DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” Preview

August 10, 2026

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026”, 11/08/2026
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Yuki Ishida (c) Vs Yuki Iino Vs Toru Owashi Vs Akito Vs Soma Takao Vs Fuminori Abe Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs MJ Paul Vs Ilusion Vs Yuni Vs Masami Inahata
3. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata & To-y
4. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya
5. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Death Match: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki
7. Special Single Match: YAMATO Vs Danshoku Dieno
8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI Vs Antonio Honda & Tetsuya Endo
9. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi
10. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kaisei Takechi
11. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Asset Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

The show is named after Peter Pan because DDT is the company that never wants to grow up. However the story of the main event asks if the challenger has matured enough to finally dethrone the champion? The latest visit to Sumo Hall isn’t packed with the star power I would usually expect from its guests. There are crossovers with New Japan and Dragon Gate on the card though. The buildup has kind of felt lacking too because a lot of the outsider names weren’t around to interact with their DDT opponents. It all hangs on the main event for the KO-D Openweight Title. It’s a rematch from “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024” in the same venue that never left as much of an impact as it hoped it would back then. This is the second chance to get that performance right, not necessarily the result. If this is supposed to be the crowning of a new champion, I’m not exactly feeling it the night before the show.

Before we begin, let me remind everyone there are currently three Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlets that are active. Two of them (Red and Blue) can be used to cash in a KO-D Title shot on a DDT show whenever the holder wants as long as the champion is around. The third one (Purple) is a trap Gauntlet that can be cashed in on anyone who holds one of the other Gauntlets. So yeah, imagine a Money In The Bank that you cash in on another Money In The Bank before that gets cashed in. That’s what we’re working with here.


1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato (c) Vs KANON, Yukio Naya & Viento Levante (w/ KIMIHIRO & YUZUKI)

Someone must have told Takeshi Masada that the second most important match on a wrestling card is the opener and he’s taken that theory to heart. One of the highlights of DDT this year has been paleyouth’s tag matches, especially the ones involving the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. While this unit of youngsters do not have as heavy of a chip on their shoulders as Team Dream Futures had years ago, their performances in the ring have been something I look forward to seeing on every DDT show. Daichi Sato really has something if he can grow into a proper heavyweight down the line. Character work needs some work between them (Yuya Koroku’s personality in particular could do with being slightly less dry) but you won’t find a more reliable trio elsewhere in DDT this year.

paleyouth currently ties the record for most KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles defences and winning this match will break the record. Masada believes such an achievement will need a lot of attention which is why he asked for the match to be put in the opening spot. One person in Strange Love Connection wants to stop them and has the opportunity to do so. KANON was part of the DAMNATION T.A trio that shares the most defences record with paleyouth. Even though that title reign ended when KANON was betrayed and kicked out of the unit, he is still proud of what he achieved back then and does not want to see the accomplishment get written out of the record books. His partners for the match have different levels of motivation going into the match. SLC introduced everyone to Viento Maligno six months ago but it didn’t take long for everyone to realised it was Keigo Nakamura under the mask, returning incognito from an excursion to Mexico that didn’t work out how he hoped. His performances were underwhelming and his true identity was revealed a few months later but Nakamura is sticking with it in an attempt to make this alter ego work. Demus gave him the name Viento Maligno (Evil Wind) but being a rudo is not in Nakamura’s nature so it has since been changed to Viento Levante (named after the Mediterranean wind). Yukio Naya has spent this time being Levante’s supportive big buddy and has promised to help Levante score the winning pinfall in this match.

There is an added wild card for this match, the Right To Challenge Anytime Anywhere Anytime Anywhere Gauntlet. This purple version of the prize was created to be cashed in against other Gauntlet holders instead of any champions. So anyone who has a regular RTC Gauntlet need to watch their back just as much as the champion does! KANON has possession of the Purple AAAA Gauntlet heading into this match and will likely keep it unless he directly takes the losing fall. That means he can cause some chaos later in the show if he decides to cash in on either the Red Gauntlet holder or the Blue Gauntlet holder.


2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Delayed Entry Battle Royal: Yuki Ishida (c) Vs Yuki Iino Vs Toru Owashi Vs Akito Vs Soma Takao Vs Fuminori Abe Vs Naomi Yoshimura Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs MJ Paul Vs Ilusion Vs Yuni Vs Masami Inahata

Sometimes you just need to add a little extra incentive to encourage people. DDT usually puts in a Royal Rumble style match on the undercard for the most unstable championship in pro wrestling the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. What also often happens is the champion going into the match might get beaten and lost the belt to someone else on their way to the ring thanks to the 24/7 rules. It can sometimes make one wonder why wrestlers would even bother trying to be the champion going into the match. DDT decided to fix this problem by adding a special prize to this year’s Iron Man Battle Royal. Whoever enters the match as the reigning champion will receive a one year long travel pass for the Shinkansen bullet train to be used whenever DDT books them for shows held outside of Tokyo. That’s going to come in handy in the coming months when DDT make their Autumn trips to Osaka, Hokkaido and Yokohama. I bet those tours alone will pay off the pass by themselves unless DDT starts managing how their wrestlers are booked by using a bucket system.

At the time of writing Yuki Ishida is the reigning champion as he continues his journey into rediscovering himself. He’s kind of in the same position that Nakamura was in but it’s a lot more shallow. Ever since Kazusada Higuchi retired and Harimao went their separate ways, Ishida has struggled to keep up with the other wrestlers from his generation. Lately he believes he needs to change himself to finally make the progress he wants. All he’s been doing though is tell people over and over he wants to change and also take part in a photoshoot trying out different outfits. The one of him in a suit makes him look like a young Jaki Numazawa if Numazawa never took part in death matches so maybe there’s something to be found there. He really needs to put more thought into the idea though because right now it just comes off as him being superficial.

