Ibushi’s Health Problems Revealed

November 2, 2015

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After a week long absence from the ring attributed to illness, a press conference was held to discuss the current and future status of Kota Ibushi. Both Sanshiro Takagi and Naoki Sugabayashi were in attendance since the news effected both DDT and New Japan. It was explained that at midnight on 24th October Ibushi picked up a high fever that forced him to be taken off of DDT’s Korakuen Hall show the next day. The illness also cancelled an autograph signing for his new book. During the summer Ibushi had been feeling numbness in the left side of his body. He was sent to a doctor for a check-up and diagnosed with a herniated cervical disc. The decision was made that Ibushi will not be wrestling for either company until he has healed from his injury. According to Takagi, Ibushi has decided not to go under surgery as part of his treatment. There is no time given for how long his recovery will take but Takagi reckons he will be gone until the start of 2016 at the earliest.

In DDT, Ibushi is one half of the KO-D Tag Team Champions with Daisuke Sasaki. Takagi announced that the titles will be vacated and he does not want to interfere with Ibushi’s daily life while he recovers. He wants Ibushi to completely recover and will wait for his return if he has to. Takagi also apologised to Ibushi’s fans for the inconvenience. Sugabayashi said Ibushi’s contract with New Japan which is about to run out will be renewed and he will wait for his return to the company.

On the DDT side of things this injury comes at a bad time. With Ibushi and KUDO both out of action for the time being that is two big absences in the main event scene. HARASHIMA is still there to carry the load as he always does, it’s too early to tell if Yukio Sakaguchi is a draw as the KO-D Openweight Champion, I have no idea how much mileage is in another Danshoku Dino push and Isami Kodaka will be busy with BASARA and his outside bookings. While DDT has done a great job in the last 12 months introducing and debuting new wrestlers, the younger generation hasn’t been fully embraced by the fans judging by the Dramatic General Election results. With a big Sumo Hall show booked for March next year they need something big and if Ibushi hasn’t recovered by then it will put a big dent in that plan. They better pray to whatever deity that can protect HARASHIMA from getting injured.


DDT “OSAKA BAY BLUES SPECIAL 2015” Results

September 13, 2015

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DDT “OSAKA BAY BLUES SPECIAL 2015”, 13/09/2015
Osaka Edion Arena #2
747 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title: Kota Umeda defeated Gota Ihashi (c) with a Single Leg Crab (0:24).
*D12 for Gota Ihashi.
0. King Of Dark Title: Dai Suzuki defeated Gota Ihashi (c) with a Single Leg Crab (1:35).
*D13 for Gota Ihashi.
1. Suguru Miyatake, Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Kouki Iwasaki & Kiai Ryuuken Ecchan when Higuchi pinned Iwasaki with the Goten (7:29).
2. Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & Shoichi Uchida defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Katsumata pinned Hirata with the Firebird Splash (9:39).
3. Strife Love-Hate Drama Wash Blood With Blood Final Settlement: Masa Takanashi defeated Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko when Takanashi pinned Fukuda with the Takatonic (10:04).
4. Team Drift Vs #OhkaEmpire Complete Settlement Warfare – 6-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao defeated Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka (13:11).
4a. Keisuke Ishii eliminated Super Sasadango Machine with a Crooked Headscissors (3:33).
4b. Danshoku Dino eliminated Keisuke Ishii with the Gay-do Clutch (6:39).
4c. Danshoku Dino eliminated Soma Takao with a Moonsault (8:58).
4d. Shigehiro Irie eliminated Danshoku Dino by Ring Out (11:04).
4e. Shigehiro Irie eliminated Ken Ohka with the Beast Bomber (13:11).
5. It Is Either Swallowed Or Breathtaking? Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & KUDO defeated HARASHIMA & Akito when Sakaguchi pinned Akito with the Right Knee Of God (12:34).
6. DDT Extreme Title – Four Corners Four Items Death Match: Antonio Honda (c) defeated Yasu Urano with a Coal Miner’s Glove Shot (14:28).
*V2 for Antonio Honda.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo when Sasaki pinned Endo with the Vietnam Driver II (24:52).
*V1 for the Golden☆Storm Riders.

A successful first KO-D Tag Team Title defence left Daisuke Sasaki feeling well pleased with himself. Winning the match with his new Vietnam Driver II finisher, Sasaki declared himself “Earth’s Strongest Man” to go along with him and Kota Ibushi being “Earth’s Strongest Tag Team”. Yukio Sakaguchi came out and confronted Sasaki in the ring. He nominated Sasaki as the No. 1 Contender for his KO-D Openweight Title. Sakaguchi chose Sasaki because Sasaki pinned him in Saitama last week. He admitted Sasaki has a lot of momentum behind him but he can take that away.

The Four Corners Four Items match had Antonio Honda and Yasu Urano fighting each other with bras, a coal miner’s glove, a rubber training band and a wig. Honda was happy to wear a bra while wrestling but Urano was the opposite. He was physically forced to wear the bra by Honda. After Honda won he told Urano when he learns to accept the bra only then can he win the championship.

Team Drift and #OhkaEmpire fought in what was supposed to be the final match between the two but instead had something extra on the line. If #OhkaEmpire won then they would get a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title shot. It was elimination rules and Super Sasadango Machine had a secret strategy ready to go. He was quickly pinned and eliminated before he could get the plan going. Danshoku Dino turned the tables on Drift and eliminated both Keisuke Ishii and Soma Takao. But he too was eliminated when Shigehiro Irie knocked him out of the ring. Ken Ohka was all that was left and Irie pinned him with the Beast Bomber to win the match. Despite being on the winning team, Ishii was not happy that he was pinned by Dino and he offered a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title match to #OhkaEmpire so they can settle their feud once and for all. For real this time.

At the end of the show Sanshiro Takagi gathered all the wrestlers into the ring for a motivational speech to promote DDT’s venture into the main Osaka Edion Arena on 28th November. Kendo Kashin was announced to participate on the show.


