDT “DRAMATIC ROKUMONSEN! 2019”, 14/01/2019
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Kota Umda Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Soma Takao Vs Yuki Ueno
3. New Year’s Special Rumble: Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Antonio Honda Vs Yuni Vs Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru) Vs Kikutaro
4. Mike Bailey, MAO & Veda Scott Vs Makoto Oishi, Kazuki Hirata & Mizuki Watase
5. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Sammy Guevara
6. Humanity Is A Game Blooming In The Big Ring Of Naniwa! Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Jason Kincaid
7. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino

Kikutaro has been added to the Rumble.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “IF…2019”, 26/01/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Shota

Shuichiro Katsumura and Shota had two singles matches inside the tiny little Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic during 2018. They are tied one a piece so when Katsumura won the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title it wasn’t a difficult decision to pick his first challenger. Their rubber match takes place inside a proper ring this time.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2019”, 27/01/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Heisei’s Last Grudge Match Check: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs El Lindaman
2. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – Final Match: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kota Umeda
3. Special 3 Way Match: MAO Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki

The newest foreign wrestler to debut in DDT is Space Monkey! According to DDT’s write up he is a monkey born in Canada, was sent to a space centre in America for experiments, escaped back to Canada, was captured in the mountains and then sold off to numerous circuses. Monkey eventually ran away, started a pro wrestling career four years ago and somehow successfully pitched the idea to DDT to get booked by them. Monkey already has some notoriety among the Japanese wrestling fanbase. In 2017 he was nominated for Best Foreigner by the Nico Nico Pro Wrestling website.

Kikutaro will also be on the show.

BASARA “BASARA 87 ~FEAST~”, 29/01/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs Fuminori Abe

Fuminori Abe thinks that he and Ryota Nakatsu are the two best wrestlers in BASARA right now so naturally they should be fighting for the Union MAX Title.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Danshoku Dieno Produce OsuMAN Dankon Debut Match: OsuMAN Dankon Vs X
2. Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
3. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
5. DDT Extreme Title – ??? Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

We haven’t seen the last of #STRONGHEARTS in DDT after all. Their home promotion OWE ordered the group to avenge their losses to DDT and not to come back until that mission has been accomplished. CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka have found their way into the KO-D Tag Team Titles match with the Moonlight Express and Shuten-dōji.


DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019” Results

January 5, 2019

DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019”, 05/01/2019
Kitazawa Town Hall
210 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Akito & Kota Umeda defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Akito submitted Hirata with the Scorpion Lock (8:44).
2. 3 Way Match: Sammy Guevara defeated Antonio Honda and Gota Ihashi when Guevara pinned Ihashi with the Shooting Star Press (7:42).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the God’s Right Knee (9:33).
4. CIMA, El Lindaman, Duan Yingnan & Seiki Yoshioka defeated HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno, Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase when Yoshioka pinned Watase with the SK (15:19).
5. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino when Sasaki submitted Iino with the Cross Facelock (14:48).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles & STRONGEST-K TAG Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (K/c) defeated Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (S/c) when MAO pinned Oishi after the Michinoku Tornado Driver (23:41).
*V2 for The Moonlight Express. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi fail in V2. The Moonlight Express becomes the 40th STRONGEST-K TAG Champions!

The Moonlight Express are now double tag team champions! Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi set MAO up for the Cactus Flower in the corner but Mike Bailey crushed them from above with the Ultima Weapon. From there Bailey & MAO kept Asahi aside and pinned Oishi with the Michinoku Tornado Driver. MAO said Oishi & Asahi are two wrestlers he admires so he is pleased to have beaten them for the STRONGEST-K TAG Titles.

When the former champions left the ring, Shuten-dōji came out to challenge the Express. Masahiro Takanashi said it is only fair for a team from the same generation as Oishi & Asahi be the one to beat the Express for the belts. Tetsuya Koda decided to book the Express Vs Takanashi & Yukio Sakaguchi for just the KO-D Tag Team Titles at Sumo Hall on 17th February when suddenly #STRONGHEARTS came out! CIMA wants his group to be in the title match to make it more exciting. Hisaya Imabayashi offered to make it a 3 Way Match and CIMA agreed to take part with Seiki Yoshioka on his team. Sakaguchi asked Yoshioka who he is and if he is strong? Sakaguchi will fight him anytime. El Lindaman then stepped in to make fun of Sakaguchi’s blonde hair. The only wrestlers who have proper blonde hair are El Lindaman and Stan Hansen! Sakaguchi attacked Lindaman and the two were pulled apart. Sakaguchi then challenged Lindaman to a match on 27th January.

Daisuke Sasaki is all set on facing Konosuke Takeshita next month. Takeshita is on a roll after winning the D-Ou Grand Prix and pinning CIMA. But Sasaki is always on a roll 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Sasaki wants to feel excitement for the next month so he wants Takeshita to have some fun with him.