The usual bunch of undercard wrestlers are filling up the ranks. Yuki Iino is taking on double the bookings between DDT and NOAH. It’s working out great for him on the NOAH front with Iino getting a passionate makeover and winning the GHC Tag Team Titles with Manabu Soya. He has to hide his wild looking haircut back in DDT and his presence on shows has mostly been reduced to being another body in SLC multi-man tag matches. Soma Takao recently came back from injury and wants to remind everyone he is not just the guy who works at the Dropkick Bar. Yes, he’s been gone long enough for the newer DDT fans to be unaware that he is a wrestler. Naomi Yoshimura remains low on the card due to his physical limits but he has talked about having a special opponent in mind for his homecoming show later this year. Ilusion continues to be a trollish dick to everyone outside of DAMNATION T.A. He often gets away with it because MJ Paul is always nearby to have his back no matter what trouble he causes. Some of the other young guns like Yuni and Masami Inahata have briefly won the Iron Man Title in the leadup to the show. That leaves the likes of Toru Owashi, Akito, Fuminori Abe and Super Sasadango Machine to fill up the rest of the field. Sasadango’s been trying to join different stables as a Nagoya-only based member but those kind of alliances mean nothing in Tokyo!


3. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Sanshiro Takagi Vs Kazuki Hirata & To-y

No matter how many enemies Sanshiro Takagi makes in the ring throughout his career, at some point he’ll try teaming up with them. Minoru Suzuki is the latest foe turned tag partner as it was the only way Suzuki could find a spot on the show. The two have caught attention in Japan and around the world for their feud built around Falls Count Anywhere matches in the unusual environments. They’ve fought inside an empty Tokyo Dome, they’ve fought along a tramline and most famously of all they’ve fought inside a moving bullet train. They must know each other inside and out by now so let’s see how they will get along as a tag team.

I would consider the opposition to be an Easy Mode option if it wasn’t for the risk of Suzuki & Takagi’s team becoming to volatile to last. We are approaching one year since the wonderful Summer Of Kazuki Hirata and he’s back in the 2nd match of the card where he himself would admit he belongs. He also continues to lose matches as soon as they begin which has been disastrous for Hisaya Imabayashi’s heart rate. To-y has been doing better than Hirata when it comes to win-loss records but his somewhat manical personality can lead him towards making some costful mistakes. He is the holder of the Blue RTC Gauntlet and the stage can be set for him to make a big splash later in the show if he decides to cash it in. Or he could make a foolish mistake like a certain stablemate of his from The 37KAMIINA did once before and let Suzuki open up a pathway towards becoming a DDT champion again.


4. Hinata Kasai 1st Anniversary Debut Match ~ Special Tag Match: Jun Kasai & Hinata Kasai Vs Jun Akiyama & Rukiya

What if the cat’s in the cradle and the cradle is also filled with lighttubes? Thankfully Hinata Kasai has not taken to following in his father’s footsteps the exact same way. Instead his pro wrestling career is with DDT where he’s been working as the fourth member of FANTÔMES DRAMATIC. It’s been apparent from his debut a year ago that he is lacking in physical skills but he’s been making up for it by looking sympathetic every time he takes a beating. When DDT announced that Hinata would team up with his dad Jun Kasai inside Sumo Hall to celebrate the one year anniversary of his debut, Hinata made it his goal to earn his first victory by then. That hasn’t happened yet so his self-imposed challenge is going straight to the wire. Jun Akiyama & Rukiya will be making up the wall Hinata has to try and climb over. This will be the first time Jun and Akiyama will have a proper match against each other (they were both part of a wacky Taiji Ishimori gauntlet match in New Japan last year). This is different from Hinata and Rukiya who have been regularly teaming up or fighting against each other on DDT shows ever since Hinata’s debut. Rukiya was even Hinata’s first singles opponent so if there’s anyone most suitable for Hinata to score his first victory against, it’s Rukiya.

Quick sidenote before I move onto the next match. I should really take the time to watch the Jun Kasai “KYO-EN” documentary that was made a few years ago to see what presence Hinata has in that. That kind of info would have been really helpful in hindsight. If it’s good enough for Hideo Kojima then it’s good enough for me.


5. DDT Extreme Title – Barbed Wire Death Match: Hideki Okatani (c) Vs Shunma Katsumata

The show was missing some kind of spectacle but I didn’t expect DDT would go the violence route to fill in that spot late in the buildup. Hideki Okatani has gone on a mean streak as DDT Extreme Champion to prove his superiority over other wrestlers from his generation. It’s all so he can come face to face with one wrestler in particular, the one who welcomed him into Hardcore wrestling in the first place and he could never beat in two previous attempts. But simply making this a Hardcore Match feels underwhelming to Okatani. He wants to use the most exciting rule he can think of so he decided he will defend the title in a Barbed Wire Death Match!

Shunma Katsumata is no stranger to the Extreme Title and has twice defended the championship against Okatani. The first in 2023 ended badly when Katsumata suffered a leg injury that forced him to vacate the title despite winning the match. The second in 2024 worked out better for him as he won the match without getting injured this time. This past Katsumata has with Okatani feels kind of special to him because he keeps being involved in Okatani’s first experiences. He must be an important person in Okatani’s life because he seems to be the only one who can motivate Okatani into making these really violent kind of matches.

There’s an extra prize on the line too. Okatani is going into the match holding the Blue Right To Challenge Gauntlet that he recently won from Katsumata. Whoever wins this bloody battle will walk out with both the Extreme Title and a Gauntlet. But will the winner be in any state to cash it in later in the night or could they end up becoming a sitting duck for the holder of the Anytime Anywhere Gauntlet to ambush once the ring gets cleared of all the sharp barbed wire?


6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Chris Brookes & HARASHIMA (c) Vs Shinya Aoki & Junta Miyawaki

I don’t think I will ever be able to imagine DDT without HARASHIMA. Even without changing anything about himself he continues to stay relevant with the company as one of the most reliable wrestlers you can ever count on. He continues to show it here as a backbone member of FANTÔMES DRAMATIC and a 12-time holder of the KO-D Tag Team Titles. Whatever it is that keeps him feeling young is probably being provided by Chris Brookes because that guys keeps finding ways to stay busy. Whenever he’s not wrestling in Fandora tag matches, he’s off causing mayhem with the Baka Gaijin + Friends. It will take a pair of wrestlers as “Baka” as the two of them to take the KO-D Titles away.