Osaka Bay Blues, BOYZ Oh BOYZ, Alcohol And X’s Don’t Mix

September 11, 2015

DDT “OSAKA BAY BLUES SPECIAL 2015”, 13/09/2015
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2

1. Suguru Miyatake, Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Kouki Iwasaki & Kiai Ryuuken Ecchan
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Makoto Oishi, Shunma Katsumata & Shoichi Uchida
3. Strife Love-Hate Drama Wash Blood With Blood Final Settlement: Masa Takanashi Vs Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko
4. Team Drift Vs #OhkaEmpire Complete Settlement Warfare – 6-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka
5. It Is Either Swallowed Or Breathtaking? Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & KUDO Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
6. DDT Extreme Title – Four Corners Four Items Death Match: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Yasu Urano
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo

Happy Motels are after the KO-D Tag Team Titles, Antonio Honda defends the DDT Extreme Title in a pole match and #OhkaEmpire look to beat Team Drift once and for all.

BOYZ “MOON VIEWING SPECIAL ~WOMAN FESTIVAL 8~”, 23/09/2015
Shinjuku FACE

1. Keisuke Ishii Vs Mizuki Watase
2. 3 Way Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. Makoto Oishi Vs Shunma Katsumata
4. KUDO & Kota Umeda Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Masa Takanashi
5. Yukio Sakaguchi, HARASHIMA & Isami Kodaka Vs Soma Takao, Akito & Konosuke Takeshita

Yukio Sakaguchi and Isami Kodaka are in the same ring together for the first time since their Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title match in April. But this time they’re teaming up.

TAVERN WRESTLING “ALCOHOL SLAM”, 30/09/2015
Shin-kiba 1st RING

1. Tetsuya Endo Vs Ryota Nakatsu
2. Single Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match: Akito Vs Ryuichi Sekine
3. Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Great Kojika
4. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: X Vs X
5. Glove Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Tanomusaku Toba
6. Falls Count Anywhere 8-Man Tag Team Match: X, X, X & X Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Isami Kodaka, X & X

Two special guest captains will wrestle in the main event. Shuji Ishikawa is one of them but the other captain has yet to be announced. The rest of both teams will be filled up with the regular wrestlers working for the Dropkick Bar.

Every match on the show will have a special rule.


Saitama Slam, Osaka Bay Blues, Watase Gets Otani, Final Union Title Matches

September 1, 2015

DDT “SAITAMA SLAM! VOL. 4”, 06/09/2015
Saitama Kasukabe Hall

1. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Kouki Iwasaki & Saki Akai
2. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Suguru Miyatake
3. KUDO & Kota Umeda Vs Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata
4. Antonio Honda Vs Yasu Urano
5. Danshoku Dino Vs Shigehiro Irie
6. 4 Way Tag Team Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo Vs HARASHIMA & Akito

If Danshoku Dino can beat Shigehiro Irie, it will help #OhkaEmpire’s chances of getting a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title shot.

KAT-TOO have been working well as a team so far. They face tournament bound KUDO & Kota Umeda.

Normally Gota Ihashi would be in the Pigging 2015 team but he’s locked out of the show because of he is the King Of Dark Champion. Saki Akai has to take his place.

DDT “OSAKA BAY BLUES SPECIAL 2015”, 13/09/2015
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2

1. Strife Love-Hate Drama Wash Blood With Blood Final Settlement: Masa Takanashi Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
2. It Is Either Swallowed Or Breathtaking? Special Tag Match: Yukio Sakaguchi & KUDO Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
3. DDT Extreme Title: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Yasu Urano
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo

I don’t know what the grudge is between Masa Takanashi and Hiroshi Fukuda but it gets settled in Osaka.

UNION “UNION HARVEST FESTIVAL 2015”, 15/09/2015
Shin-kiba 1st RING

1. Union Fly To Everywhere World Title: Aoi Kizuki (c) Vs Cherry

Cherry has made it her goal to become the Fly To Everywhere Champion when Union closes down next month. This might be her only opportunity.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “YOU GROW UP”, 22/09/2015
Shinjuku FACE

1. Azusa Debut Match: Azusa Vs Miyu Yamashita
2. Shoko Nakajima Vs Saki Akai

Azusa’s ring name and profile will be revealed at a later date, possibly some time after her debut match.

DDT “DNA 9”, 22/09/2015
Shinjuku FACE

1. Shunma Katsumata Vs Mao Inoue
2. Dai Suzuki Vs Kouki Iwasaki
3. Ryota Nakatsu Vs Kota Umeda
4. Suguru Miyatake Vs Joey Ryan
5. Mizuki Watase Vs Shinjiro Otani
6. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Katsuhiko Nakajima

Mizuki Watase was surprised to learn his opponent for his second pro wrestling match is Shinjiro Otani! Watase never thought he would get such a high profile match right after losing in his debut.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “BAD COMMUNICATION 2015”, 23/09/2015
Shinjuku FACE

1. Animal Planet Special 3 Way Match: J-Soul Pandita III IV Vs Neko Nitta Vs Kris Wolf
2. Do Judge!!: Yukihiro Abe Vs Shinichiro Tominaga
3. Go Beyond The Asia ~3rd Generation Grandson Vs 94th All Asia Tag Team Champions~: Chikara & Yumehito Imanari Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
4. Texas Tornado Special Handicap Match: Ken Ohka, GENTARO, Shota & Bambi Vs Minoru Fujita, Hi69 & Osamu Namiguchi

The main event features a mixture of alliances between Ganbare☆Wrestling and K-DOJO wrestlers. A grudge between Ken Ohka and Minoru Fujita is the focus but there is also the surprise return of Shota. There are also the shocks of Osamu Namiguchi siding with Fujita and Bambi siding with Ohka.