So yeah, #STRONGHEARTS are sticking around in DDT after all. The unit appeared before Match #4 could begin. CIMA explained that they were going to leave DDT but he received a message from the OWE office in Shanghai telling them not to come back until they defeat DDT! So CIMA gathered everyone together to crash this show. #STRONGHEARTS challenged the participants of the match they interrupted to an 8-Man Tag Match. T-Hawk decided to not to take part because he had already wrestled earlier in the day, winning the WRESTLE-1 Championship over at Korakuen Hall. Team DDT accepted but ended up losing the battle.

Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki was announced for 27th January.


Mach Sakurai Coming To DDT, Tokyo Joshi Ittenyon Full Card, Double Tag Titles Match

December 24, 2018

So much for taking a break over the holidays…

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno
1. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura
3. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka Vs Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda
4. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara
5. Muscle Offer Match ~ Live Call From The Match Venue! Yearly Fortune Telling Guest Student Booking Competition!!: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Pedro Takaishi Vs Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi
6. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda Vs Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Go Shiozaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita

MMA fighter Hayato “Mach” Sakurai will be attending both of the upcoming DDT shows in Korakuen Hall to be in Tanomusaku Toba’s corner.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
4. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
5. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
8. DDT Extreme Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai)
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Naomi Yoshimura

The DDT Extreme Title Match itself will be under regular rules. Sakurai’s role as Toba’s cornerman is the selling point for this one.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’19”, 04/01/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Millie McKenzie & X
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuna Manase Vs Veda Scott
3. Marika Kobashi Return Battle: Marika Kobashi, Mina Shirakawa, Haruna Neko & Pom Harajuku Vs Raku, Hikari, Hinano & Miu
4. Himawari Unagi Debut Match: Saki Akai & YUMI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Unagi Himawari
5. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Reika Saiki
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Riho
7. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Ito

Himawari Unagi is a gravure idol and Youtuber.

The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) will have their new names and makeovers ready for Marika Kobashi’s return match.

Oh I wonder who X will be?!? Joking aside, a statement on the official DDT site today mentions without naming any names that they are currently looking at their legal options over the situation. DDT/Tokyo Joshi Pro also assures everyone that they would never make decisions that would harm the trust they have with their fans and the rest of the wrestling industry.

DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019”, 05/01/2019
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. KO-D Tag Team Titles & STRONGEST-K TAG Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (K/c) Vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (S/c)

DDT returns to Kitazawa Town Hall for a Double Championship match.


DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018” Results

December 23, 2018

DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018”, 23/12/2018
Tochigi Koyama City Cultural Center
145 Fans

1. Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase with the Perfect Driver (10:31).
2. 3 Way Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Mad Paulie and Gota Ihashi when Takanashi pinned Ihashi with an Oklahoma Roll (7:25).
3. Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Antonio Honda & Veda Scott when Oishi pinned Honda with the Nekodora (11:12).
4. Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Bailey pinned Shimatani after the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:45).
5. Koyama Specialty! Lucky Town Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda when Sasaki submitted Umeda with the Cross Facelock (15:30).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno when Takeshita pinned Ueno with the Fable (21:15).

Konosuke Takeshita promoted both the D-Ou Grand Prix final on 30th December and ALL OUT challenging for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 3rd January. For the Grand Prix, Takeshita wants to be Go Shiozaki on behalf of DDT. For the 6-Man Tag Titles match, it will be a win for ALL OUT no matter if it’s Takeshita, Akito or Yuki Iino that scores the pin.

Danshoku Dieno & Naomi Yoshimura came out to taunt Daisuke Sasaki after Match #5. They brought out dumplings to eat and jokingly asked if Sasaki wanted some. Sasaki then dove out of the ring onto Yoshimura and the two began fighting. Sasaki brought a chair into the ring but Yoshimura hit him with a Lariat. When Yoshimura picked up the chair, Sasaki Dropkicked it into his face. Sasaki then smashed the chair over Yoshimura’s head and left him laying among the remains of dumplings around the ring.

A story between Makoto Oishi, Shiori Asahi and the Moonlight Express was brewing over the weekend. Mike Bailey & MAO approached the other two at a K-DOJO show yesterday asking for a STRONGEST-K TAG Title shot. Oishi & Asahi would only accept the challenge if the KO-D Tag Team Titles were also put on the line to make it a Double Title match! Both teams agreed on the stipulation and it will take place in DDT on 5th January. Today Oishi approached them after their mask to give an answer. He said he was disappointed that they did not bring their own belts to the show that day because today Oishi pulled up his hoodie to show that he was wearing his STRONGEST-K TAG belt underneath. Oishi and MAO were about to shake hands for a fair fight when Oishi spat in his face. He physically manipulated MAO into putting Bailey into a Reverse Indian Deathlock then gave MAO a Russian Leg Sweep, hurting both of the Express. Oishi then posed with his tag belt along with one of the KO-D Tag belts.

Antonio Honda now has a homemade Gongitsune sock puppet. Veda Scott made it for him. He and Makoto Oishi ended up fighting over Scott’s giant cat head.