Here’s where Shinya Aoki comes in as a challenger who both Brookes & HARASHIMA are very familiar with. Joining him is the sunlight of NOAH who came to DDT looking for new experiences. Junta Miyawaki is on a year long loan from The Ark and spends some of his time here taking part in every DDT comedy gimmick he can think of. The rest of the time Miyawaki has attached himself to Aoki, having been taken under the MMA fighter’s wing after spending years being influenced by Aoki’s skills. This new mentor/student dynamic can make Miyawaki’s stay here even more worthwhile if it can win him his first DDT championship.

What might get in the way of this promising new tag team is Aoki’s plans for the rest of the year. He recently ended his MMA contract with ONE Championship and quickly made the jump over to RIZIN. Aoki now has a big fight coming up in September against Mikuru Asakura. If Aoki & Miyawaki can win the tag titles, Miyawaki has promised to carry the belts down to the ring for Aoki’s fight next month!


7. Special Single Match: YAMATO Vs Danshoku Dieno

Alas poor Dragon Gate, the company where you sometimes have to remind yourself it’s no longer the promotion it was from 15 years ago. Shun Skywalker has buggered off and the new units being created all sound like a half completed title of a Kingdom Hearts spinoff that was generated by AI. But you can always count on YAMATO to be a flagbearer for the company and take the lead whenever others fail to do. Working relationships between DDT and Dragon Gate have a tricky history together. There were times when they joined forces to put on “DRAMATIC DREAM GATE” events and then there were the times when DDT took in the runaways who couldn’t cut it at the dojo in Kobe. Things seem to be okay between the two companies right now (maybe thanks to UJPW?) so YAMATO is coming to DDT looking for a suitable opponent for an inter-promotional bout.

YAMATO’s request is a grand one. He is looking for somebody of comparable stature to his own. Somebody whose collection of work could create or even carry a company by itself just like how YAMATO has done it for Dragon Gate. Even if you didn’t know the match already you knew the opponent was going to be Danshoku Dieno, right? YAMATO tried to get the match changed because in his opinion nobody wants to see him grappling with Dieno in the ring. The DDT fanbase, or at least those who were inside Korakuen Hall when the match was announced, tend to disagree. YAMATO now claims that he is immune to Dieno’s antics but we’ll all discover together how truthful he is being at Sumo Hall.


8. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & DOUKI Vs Antonio Honda & Tetsuya Endo

The cheek of DDT to hold a contest asking fans to predict what match Daisuke Sasaki was going to be in and this is the answer. The spots began to fill when DDT announced Antonio Honda was going to be on the other team. It would then be up to Sasaki and Honda to choose their own tag team partners. Sasaki made the first move and contacted DOUKI from the House Of Torture to join forces with him. It’s a perfect fit. Sasaki has known DOUKI for many years, it’s a fellow heel who wouldn’t look out of place standing next to DAMNATION T.A and he’s coming off one of the most dominant runs the NJPW Junior Heavyweight division has seen in years. Honda was rightfully worried about who he is going up against and was motivated to choose a tag team partner that would feel just as unfair towards Sasaki.

A call was made to repair a broken bridge. Honda was part of a unit from a decade ago called Happy Motel and another member of that group left them behind to join DAMNATION. Honda has never teamed with this person ever since but the time had come to let bygones be bygones. Honda’s partner is Tetsuya Endo! Even though Endo is now a full time wrestler with NOAH he has a plan to come back to DDT once he wins the GHC Heavyweight Title. He failed to become champion back in June but decided to briefly return to DDT when he saw how lazy Sasaki has become lately. The Sasaki he sees now who has been standing to the side and letting others in DAMNATION T.A claim leadership of the group is nothing like the Sasaki that Endo knew from the original DAMNATION. Honda claims he only asked Endo to team with him because it would make for a more exciting match. Endo says he is taking part to remind Sasaki what his true colours should look like.


9. DDT Universal Title: Kazuma Sumi (c) Vs Ryusuke Taguchi

This is an odd one although that’s to be expected with Ryusuke Taguchi being involved. The stalwart of NJPW’s Jr. division was one of the first guests to be booked for the show so when Kazuma Sumi asked if he could defend the DDT Universal Title against a New Japan wrestler, Taguchi got the spot. Sumi has felt annoyed over missing out on the recent DDT Vs NJPW matches especially since NJPW have been on the winning end more often than not. But putting any ill feelings on the matter aside, he is also happy to fight Taguchi and use him as a stepping stone to the top of the Junior Heavyweight scene. The odd thing is Taguchi seems to be accepting his fate. He’s been the stepping stone before for Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega so this scenario is nothing new to him. All he can do is teach Sumi a lesson. If Sumi isn’t careful then he could end up becoming used as a stepping stone for somebody else!

When it comes to star power, this is not the match I would have booked for Sumi. However that isn’t the goal DDT has in mind here. They want a solid hand to help Sumi take the next step and Taguchi still has those kind of performances in him once every blue moon. You can always count on him to have that one particularly good match every Best Of The Super Jr. and I bet the goal is for him to give Sumi the same match here. Some rumours over NJPW replenishing their Jr. division earlier this year have not come to pass but I think something is coming up over the horizon after the company recently changed ownership. Taguchi had suggested during the contract signing that he and Sumi could team up together for an upcoming tag tournament in New Japan. He even suggested they both shave their heads so they can be called The Buzz Cut Brothers. Sumi is indecisive over the idea (the last time he shaved his head everyone thought he was being punished for something but it was for a TV role) but who knows? This might end up becoming an audition for something bigger down the line.


10. Dramatic Dream Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Kaisei Takechi

DDT’s new gravy train goes up against the company’s pride and joy. You know I would really appreciate it if DDT announced their attendance numbers again so we could find out how much of a draw this match is but we’re going to be left in the dark. Konosuke Takeshita is taking a time out from the G1 CLIMAX to semi-main a Sumo Hall show. He has one more A Block match to get through a day later but the odds are in his favour he can make it to the playoff stage (knock on wood). Don’t expect him to act like he’s taking the night off. He’s promised to go all out given who his opponent is here.