UNION “10TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 04/10/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

The final match in Union should obviously be between the two aces fighting over the championship. Isami Kodaka requested Shuji Ishikawa to be his next and possibly last challenger for the Union MAX Title.


DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015 ~FROM DDT WITH LOVE~” Results

August 23, 2015

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DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015 ~FROM DDT WITH LOVE~”, 23/08/2015
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
6,670 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. King Of Dark Title: “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa defeated Gota Ihashi (c) with a School Boy (5:15).
*D8 for Gota Ihashi.
1. Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase Debut Match: Yasu Urano, Akito & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda, Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase defeated when Akito submitted Watase with the Scorpion Lock (10:07).
2. Time Difference Tag Battle Royal: Aja Kong & Makoto Oishi defeated LiLiCo & Suguru Miyatake when Kong pinned Miyatake with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster (16:41).
Order Of Elimination: MIKAMI & Shunma Katsumata, Gorgeous Matsuno & Great Kojika, Hoshitango & Mio Shirai, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki, Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko and Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata.
3. DDT Extreme Title – Uchikami! Presents Blindfold Bra Stripping Tiger Trap Death Match: Antonio Honda (c) defeated Masa Takanashi when Honda stripped Takanashi of his bra (15:10).
*V1 for Antonio Honda.
4. Tetsuya Endo Comeback Match: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Tetsuya Endo with the German Suplex (13:32).
5. Genichiro Tenryu Retirement Road Round 15: Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai defeated Shuji Ishikawa, Kazusada Higuchi & Meiko Satomura when Takagi pinned Higuchi with the Sit Down Himawaro Bomb (13:109.
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) defeated Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka when Takao pinned Ohka with the Gin And Tonic (12:35).
*V4 for Team Dream Futures.
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) when Ibushi pinned Sekimoto with the Phoenix Splash (21:33).
*Strong BJ fail in V5. The Golden☆Storm Riders become the 52nd KO-D Tag Team Champions!
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated HARASHIMA with the High Fly Flow (17:00).
9. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated KUDO (c) with the Right Knee Of God (21:20).
*KUDO fails in V1. Yukio Sakaguchi becomes the 54th KO-D Openweight Champion!

ryogoku-2015

The biggest DDT show on the calander has come and gone for another year. Sumo Hall was host to the seventh “PETER PAN” supershow, so called because everybody in DDT are adults who refuse to grow up. However long time followers of the company should notice something odd about the attendence. This was the seventh straight Super No Vacancy Full House for “PETER PAN” but DDT only announced a crowd of 6,670 fans in attendance. That is around 2,000-2,500 less than their previous announced attendances in the building. Even weirder is how the show has been advertised as being sold out for weeks until more seats near the entrance (which was a lot bigger this year) were made available days before the show. Either DDT booked less seats in the building this year or maybe they are being more honest about their crowd numbers. DDT will have two shows in Sumo Hall next year on 21st March and 28th August. It will be interesting to see what they draw for both events. Also this was a really long show. The dark match began at 13:45 local time and ended at around 19:00.

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The main event was between two good friends turned rivals. KUDO put the KO-D Openweight Title on the line against Yukio Sakaguchi in the battle of Shuten-dōji. Sakaguchi went into the match with his hair, beard and eyebrows dyed gold for the occassion. The third member of the stable Masa Takanashi spent the match standing at a neutral corner, refusing to pick a side. The match was as kick heavy as expected. Sakaguchi kicked out of the Diving Double Knee Drop while KUDO survived the Cobra Clutch. Sakaguchi ran to the ropes for the Penalty Kick but KUDO met him on the rebound with a Backspin Kick. KUDO went for the Diving Double Knee Drop again but Sakaguchi met him with the Flying Knee Strike followed by the Right Knee Of God in the corner for the three count.

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KUDO was stunned by the result but accepted defeat and wrapped the belt around Sakaguchi’s waist. After the two hugged each other Sakaguchi was handed the giant cheque of 2 million yen from Good Com Assets. All of Shuten-dōji agreed to literally split the cheque three ways and share it with each other. Sakaguchi spoke on the mic and said he lived a life well worn. Today he arrived at this wonderful ring after wrestling for three years. He said he achieved his dream ambition of winning the KO-D Title and he did so on the big stage along with his “big brother” KUDO. Sakaguchi said tomorrow will be the beginning of his second chapter and he challenged anyone to take the belt from him. The show ended with all three approaching a shrine placed by the ring entrance. Sakaguchi stood in the shrine and was lifted up by the DDT wrestlers. He was paraded around ringside to celebrate his championship victory before reuniting with KUDO & Takanashi for a toast that involved banging a festival drum and drinking sake.

highflyflow-ryogoku

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated HARASHIMA in the Dramatic Dream Match between two aces. HARASHIMA had the crowd support in his favour but Tanahashi took control by targeting his opponent’s left knee. The crowd booed but Tanahashi ignored it to focus on the match. However he did take time to play the air guitar while working the knee for more heel heat. HARASHIMA turned the tables when he sent Tanahashi into the turnbuckles with the John Woo Dropkick. Foot Stomps and a Superplex couldn’t put the New Japan superstar away and he regained control with the Dragon Screw followed by a Texas Cloverleaf. HARASHIMA fought back with a High Kick but his Somato attempt was countered into the Sling Blade. HARASHIMA eventually hit the Somato but was in too much pain to get the pin in time. He went for the Swan Dive Somato but Tanahashi avoided it. HARASHIMA hit a stiff punch out of desperation but Tanahashi gave him the Dharma Suplex and won with the the High Fly Flow. After the match HARASHIMA offered to shake hands but Tanahashi refused. Tanahashi recently said in a podcast that he hates shaking hands after a match and he doesn’t understand why some wrestlers do it immediately after a heated fight. Tanahashi vented his frustrations in the post-match interview.

ryogoku-kodtag

Finally one of the strongest teams in Japan was defeated to bring the KO-D Tag Team Titles back to DDT. The Golden☆Storm Riders beat Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi when Kota Ibushi pinned Sekimoto for the first time in his career. Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki had some help with a trolley at ringside to wheel the champions down the entrance ramp to the ringside floor. Sasaki did a high risk dive off the top rope to a seated Okabayashi at ringside. The champions powered their way into control and German Suplexed Sasaki into oblivion. The Riders came back when Sasaki lifted up Sasaki in the Electric Chair position on the ring apron. Ibushi jumped onto the top rope behind them, grabbed Sekimoto and German Suplexed him into the ring! Sasaki wiped out Okabayashi with a Suicide Dive allowing Ibushi to pin Sekimoto with the Phoenix Splash.

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Ken Ohka is the most important part of the Gunma Wrestle Dream Factory, at least according to Super Sasadango Machine’s PowerPoint presentation. The presentations is title “How Ken Ohka is the 6-Man Tag Team Champion” and it contained a secret Sasadango discovered about Ohka. Aparrantly on 8th April, 1977 Ohka’s parents visited Tokyo to watch Antonio Inoki fight Muhammad Ali. That was also the night when Ken Ohka was conceived which means Inoki’s fighting spirit is indirectly tied to Ohka’s genes! Illustrations of Ohka doing Inoki’s grounded leg kicks were shown on the screen. The plan was fot Ohka to cut down Team Drift with the Leg Kicks then shove their faces into Danshoku Dino’s backside. The parasites in Dino’s rear end will fill the victim’s nasal cavity and render him light headed, allowing Sasadango to finish the job. The plan didn’t work as intended. Team Drift weren’t going to lose the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles when they were debuting new outfits. Soma Takao was hit with Ohka’s Leg Kicks, Dino’s Danshoku Driver and then Sasadango’s Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock but he was saved by his partners from getting pinned. Ohka went for the Spear Of Flame but Keisuke Ishii stopped him dead with the Kneel Kick. Takao then hit the Gin And Tonic to score a successful title defence and remain undefeated in “PETER PAN”. After the match Dino, Sasadango & Ohka regrouped and decided on a new permanent unit name. Taking inspiration on Ohka’s growth from young lion to champion they chose the name #OhkaEmpire (#大家帝国). They asked for a title rematch to take place at Korakuen Hall on 27th September but Ishii refused and the champs walked out.

takagi-tenryu-akai

“Thunder Storm” played over the speakers to mark the one time appearance of Genichiro Tenryu in DDT! Saki Akai wore a new all white costume to mark the occasion while Meiko Satomura tried her best to keep Tenryu and Shuji Ishikawa from going at it before the bell. Tenryu punched her in the face. He did it again to counter a Short Range Lariat. Satomura got some measure of revenge with a few Low Kicks. She had a much easier time in the ring with Akai. Tenryu did more of his punches but this time to Kazusada Higuchi. The match broke down with all six fighting in the ring until Sanshiro Takagi slammed Higuchi with the Spiccoli Driver and then joined Tenryu in giving Higuchi a Lariat Sandwich. One Sit Down Himawari Bomb later and it was all over.

takeshita-endo-german

Tetsuya Endo is back and Konosuke Takeshita got new wrestling gear to celebrate. They also had a match together. Both men wanted to steal the show and went full blast. Endo was surely trying to make up for lost time. He went for the Sky Twister Press but missed, allowing Takeshita to hit a Lariat and then the German Suplex to win. This was Takeshita’s first win in a “PETER PAN” show as well as in Sumo Hall.

blindfold-bra-tigertrap

I write up a paragraph about how today could be Antonio Honda’s time in the spotlight. Then Honda picks a wacky stipulation for his DDT Extreme Title defence involving bras, blindfolds and a gigantic claw trap. I really should have seen this coming. Honda wanted a match based on fear and decided a Blindfold Bra Stripping Tiger Trap Death Match was most suitable. Both himself and Masa Takanashi had to wear a blindfold and a bra. Meanwhile a large tiger trap was placed in the ring for them to avoid. The match could be won by usual means or by stripping the opponent of his bra. Late in the match, Honda found a mic and told the audience to give him their bras so he could power up just like how Goku can gather energy from other living beings! Cameraman Norikazu Fujioka answered the call and took his shirt off to reveal his bra. Honda said needed more. Suddenly Michael Nakazawa appears wearing a bra! Nakazawa said he took a flight from Singapore this morning to be at the show and he wants to help his friend Honda. Honda was given the bras and he wrapped them around his fist. He climbed the ropes and delivered the Diving Fist Drop… right into the tiger trap! Takanashi got his hands on Honda and tried to capitalise with the Takatonic but he himself then stepped onto the tiger trap! Honda ripped off Takanashi’s bra and was declared the winner! Takanashi had to drag along the tiger trap stuck to his leg as he walked backstage.

lilico-debut

LiLiCo made her official pro wrestling debut despite winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title at last year’s “PETER PAN” show. She was in a Tag Team Battle Royal with Suguru Miyatake as her partner and wore an eye-catching black outfit with wings and face paint over her eyes. She & Miyatake were one of the final two teams along with Aja Kong & Makoto Oishi. Kong was holding the Iron Man Title LiLiCo wanted but Kong was too powerful for both her and Miyatake. Kong pinned Miyatake but after the match raised LiLiCo’s hand as a show of respect. LiLiCo snuck behind Kong and School Boyed her to try and win the Iron Man Title but Kong kicked out. Kong angrily told LiLiCo “Welcome to professional wrestling!” and challenged LiLiCo to try and take the belt from her anytime, anyplace.

inoue-debut watase-debut

Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase both made their debuts in the opening match. Inoue wore black and purple camouflage shorts while Watase’s ring gear was in black and gold. They were put through the grind by Yasu Urano, Akito & Ryota Nakatsu. Akito even dared them to do their best Dropkicks on him. The rookies showed some spirit but Akito put an end to it when he tapped out Watase with the Scorpion Lock.

ihashi-stalker

“Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa didn’t understand the rules of the King Of Dark Championship and before the match began said he will win the title. Gota Ihashi convinced the ref to do fast counts but it backfired when Ichikawa pinned him and got a fast three count. Afterwards Ichikawa was confused because he wasn’t given the championship for winning the match. Ihashi tried to retire the belt but Amon Tsurumi refused to let it happen. Stalker demanded to have the belt. Tsurumi told him to go back to Kobe.