Just like the rise of Yuki Arai in Tokyo Joshi Pro, I reckon it is only a matter of time before Kaisei Takechi takes to pro wrestling on a full time basis and becomes DDT’s top pushed act. We’re still a while away from that happening though. His schedule had slowed down after the early part of the year due to him suffering from a case of pink eye than having priorities elsewhere by the time it cleared up. He’s going into this Dramatic Dream match understanding that 99% of his fans expect him to lose. That just means he’s going to fight his heart out for the 1% who do believe in him. Surviving against one of the best in the world is the goal here but the closer he gets to achieving that, the more he can figure out if Takeshita isn’t as fresh as he claims to be thanks to the G1.


11. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Asset Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO

We’re back here for a second try. Two years ago Yuki Ueno and MAO fought in the main event of “WRESTLE PETER PAN” in Sumo Hall with the KO-D Openweight Title on the line. It was a match determined to establish the two as DDT’s big rivalry of the era much like Takeshita Vs Endo or Ibushi Vs Omega both were in times past. It didn’t hit the mark. So what has changed two years later that DDT is giving the match another go? For one, Ueno has finally grown into the confident ace the company has been looking for post Takeshita and Higuchi. Even though this is his third reign as champion, it’s really his second because of a fun detour that Kazuki Hirata sent everyone on last year. Once the title returned to Ueno he has looked the most comfortable he’s ever been when taking the reins and setting a long path towards the dream destination that is the Tokyo Dome. That’s one half of the problem sorted. Has the opponent matured just as much?

According to MAO he’s taking the steps towards deserving a KO-D Title run. He left The 37KAMIINA to form his own team turned unit Strange Love Connection. This was all so he could stand across the ring from Ueno and eventually catch up to him, raising their rivalry to the same level as Takeshita/Endo, Ibushi/Omega and even further back to HARASHIMA/KUDO. Ueno and MAO always like fighting each other, it’s just that their friendliness towards each other was one of the reasons why their previous Peter Pan main event didn’t land the way they thought it would.

MAO is the question mark I’m having trouble with because two years ago showed his wrestling style is not suited for the big arenas. Sure he has the crazy spirit I want from a DDT superstar but I don’t see him eagerly Moonsaulting off of a balcony like Ibushi did. MAO is at his best the smaller the room is. His antics go down a treat in Shinjuku FACE (I’m going to miss that place) and his appearances in Baka Gaijin + Friends are often my favorite part of those shows. He also likes to take out of the box chances as shown from his Universal Title run but that’s a role I can’t see being done with the KO-D Title, at least at this point in time. There is a way MAO can positively stand out as a KO-D Champion. That way is not by having a forced 30+ minute epic main event in Ryogoku. Should MAO win the title and leave Sumo Hall as champion, DDT will have to go in a completely different direction than where they’ve been heading with Ueno on top. Can that direction also take them to the Tokyo Dome or is it time to put that dream to rest after bringing it up so often for the last year or two? I hate to end this preview with that question but it’s the mystery that’s swirling around in my head.


DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026 PRESS CONFERENCE AND PRE-EVENT PARTY IN IKEBUKURO” Results

August 7, 2026

DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026 PRESS CONFERENCE & PRE-EVENT PARTY IN IKEBUKURO”, 07/08/2026
Tokyo Ikebukuro West Exit Park Global Ring Theater
??? Fans – Unannounced

1. Rukiya defeated Hinata Kasai with the Proto Bomb (10:06).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – DAMNATION T.A Vs NωA Jr.!: Shunma Katsumata & Yuni defeated Hideki Okatani & Ilusion when Yuni pinned Ilusion (c) with the Messiah DDT (7:42).
*Yuni becomes the 1,879th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Ilusion defeated Yuni (c) with a Title Belt Strike (2:57 pm).
*Ilusion becomes the 1,880th champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Masami Inahata defeated Ilusion (c) with an Argentine Backbreaker (5:10 pm).
*Masami Inahata becomes the 1,881st champion.
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Match: Takeshi Masada, Yuya Koroku & Daichi Sato defeated Kazuma Sumi, To-y & Masami Inahata when Masada pinned Inahata (c) with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (15:14).
*Takeshi Masada becomes the 1,882nd champion.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Yuki Ishida defeated Takeshi Masada (c) with an Ichizorigatame (7:10 pm).
*Yuki Ishida becomes the 1,883rd champion.

It is a couple of days before “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2026” and DDT went to Ikebukuro for an outdoor day of matches and contract signings. At first it looked like the matches held on the day would not have much circumstances to until the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title got dragged into things. First the title changed hands multiple times going from Ilusion to Yuni then back to Ilusion. He mocked the fans afterward for spending their free time on a Friday to be at this show and claimed to have hired 60 guards to protect him from losing the title before next week’s Sumo Hall show. However a brawl later broke out between a group of wrestlers all wanting to fight Ilusion. Masami Inahata put him in an Argentine Backbreaker to win the title but he would end up losing it in the main event to Takeshi Masada. After all of that, Yuki Ishida sneakily pinned Masada after the match to win the title and still have it by the night’s end.

Contract signings were held throughout the day for the big matches happening at Sumo Hall. MAO talked about getting to fight Yuki Ueno for the KO-D Openweight Title again. In the past DDT was defined by the HARASHIMA/KUDO era, the Kota Ibushi/Kenny Omega era and the Konosuke Takeshita/Tetsuya Endo era. Right now it’s just the Yuki Ueno era so by winning this match MAO gets to add his name next to Ueno and everyone will know which two wrestlers were leading this era of DDT. MAO also wants to be at his most dazzling for the match so he has changed his hair back to an old hairstyle and is confident he can unleash 200% of his pro wrestling because Ueno is his opponent. Ueno said he enjoyed the matches he’s had with MAO in the last month and it’s hard to put into words how much joy it’s given him. If MAO is that motivated to reach the level Ueno is at now it only motivates Ueno to beat him and climb even higher. It’s all so he can help bring DDT to the Tokyo Dome.

Konosuke Takeshita had taken time away from the G1 CLIMAX to appear at this event and hype up his match with Kaisei Takechi. According to Takechi, 99% of his fans are expecting Takeshita to win but he is going to put his whole life on the line for the 1% that believe he will win. Hearing that, Takeshita promised to put everything he’s learned in his 14 year career into his match against Takechi. He also ensures he will be at 100% and he isn’t feeling fatigue from fighting in the G1.

Perhaps there is a future in store for Kazuma Sumi and Ryusuke Taguchi as tag team partners after their DDT Universal Title match. Taguchi wanted to study his opponent in the lead up to the show and thankfully he discovered Wrestle Universe offers a week long free trial. He still hasn’t gotten around to using it yet but he encourages everyone go use the offer to watch Sumi use him as a stepping stone. Taguchi hasn’t found a tag partner for the upcoming Super Jr. Tag League so he suggests maybe Sumi can team up with him and get the same haircut so they can become The Buzz Cut Brothers. Sumi did subscribe to NJPW World so he could study Taguchi but he can’t grasp what his weaknesses are yet. He also doesn’t want to shave his head to a buzz cut again because he did it once before for a drama role and everyone around him at the time thought he did something wrong and got his head shaved to apologise for it. He will consider Taguchi’s idea to team up though. After they signed the contract Taguchi hit Sumi with a Hip Attack but Sumi got him back by giving him a Kancho butt poke.

The DDT Extreme Title match now has a stipulation and it is a dangerous one. Hideki Okatani believes simply having a Hardcore match with Shunma Katsumata again would be underwhelming so he decided they are going to have a Barbed Wire Death Match! Katsumata ran down the history of Hardcore matches he previously had with Okatani and said he feels incredibly happy to be such a special person in Okatani’s heart. He thinks he is the only who can motivate Okatani to bring out his real self and will beat the real Okatani to win the Extreme Title. Even though Okatani is the champion, he is treating this match like he is the challenger and he thinks the fans will see something amazing at Sumo Hall.

HARASHIMA announced he will become a PR ambassador to promote Ome City later this year. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise, the name Ome has been in FANTÔMES DRAMATIC all along!


DDT Around The World – July 2026

August 1, 2026

Summer vacation season can be different things to different people. For Kira Summer it is an opportunity for her to fly home to Australia, reunite with the family and also get into fights with some of them. For Konosuke Takeshita it is a chance for him to drop a championship before heading into the most gruelling of wrestling tournaments. The likes of Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Kamifuku and Mizuki are happy to wait until summer is over and the weather gets cooler before they go off on their next adventures. And by the time people start getting ready for Christmas we have Tokyo Joshi Pro setting up another tour of Texas for everyone to look forward to.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 08/07/2026
The BayCare Sound At Coachman Park, Clearwater, Florida, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Kyle Fletcher


ACW “HEART OF WAR”, 18/07/2026
Estonian Hall, North Adelaide, Australia

1. Sister Vs Sister: Kira Summer Vs Miki Fortune

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Results


AEW “DYNAMITE – BEACH BREAK”, 08/07/2026
The BayCare Sound At Coachman Park, Clearwater, Florida, USA

1. AEW International Title: Kyle Fletcher defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) with the Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! (16:45).
*Konosuke Takeshita fails in V4. Kyle Fletcher becomes the 14th AEW International Champion!

Takeshita had some business to attend to in AEW before he could get over to New Japan for his G1 tour. The bad blood he has with Kyle Fletcher had the two fighting over AEW International Title. Big bombs were thrown between the two of them leading to a fight on the ring apron where Takeshita gave Fletcher the Bastard Driver as well as the Wheelbarrow Suplex. However Fletcher cut off the PowerDrive Knee by giving Takeshita the Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Takeshita used a Last Ride to put Fletcher back in position for the PowerDrive Knee but Don Callis then grabbed Takeshita by the ankle at ringside to distract him. Fletcher’s cheap shot turned things around until Takeshita gave him the Raging Fire. Unfortunately he was too hurt to pin him immediately and the pause allowed Fletcher to recover enough to place his leg on the ropes for the pin break. Fletcher rolled out of a Backslide Pin to kick Takeshita right in his arm. He then did the Vertical Drop Brainbuster but Takeshita kicked out. So Fletcher had to lift him up to the top rope where he gave him the El Generico style Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle! That put Takeshita down for the count and made Fletcher the new champion.


ACW “HEART OF WAR”, 18/07/2026
Estonian Hall, North Adelaide, Australia

1. Sister Vs Sister: Kira Summer defeated Miki Fortune with an Inside Cradle (?:??).

Who could have guessed coming home would cause so much family drama? Kira Summer’s first match in Australia since joining TJPW put her in the ring against her own sister Miki Fortune at an Adelaide Championship Wrestling show. First Summer asked for a handshake before the match began but Fortune slapped her hand away. Then a hard Elbow Strike by Fortune from a tie-up sent the message to Summer that her sister wasn’t going to hold back against her. Fortune ended up losing her temper when Summer kicked out of a Draping Double Stomp over the corner. She argued with the referee over it and then pulled him into the way when Summer charged in for a Clothesline. With the ref knocked out, Fortune kept doing Double Stomps onto Summer until she realised nobody was around to count the pin. Drama continued to unfold when another member of the family, an unnamed sister of both Kira and Miki got to the front row yelling at Fortune to stop. Fortune slapped her and pulled her over the railing all while their mother was watching on too! Summer dived onto Fortune from the ring apron, made sure the other relatives were okay and brought Fortune back into the ring to continue the match. Fortune took Summer into a Dragon Sleeper but was kicked back into the ropes. On the rebound Summer rolled Fortune over with an Inside Cradle to get the victory.


PEAK PRO “PUNK FICTION”, 31/07/2026
Steam Jacket Brewing, Melbourne, Australia

1. From Japan, With Love: Tarlee Vs Kira Summer

I haven’t been able to get results for this match yet. At the end of the month Summer was brought into Peak Pro Wrestling as a special opponent for someone. Tarlee recently got engaged to LDeezy after beating him in a ladder match so as an engagement gift, Deezy got Tarlee a match against a joshi wrestler. He brought in Summer thinking it would be a first time matchup for Tarlee but didn’t know that the two of them had previously fought each other in Malaysia last year. It was a 4 Way Match that Tarlee won by pinning Summer so this was a chance for Summer to avenge that result.