Kota Ibushi will release his autobiography on 28th October. There will be two versions available: “The Strongest Edition” and “The Most Mad Edition”.

Two guest names were announced for “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015” on 28th November. Comedians RG and Ryota Yamasato will both wrestle at the show. Yamasato was sitting by the commentary table during the announcement and he was surprised to learn he will be wrestling.

Muscle Sakai will film DDT’s second movie “DDT Liberal Arts Pro Wrestling” later this year. The first movie “DDT Wrestling Cannonball 2014” was released on DVD today and available at the show.

This was already announced back in February but as a reminder DDT will hold two shows in Sumo Hall next year. The dates are 21st March and 28th August. A Falls Count Anywhere Street Wrestling Treasure Hunt match was confirmed for the 21st March show.


DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015” Preview

August 20, 2015

ryogoku-peterpan-2015

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015 ~FROM DDT WITH LOVE~”, 23/08/2015
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa
1. Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase Debut Match: Yasu Urano, Akito & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda, Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase
2. Time Difference Tag Battle Royal: Aja Kong & Makoto Oishi Vs LiLiCo & Suguru Miyatake Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MIKAMI & Shunma Katsumata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Great Kojika Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko Vs Hoshitango & Mio Shirai
3. DDT Extreme Title – Uchikami! Presents: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Masa Takanashi
4. Tetsuya Endo Comeback Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. Genichiro Tenryu Retirement Road Round 15: Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Kazusada Higuchi & Meiko Satomura
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki
8. Dramatic Dream Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
9. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: KUDO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi

In just a few short days DDT will be in Sumo Hall for the seventh annual “PETER PAN” extravaganza! You’d think the area would be sick of pro wrestling after last week but ticket sales suggest otherwise. The show is almost entirely sold out and DDT had to open up extra seats next to the stage to meet demand. The big stories surrounding the show are a dream match between a once in a lifetime talent and the indie world’s strongest warrior, a battle between two brothers in arms over DDT’s greatest prize, two Storm Riders attempting to take gold from some strong style golems, a trio of lifelong companions getting the band back together in search of glory, a grumpy old sumo’s short stay during his journey to retirement, the return of a future main eventer in the making, a day in the limelight for one of DDT’s longest serving wrestlers and some new blood making their debut.

ryogoku-kingofdark

 

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa

But before we get to all that we have to get through the pre-show. Created back in February, the King Of Dark Title has been an albatross for some of the worst and unluckiest wrestlers in DDT. Those who hold the championship are banished to wrestle in dark matches until they win. Still, it’s more valuable than the King Of The Mountain TitleGota Ihashi has been the face of the championship for it’s short history, racking up a total of 18 defeats/defences during his two reigns. Ihashi has done everything he could to get rid of the belt but every plan has ended in failure. His embarrassment continues when he goes against one of the most legendary losers in pro wrestling, “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa! Ihashi is confident in his ability to win but he should underestimate Stalker at his peril! I’m pretty sure Stalker has won more matches than Ihashi ever did.

ryogoku-debut

1. Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase Debut Match: Yasu Urano, Akito & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda, Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase

The opener features the debut of two new wrestlers. Mao Inoue is an 18 year old Youtube wrestler from Miyagi who was scouted by Sanshiro Takagi. Mizuki Watase is a 24 year old comedian from Nagano and is most known for his work in Tenori Tiger. They were both surprised to learn their debut match is taking place so soon in Sumo Hall. They will be placed in the ring with DNA wrestlers Ryota Nakatsu and Kota Umeda as well as veterans Yasu Urano & Akito. Akito’s inclusion here is pretty disappointing to be honest. He was on fire with his DDT Extreme Title run throughout the year. Him in the opening match centred around the rookies is a step down. However DDT has a knack for discovering talented new wrestlers lately. The DNA shows have been proof of that and Nakatsu is one of the stand outs. Akito might be just the guy needed to help break in the rookies.

ryogoku-tagbattleroyal

2. Time Difference Tag Battle Royal: Aja Kong & Makoto Oishi Vs LiLiCo & Suguru Miyatake Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MIKAMI & Shunma Katsumata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Great Kojika Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko Vs Hoshitango & Mio Shirai

Usually the Battle Royal match in these shows are for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. However this year is a little bit different. We’re getting a Tag Team Battle Royal and all of the attention is on the official pro wrestling debut of LiLiCo. The half Swedish, half Japanese celebrity was a guest on last year’s show and she ended up winning the Iron Man Title. This time she’s back to give pro wrestling a proper go. She picked Suguru Miyatake as her partner after he impressed her with his physique. Unfortunately for LiLiCo, the current Iron Man champion Aja Kong demanded to be in the match and is forcing Makoto Oishi to team with her. Kong is setting her sights on LiLiCo and looking to end her wrestling career before it even begins.