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Upcoming Appearances


RIOT CITY “MEAN ST MAYHEM – FROM RIOT WITH LOVE”, 01/08/2026
Steam Jacket Brewing, Melbourne, Australia

1. Miki Fortune & Zak Sabbath Vs Kira Summer & Havok

Tell you what, if I can get the result for this match on the day I post this article I’ll move it up to the Results section. That will work out better than waiting a month to write about what might be the last match of Summer’s Australian tour. If it turns out she has more matches over there during August then never mind what I just wrote. Given what just happened between the sisters in ACW, having their next match in a company called Riot City Wrestling sounds a bit for fitting. Zak Sabbath and Havok both look like they would often get themselves involved in causing a ruckus too.


EVE “EVE X THE WORLD 2”, 28/08/2026
Big Penny Social, London, England

1. EVE International Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Kay Lee Ray

One of the gatekeepers of British women’s wrestling is waiting for Miyu Yamashita’s return to EVE this August. Kay Lee Ray and that bloody entrance song of hers is back on the indies after a long stay in WWE as Alba Fyre. She hasn’t wasted any time and quickly earned herself a shot at the EVE International Title that Yamashita currently holds.


KITSUNE “KAMIYU GOES HOLLYWOOD”, 30/08/2026
Xander Sports Complex, Carson, California, USA

1. Yuki Kamifuku Vs X

Later this summer Yuki Kamifuku’s retirement road is going to bring her back to the USA. Unfortunately it does not look like she will get to visit Ohio during this time but I doubt she’s going to complain about travelling to California either. Kitsune are bringing her in to the bright lights of Hollywood for what could be her last non-TJPW US date of her career. However it probably won’t be the last time she wrestles in America given what TJPW’s plans are for the end of the year.


SPW “OVERDRIVE”, 18/09/2026
Foo Chow Building, Singapore

1. Mizuki Vs X

Do you want to know the other wrestler that Singapore Pro Wrestling has booked alongside Mizuki for this show so far? Lio Rush in his current “Blackheart” gimmick. The match to make is right there, people!


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE II – HOUSTON PART 1”, 04/12/2026
Pasadena Rodeo Arena, Pasadena, Texas, USA

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE II – HOUSTON PART 2”, 05/12/2026
Pasadena Rodeo Arena, Pasadena, Texas, USA

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW TEXAS STAMPEDE II – DALLAS”, 06/12/2026
Forney ISD The OC, Forney, Texas, USA

The great state of Texas welcomes back TJPW this December with a new venue to boot. Are the girls up for a rodeo?


Video – Takeshita Vs Ueno From Wrestle Peter Pan 2023

July 10, 2026


DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2023”, 23/07/2023
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
3,465 Fans – No Vacancy

9. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Yuki Ueno


Video – Takeshita Vs Endo For The KO-D Title From “JUDGEMENT 2022”

July 3, 2026


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2022 ~DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 20/03/2022
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
2,516 Fans – No Vacancy

9. KO-D Openweight Title – Japan Bakery Marketing Presents: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Tetsuya Endo


DDT Around The World – June 2026

July 1, 2026

We’re in the middle of the World Cup so I’m very distracted right now. Konosuke Takeshita got into a big AEW gang war, Jun Akiyama took a trip to Germany, Miyu Yamashita won another championship in EVE and Daisuke Sasaki had an unsanctioned Hardcore match over in Thailand. Now as we go deeper into the summer there is not a lot happening on the horizon. Next month’s article might turn out to be a quick one.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 17/06/2026
Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land, Sugar Land, Texas, USA

1. MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo Vs Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita


CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero Vs Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/06/2026
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Ricochet


AEW/NJPW/CMLL/STARDOM “FORBIDDEN DOOR”, 28/06/2026
SAP Center At San Jose, San Jose, California, USA

1. Steel Cage Match: MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo Vs Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita

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Results


EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026
Big Penny Social, London, England

1. EVE International Title: Miyu Yamashita defeated Kris Statlander (c) with the Skull Kick (17:30).
*Kris Statlander fails in V4. Miyu Yamashita becomes the 12th EVE International Champion!

Yamashita is a champion in EVE again two and a half years after her dominating run as EVE Champion. Now she holds the EVE International Title with a hard fought victory over AEW’s own Kris Statlander. She kicked out of the 450 Splash and rolled through a Chaos Theory to hit Statlander from behind with the Crash Rabbit Heat. Statlander blocked the Skull Kick and did a Package Piledriver for a nearfall leading to a scramble to get the upper hand. Statlander spun around for a Rolling Elbow only to be met with the Skull Kick knocking her down so Yamashita could pin her to win the title.


WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026
Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama defeated 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire when Akiyama pinned Shire with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex (23:03).

The German promotion wXw welcomed Jun Akiyama into their corner of the world to pair him up with one of their top wrestlers to take on a tag team of American cowboys. Ahura took a big beating from Cowboy Way for a lot of the match both inside and out of the ring. But once Akiyama was tagged in he became a house on fire and dished it out to 1 Called Manders as much as he could. Thomas Shire came to his partner’s aid to use the numbers game against Akiyama but Ahura tagged back in after gaining his second wind. Manders turned him inside out with a Lariat but Ahura kicked out much to his opponent’s dismay. Ahura then ducked Mander’s second Lariat, causing Shire to get clobbered by accident. Akiyama ran in to throw Manders away with the Exploder then tagged himself in to give Shire the Wrist-Clutch version of his finisher. He got the three count while Ahura did a spinning Springboard dive out of the ring onto Manders for the finish.


ROH/CMLL “GLOBAL WARS CINCINNATI”, 10/06/2026 (Aired 18/06/2026)
The Andrew J Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Lee Johnson with the Powerdrive Knee (9:30).
*V2 for Konosuke Takeshita.

Takeshita got to fit in a couple of title defences this month including an extra one for the AEW International Title. He put the belt on the line against Lee Johnson in ROH as part of their Global Wars weekend. Johnson put up a decent fight but there was no risk of Takeshita losing here. The Blue Thunder Bomb led to the Powerdrive Knee and that was it. Takeshita had a bigger challenge for this championship coming up later in the month.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 17/06/2026
Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land, Sugar Land, Texas, USA

1. MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo defeated Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita when MJF submitted Strong with the Salt Of The Earth (17:21).

The rest of the month had Takeshita getting dragged into a big gang war between The Conglomeration and The Don Callis Family with Mark Briscoe and MJF leading the packs against each other. Not much to talk about when it came to his role in the preview match. His team lost and he was part of the post-match beatdown as well.


CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero defeated Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero when Takeshita pinned Ultimo with the Raging Fire (12:29).

Takeshita then travelled to Mexico to wrestle in CMLL again but he had to team up with Hechicero. The two aren’t meant to be seeing eye to eye because of Takeshita’s exit from the Callis Family but they tried to put aside their differences in order to beat Los Guerreros. The team started to fall apart near the end when Takeshita or Hechicero would duck attacks from Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero only for their partner to get hit with the move by accident. It reached the point where Takeshita got fed up and knocked Hechicero away so he could beat Ultimo Guerrero and take the win for himself. Hechicero then attacked Takeshita after the match.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 24/06/2026
Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Ricochet with the Raging Fire (13:47).
*V3 for Konosuke Takeshita.

Takeshita had some time to clear his head and deal with other things before the big PPV match at the end of the month. He put up another AEW International Title defence this time taking on Ricochet in a clash between power and agility. A big spot that happened during the match was when Ricochet jumped off the ring apron Shooting Star Press style only for Takeshita to catch him and then do an Exploder Suplex onto the floor! Ricochet made a comeback in the ring and hit Takeshita with his own Powerdrive Knee, even pulling down his kneepad so he could hit the move raw. The Shooting Star Press couldn’t put Takeshita away so he pulled the referee into Takeshita’s way to cheap shot the champion with a headbutt. However Takeshita still kicked out of the Ricosault afterward and met an incoming Spear Gun with a Lariat that turned Ricochet inside out. He then defeated Ricochet by giving him the Powerdrive Knee followed by the Raging Fire.


SETUP “HELLRAISER”, 27/06/2026
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hardcore Unsanctioned Anything Goes Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Jonathan Johnson with the Chair-Assisted Diving Elbow from the Ladder (?:??).

Chaos followed Daisuke Sasaki over to Thailand where he fought Jonathan Johnson in a Hardcore Match that was unsanctioned by SETUP. The two brawled all over the venue and that included going up to a balcony where Sasaki Super Kicked Johnson back down to the ground floor onto a group of people below! Chairs and a ladder were then brought into the ring. Johnson had a sudden burst of adrenaline and kept fighting despite being Suplexed by Sasaki from the top of the ladder. However Sasaki still got the upper hand and went right back up the top of the ladder with a chair in hand. From there he jumped right off to land a Super Diving Elbow with the chair onto Johnson. There was no way Johnson was kicking out of that and he didn’t.


AEW/NJPW/CMLL/STARDOM “FORBIDDEN DOOR”, 28/06/2026
SAP Center At San Jose, San Jose, California, USA

1. Steel Cage Match: Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Darby Allin & Konosuke Takeshita defeated MJF, Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Andrade El Ídolo when Briscoe pinned Doyle with the Jay Driller (31:45).

A big circle shaped cage surrounded the ring for Takeshita’s last match of the month. He was now in a 12-Man Steel Cage war between Team Briscoe and Team MJF. With all of the violence and explosions going on around him, Takeshita lightened the situation a little bit when he reached into Orange Cassidy’s backpack and only pulled out his middle finger to flip off Kazuchika Okada. He later got some measure of revenge on Kyle Fletcher for last month’s turn by giving him the Blue Thunder Bomb from the ring apron through a table.

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Upcoming Appearances


ACW “HEART OF WAR”, 18/07/2026
Estonian Hall, North Adelaide, Australia

1. Kira Summer Vs X

This July Kira Summer will be travelling back to her home country of Australia and she is planning to wrestle a few matches there too. So far I’ve only been able to see one show she’s been advertised for and it is Adelaide Championship Wrestling in… er… Adelaide.

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Other Appearances


KITSUNE “STAY WITH ME!”, 26/07/2026
Xander Sports Complex, Carson, California, USA

Ok this might be an interesting turn of events to keep in the back of your mind. Apparently Sayuri Namba will be moving back to Japan soon and her final ring announcing gig in North America will be with Kitsune at the end of the month. Now I’m not expecting her to go back to her old ring announcer job with TJPW since Rise Shirai is still there doing fine work in that role. But maybe she might start popping up somewhere familiar every once in a while during the latter half of 2026.


DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION PART 2” Results

June 8, 2026

DDT/NJPW “ONE-ON-ONE CONFRONTATION PART 2 ~SASADANGO-GUN VS YANO-GUN 5-ON-5 ELIMINATION TAG BATTLE~”, 08/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Special Exhibition Match: Hinata Kasai Vs Tatsuya Matsumoto ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).
0a. Overtime: Tatsuya Matsumoto defeated Hinata Kasai with a Crab Hold (3:32).
1. Fluorescent Lighttube IPPON Hell: MAO & Akito defeated El Desperado & KUSHIDA by IPPON when Desperado broke the Lighttube (8:46).
2. Blindfold Butt-Finding Hell: YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated MAO & Akito when MAO & Akito had their bare butts exposed (6:51).
3. Give UP A Hellish Situation Where Only Submission Is Possible: Kazuki Hirata & Antonio Honda Vs YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi ended in a Draw when they all submitted to Milano Collection A.T.’s Paradise Lock (11:08).
4. If Your Junior Laughs, You Lose! A Junior Role Model Death Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Super Sasadango Machine by Submission with the GTR (8:50).
5. Danshoku Dieno Vs Hirooki Goto ended in a No Contest (7:55).
6. Weapon Rumble Hell: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Toru Yano ended in a No Contest when the match gets cancelled (23:31).
7. Special Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Toru Yano & Super Sasadango Machine when TAKESHITA pinned Sasadango with the Raging Fire (2:01).
8. Special Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, YOH, Masatora Yasuda, Tatsuya Matsumoto, Taisei Nakahara, Super Sasadango Machine, Danshoku Dieno, MAO, KANON, Kazuki Hirata, Akito, Antonio Honda & Hinata Kasai defeated Sanshiro Takagi when TAKESHITA pinned Takagi with a Stunner (1:38).