The rest of the field is made up of DDT regulars and a few guests. MIKAMI left DDT a few months ago to become a freelancer but he returns to team with the promising rookie Shunma Katsumata. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki recently formed Pigging 2015 with Gota Ihashi much to the annoyance of everyone else. Gorgeous Matsuno & The Great Kojika are here to be the classy old gentlemen who puts the young whipper-snappers in their place. Kazuki Hirata wants to dance while Toru Owashi has to tolerate him. Hiroshi Fukuda combines his American sports entertainment style with the power of Yoshihiko to form a force of unbelievable strength. Last but not least Hoshitango & Mio Shirai make up the team of random character selects from a custom Fire Pro Wrestling save. Shirai will be retiring on 20th September and said she is happy to be in a crazy DDT battle royal one last time.

ryogoku-extreme

3. DDT Extreme Title – Uchikami! Presents: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Masa Takanashi

Antonio Honda has had quite the career in DDT. He’s been a Cuban manager with Tourette’s, an Italian drug lord, a Hawaiian Ricky Steamboat knock off and a kleptomaniac soldier. He introduced Hulk Hogan Gymnastics to the world and just recently had the honour of fighting an invisible Mel Gibson. But the spotlight has never really been on him for long. There was that one night at the end of 2010 when he became the Interim KO-D Openweight Champion but that was short lived. Honda accepts that he is approaching his twilight years in the ring but he’s not giving up just yet. Every dog has his day and Honda could get his inside Sumo Hall. An upset victory over Akito in July earned Honda the DDT Extreme Title. Unfortunately since then his feel good story has been interrupted by Masa Takanashi. Honda lost a few non-title matches to Takanashi, who later became the No. 1 Contender for the Extreme Title.

Takanashi remembers when he fought Danshoku Dino for the Extreme Title at the very first “RYOGOKU PETER PAN” back in 2009. He lost then but he intends to win the belt this time. Honda is keeping the stipulation for the match a secret until the day of the show. All he will say is the match will use fear as a theme and it is inspired by a previous match the two had together. Honda says the rules scare even himself and he must overcome that fear to defend his title.

ryogoku-endo-takeshita

4. Tetsuya Endo Comeback Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo

Tetsuya Endo has been out of action for four months when he broke his third metatarsal in his left foot. For his return, Endo will face his Happy Motels tag team partner Konosuke Takeshita in a battle between two of DDT’s future main eventers. Endo is believes this match is as important to him as a championship match and he will treat it as such. He’s been working backstage and at ringside during DDT’s shows while he recovered and has seen in person the improvement in Takeshita’s Dropkick. Takeshita said he will go full force from the beginning and he thinks this match will be fighting against the two main events for the best bout of the show.

ryogoku-higuchi-akai-takagi

5. Genichiro Tenryu Retirement Road Round 15: Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Kazusada Higuchi & Meiko Satomura

The legendary Genichiro Tenryu will wrestle in DDT for the first and only time this Sunday. This won’t be the weirdest thing he’s ever done in wrestling, that would be dressing up as HG in HUSTLE. Tenryu sent in some words about the other wrestlers in his match. He noted Sanshiro Takagi’s dexterity and how nothing ever worries him. He is quite pleased to team with Saki Akai and knows her father’s history in boxing. Akai is hoping she will inherit Tenryu’s patented Goo Punch. That is a lot better for her than the original idea of Tenryu Vs Akai in a singles match. Tenryu calls Shuji Ishikawa a natural wrestler and acknowledges the physical fitness of his fellow sumo Kazusada Higuchi. Due to their sumo backgrounds Higuchi has a few similar qualities with Tenryu and some of Higuchi’s movements does remind me of Tenryu. Higuchi admits he is nervous to be in the same ring as Tenryu but he wants Tenryu to fight him with all of his body and soul. Meanwhile Akai is preparing for Meiko Satomura and remembers when they fought last November. Satomura submitted her with a Sleeper Hold and she’s been frustrated over the results ever since.

ryogoku-kod6tag

6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka

Last year Team Dream Futures were the challengers, this year they are the champions. Team Drift currently have the most successful KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title run in the belts’ history with three successful defences (it’s a hot potato championship). Facing them is a trio reunited by the power of friendship. Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine and Ken Ohka consider each other close friends from the same generation of DDT wrestlers. However Ohka has been missing from this group for years. He’s been busy forming a new identity as the leader of Ganbare☆Wrestling. Ohka even did the unthinkable and very briefly became the KO-D Openweight Champion back in June. It took some convincing but Ohka is back in DDT as a new man. Together with Dino & Sasadango they are the Gamba Wrestle Dream Factory.

Happy reunions aside the challengers have a big challenge ahead of them. Team Drift are one of the longest running stables in DDT. Also Soma Takao is still undefeated at “PETER PAN” with a 6-0 record. Tensions flared at the press conference when Keisuke Ishii gave a lot of praise to Dino and Sasadango but gave Ohka a backhanded compliment. Ohka took offence and dared Ishii to slap him. He did. Ohka then dared Takao to slap him. He did. Ohka then dared Shigehiro Irie to hit him. Irie sent him reeling with a headbutt. The challengers left to get Ohka some treatment but he returned and dared Irie to headbutt him again! Irie did so and Ohka was left in tears from the pain.

ryogoku-kodtag

7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki

The unfortunately named Strong BJ have been unstoppable in DDT ever since they won the KO-D Tag Team Titles in Saitama Super Arena back in February. It seems like there is no one in DDT capable of beating Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi. Right now it seems like DDT’s last hope of ever reclaiming the belts lie with Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki. However Ibushi is no doubt tired after the G1 Climax and Sasaki has had no luck with trying to beat Okabayashi in the meantime. The flash Hurricanrana Sasaki has used to great effect all year did not work on Big Japan’s golem. He is still confident that himself & Ibushi are the strongest team on Earth and will take down the champs. He gave himself & Ibushi a 65% chance of winning. Okabayashi’s response is he & Sekimoto will crush the challengers with 120% of their strength. While Sasaki and Okabayashi are arguing over percentages, Sekimoto was probably just thinking “Not this shit again” to himself.

ryogoku-harashima

8. Dramatic Dream Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

It’s not closing out the show but this is the marquee match. The ace of DDT versus the ace of New Japan. Or if you want to be cynical, the John Cena of DDT versus the John Cena of New Japan. Either way “___WinsLOL” can apply to either result. But why be negative about this? We’re going to get a great match. HARASHIMA has been on top of his game this year and if anyone deserves a shot against this year’s G1 winner, it’s him. Hiroshi Tanahashi previously wrestled in DDT at last year’s “PETER PAN” against Konosuke Takeshita. He sent a message to DDT saying HARASHIMA is a refreshing challenger and he expects HARASHIMA to bring his A-game. HARASHIMA called Tanahashi “the most delicious opponent” now that he is coming into the show as the G1 winner.

kod-ryogoku

9. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: KUDO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi

The semi-main event has the most attention but the main event is the most dramatic match on this card. To sweeten the deal a 2 million yen cash prize will be awarded to the winner courtesy of the match’s sponsor Good Com Asset. The KO-D Openweight Title is also on the line between two wrestlers who consider each other as brothers. They share a bond over fine liquor but the high tension of main eventing DDT’s biggest show of the year nearly split them apart. KUDO has been champion for most of the summer and did not flinch when Yukio Sakaguchi won the King Of DDT tournament to earn this title shot. However a series of defeats created a rift between the two and KUDO started to question whether or not Sakaguchi deserved to have the title shot. Sakaguchi himself had doubts and at one point even requested to be removed from the match! However fortunes turned around and Sakaguchi found his way back to a winning streak. Sakaguchi regained his confidence and warned KUDO that he was coming for him and the title! Their friendship was still frosty as they fought each other in tag matches up until the end of Beer Garden week. The two were full of mutual respect for each other and fist bumped to signal a recovery of their friendship. With all of the bad blood out now of the way there is nothing stopping them from going all out to prove who is more deserving to be champion. KUDO calls this match a clash of souls and promises to drink the most delicious alcohol in his life when he wins.


Extreme Title Treasure Hunt, HandMade In Japan, Ryogoku Peter Pan Shaping Up

June 29, 2015

DDT “TOTAL THIRD WORLD -DDT HAKATA-”, 05/07/2015
Hakata Star Lane

1. HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda
2. 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Soma Takao Vs Suguru Miyatake
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuto Aijima Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga, MIKAMI, Makoto Oishi & Azul Dragon
4. Special Tag Team Match: KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles Next Challenger Match: Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Antonio Honda & Konosuke Takeshita
6. DDT Extreme Title – Treasure Hunt Bull Rope Match: Akito (c) Vs Masa Takanashi

The main event has Akito and Masa Takanashi connected together with a bull rope. There will be a bag placed in every corner of the ring, one contains the DDT Extreme Title and the other three contain dummy belts. When a wrestler wins a fall he gets to choose a bag. If he picks the bag containing the real Extreme Title belt then the match ends and the winner becomes champion. If it contains a dummy belt then the match restarts until the real belt is found.

The No. 1 Contenders for the KO-D Tag Team Titles will be determined here. The winners will face Strong BJ for the belts at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015”.

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 2 ~NO SUBTITLE~”, 12/07/2015
Osaka Higashinari Kumin Hall

1. To Look For The Things Left Behind From Those Days – Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Atsushi Maruyama
2. Naniwa Shocked! Special Single Match: Antonio Honda Vs Magnitude Kishiwada
3. Lucha Vs Lucha! Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Tsubasa, Billyken Kid & HAYATA
4. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind – Special 3 Way Match: Kota Ibushi Vs Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Kikutaro
5. Road To RYOGOKU Special Tag Match: KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano
6. Road To DAIICHI Special Tag Match: Akito & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Shigehiro Irie & Kazusada Higuchi

HUB, Shoichi Uchida and Seiya Morohashi will also be on the show.

DDT “HANDMADE IN JAPAN FES 2015”, 25/07/2015
Tokyo Big Sight

Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Kazuki Hirata & Saki Akai Vs Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Hyper Misao Vs Antonio Honda, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Nonoko

After a successful appearance back in 2013, DDT returns to the HandMade In Japan Festival for some more Anywhere Pro Wrestling chaos. This time they are bringing along Nonoko and Hyper Misao from Tokyo Joshi Pro.

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015”, 23/08/2015
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. DDT Extreme Title – Uchikami! Presents: Akito (c) Vs X
2. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Winners Of 5/7 Next Challenger Match
3. Genichiro Tenryu Retirement Road Round 15: Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai Vs X, X & X
4. Dramatic Dream Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
5. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: KUDO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi

With all of the Right To Challenge contracts now used up, the main event of this year’s Sumo Hall show is set in stone. KUDO will defend the KO-D Openweight Title against his Shuten-dōji stable-mate Yukio Sakaguchi. They will be teaming together until then and there has been little to no tension between the two until the match was made. There is also more at stake than just the championship. ¥ 2,000,000 will be rewarded to the winner of the main event courtesy of the match’s sponsor Good Com Asset, a real estate corporation. The Extreme Title Match also has a sponsor, the manga series Uchikami!

Hiroshi Tanahashi apologised to those who were expecting Shinsuke Nakamura to be New Japan’s representative at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN” this year.


DDT “KING OF DDT 2015 OSAKA” Results

June 15, 2015

okabayashi-mikami-ladder

DDT “KING OF DDT 2015 OSAKA”, 14/06/2015
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2
1,042 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title: Suguru Miyatake (c) & Kota Umeda defeated Gota Ihashi & Hiroshi Fukuda when Miyatake pinned Ihashi with the Heart Attack (6:45).
*Suguru Miyatake passes D2. Gota Ihashi becomes the 3rd King Of Dark Champion.
1. HARASHIMA, Akiro, Yasu Urano, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Saki Akai defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Devin Sparks & Ric Ellis when HARASHIMA pinned Hirata with the Somato (10:28).
2. 4 Way Match: KUDO defeated Danshoku Dino, Keisuke Ishii and Antonio Honda when KUDO pinned Honda with the Diving Double Knee Drop (8:49).
3. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Makoto Oishi with the Right Knee Of God (7:19).
4. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Masa Takanashi with the German Suplex (9:47).
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) defeated MIKAMI & Shuji Ishikawa when Okabayashi pinned MIKAMI with the Golem Splash (19:29).
*V4 for Strong BJ.
6. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Kota Ibushi with the Sasaki Huracanrana (18:48).
7. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Shigehiro Irie with the Goten (18:23).

The King Of DDT semi-finals are set. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Yukio Sakaguchi and Konosuke Takeshita Vs Daisuke Sasaki will take place on 28th June along with the grand final. Sakaguchi dispatched Makoto Oishi with the Right Knee Of God. Takeshita narrowly avoided being wrongly disqualified when Masa Takanashi faked getting hit with the DDT Extreme Title belt he stole from Akito again after Match #1. Sasaki got the upset win over his stablemate Kota Ibushi. Sasaki seated Ibushi on a chair outside the ring and did a Super Diving Elbow Drop from the top rope onto him. Sasaki avoided the Sit Down Last Ride and pulled in the ref to distract Ibushi and flash pin him with the Sasaki Huracanrana. Ibushi was disappointed to lose and blamed Suguru Miyatake. Finally in the battle of the heavyweights Higuchi scored a great victory over Shigehiro Irie. Higuchi offered a handshake after the match but Irie rejected it.

DDT will move up from Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2 to the bigger Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #1 on 28th November. The event is called “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015” and the main event will be the KO-D Openweight Champion defending the title against the winner of this year’s DDT Dramatic General Election. Sanshiro Takagi spoke about the building hosting matches like Nobuhiko Takada Vs Bob Backlund as well as cards from UWF and SWS.

Despite being thrown off by MIKAMI’s speed and use of ladders, Strong BJ succeeded in another KO-D Tag Team Titles defence. Yuji Okabayashi is confident he and Daisuke Sekimoto can beat anyone in DDT. Right now there are no immediate challengers in line.

Ken Ohka appeared in the balcony after the 4 Way Match to give another warning to KUDO about cashing in his Right To Challenge contract. Amon Tsurumi apologised to KUDO for allowing Ohka to sneak into the show again. KUDO didn’t care because he knows Ohka is not going to cash in anytime soon.

Hello darkness my old friend. Gota Ihashi is now a two time King Of Dark Champion. He never got a chance to enjoy wrestling outside of the preshow. Amon Tsurumi happily handed Ihashi the belt after the match.


King Of DDT Round 2, Tavern Wrestling, Ohka Vs Enjo-gun

June 9, 2015

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU IN FUJI ~DRAMATIC DREAM TSUKENAPORITAN~”, 13/06/2015
Shizuoka Fuji-san Messe

0. King Of Dark Title: Suguru Miyatake (c) Vs Gota Ihashi
1. Toru Owashi Vs DJ Nira
2. Yasu Urano Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. Sanshiro Takagi, Devin Sparks & Ric Ellis Vs Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sasaki & MIKAMI
4. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kouki Iwasaki
5. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Akito
6. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi Vs Antonio Honda, Konosuke Takeshita & Hiroshi Fukuda

Looks like Hiroshi Fukuda is taking Tetsuya Endo’s place in Happy Motels while Endo is recovering from his injury.

Gota Ihashi hasn’t escaped dark match status just yet. He must be cursing the automatic title rematch rule right now.

DDT “KING OF DDT 2015 OSAKA”, 14/06/2015
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2

0. King Of Dark Title: Suguru Miyatake (c) & Kota Umeda Vs Gota Ihashi & Hiroshi Fukuda
1. HARASHIMA, Akiro, Yasu Urano, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Saki Akai Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Devin Sparks & Ric Ellis
2. 4 Way Match: KUDO Vs Danshoku Dino Vs Keisuke Ishii Vs Antonio Honda
3. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Shigehiro Irie
4. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Kota Ibushi
5. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Masa Takanashi Vs Konosuke Takeshita
6. King Of DDT 2015 – Round 2: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Makoto Oishi
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs MIKAMI & Shuji Ishikawa

Not sure what order the King Of DDT matches will be. The semi-final match ups will be decided by a lottery.

This will be the Arrogant Bastards last show in Japan for now.

The King Of Dark Title will only change hands in the dark match tag if the champion pins one of his opponents.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE GIRLS BATTLE 2015 ROUND 6”, 20/06/2015
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. KANNA Vs Hyper Misao
2. Saki Akai & Ai Shimizu Vs Erin & Akane Miura

Erin failed to beat Biishiki-gun with Hyper Misao. Now she’s teaming with the much bigger Akane Miura to get the job done.

DDT “TAVERN WRESTLING VOL. 0”, 23/06/2015
Saitama Wrestle Fighter Museum

1. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: X Vs X
2. Isami Kodaka & Ryota Nakatsu Vs KUDO & Kouki Iwasaki

The main event of the first Tavern Wrestling show will be a battle between the Dropkick Bar and Ebisuko Tavern. The show is being organised by the employee wrestlers of both establishments.

DDT “STREET WRESTLING IN IZU SHABOTEN PARK”, 02/07/2015
Shizuoka Izu Shaboten Park

4 Way Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano Vs Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Hiroshi Fukuda

Soma Takao returns from All Japan just in time to do some wrestling outdoors in a park.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “HIGH PRESSURE 2015”, 04/07/2015
Tokyo BASEMENT MON☆STAR

1. Student Of The Rainbow Vs Blackjack Of The Rubbish Heap: Yumehito Imanari Vs Minoru Fujita
2. Enjo-gun Presents Special Handicap Match: Ken Ohka Vs Shibata & Mitomi Masayuki

Enjo-gun got Ken Ohka to agree to a handicap match when they promised to fight him fair and square. We’ll see about that.


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.