One year ago a rivalry between Super Sasadango Machine and Toru Yano brought DDT and New Japan together, mending a decade long broken relationship in the process. The event was such a success that both parties agreed to do it again, this time under more friendlier circumstances. With a hot summer of sport about to begin, an agreement was made by both sides to provide the best sportsmanship and keep things fair throughout the day. But as the show hit its stride, the trust between DDT and NJPW would be taken advantage of by some for the sake of getting the competitive advantage.

For an inter-promotional show such as this it was necessary that everything would be presented 50/50. It aired as a PPV on both NJPW World and Wrestle Universe with each streaming service providing their own full scale broadcast on separate screens side-by-side. That meant separate commentary teams with their own special guests, separate ring announcers, alternating referees, etc. Korakuen Hall even tried to split itself in half with the green DDT side having a security fence installed while the red NJPW side was barrier free. The NJPW World commentators were Yohei Onishi, Milano Collection A.T. and special guest Hiroshi Tanahashi. The Wrestle Universe commentators were Haruo Murata, Ken Suzuki.txt and special guest Yuki Ueno. Murata wants to be neutral because he works with both companies but his interactions with Daisuke Sasaki during the Best Of The Super Jr. meant he was DDT through and through no matter what he says.

A signing ceremony was planned to take place but first Yano had an announcement to make regarding his team. Tomoaki Honma was unable to appear at the show today because of illness so a substitute was called in at the last minute. His replacement is KUSHIDA! With that news out of the way, Sasadango and Yano signed the contract and started to hype up the fans to chant for their favorite side.

The chants turned into a cheering contest with Yano ordering Tatsuya Matsumoto to encourage even louder chants for New Japan. Hinata Kasai tried to do the same with the DDT fans, leading the two young wrestlers to get in each other’s way and then begin arguing. The arguing turned into a staredown and the staredown was going to turn into a fight!

All of a sudden a three minute long wrestling exhibition broke out between Matsumoto and Kasai. The two fought back and forth until the time expired but both kept trying to fight so they were allowed another five minutes to settle their differences. Kasai locked in an STF but Matsumoto broke free and got a nearfall with a Body Slam. As the match hit the 3 minute mark, Matsumoto put Kasai in a Crab Hold and got him to give up.

Everything was now calm again after that fired up display so it was time for the show to begin proper. DDT and New Japan would face each other in a gauntlet of singles matches with mystery lineups made out of five participants on each team. However a match could be turned into a tag team bout if both sides agree to the change beforehand. Sasadango and Yano together gave an oath promising to uphold good sportsmanship in every match… but it was all a trick! A video played on the two screens showing an unmasked Sasadango dressed up as the famous fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki. Here, “Kazuko Sasaki” informed Yano that DDT had just invited NJPW into taking part in a special tour… The DDT Hell Tour!

Sasadango admits he was foolish to think his team could beat New Japan in five regular pro wrestling matches so he hatched a plan. The DDT GM Hisaya Imabayashi then showed Yano the contract he signed included an extra sentence written in English that was not included in the Japanese print. “All match rules must be accepted as decided by DDT.” Yano was tricked into letting DDT decide the rules for every match tonight!

DDT used the surprise to their immediate advantage by making the first match an IPPON Lighttube Tag Death Match! In this match there is only one lighttube and the loser is the person whose body breaks it. DDT sent the master of the match Akito out there to team with MAO while NJPW were represented by KUSHIDA & El Desperado. The sudden rule change made things more dangerous for KUSHIDA because lately he likes to wrestle barefoot. Akito made fun of that by shoving a sock into KUSHIDA’s mouth near the end of the match. However as everyone fought over the lighttube or tried to avoid touching it, MAO and Desperado formed their own alliance because of their friendship and agreed to break the lighttube together. They both climbed up the same turnbuckle, counted down together and… only Desperado went ahead with the trust fall. He smashed landed on the lighttube while MAO remained on the turnbuckles to celebrate winning the match. Desperado was so furious over the betrayal he abducted Viento Maligno at ringside and threatened to harm him with the remains of the broken lighttube unless MAO apologizes.

Akito & MAO remained in the ring to take part in the second match. This one showed everybody how DDT’s plan could backfire on them in a spectacular manner. It was a Blindfold Butt-Finding Hell Match where every wrestler had to fight blindfolded in their underwear and the first one to have their backside exposed would lose. NJPW sent out the two wrestlers that were guaranteed to thrive under such a ruleset, YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi! Both men walked out wearing an extra pair of underwear over their heads along with slingkinis and stockings. Keep in mind this show is taking place exactly one day after YOH won BOSJ! The blindness led to Akito & MAO almost fighting each other until they recognized each other by their body shape. The two of them as well as YOH all ended up wandering outside the ring while back inside Taguchi was trying to do Hip Attacks into thin air. When everyone got back into the ring MAO slid up from underneath Taguchi only to bump into YOH and accidentally Lip Lock him. The four wrestlers then formed a chain by all reaching out to the person in front of them to grab their tights. The NJPW team won the duel and exposed the DDT wrestlers’ butts to win the match. According to MAO, the lesson he learned from this match is everybody from Miyagi is weird. YOH proved it later by telling reporters backstage that the experience he went through today feels so good.

Match #3 had DDT send out reinforcements in the form of Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata because the only way to win the match was to make your opponents give up. The DDT team jumped YOH & Taguchi but the NJPW duo would taunt them on the microphone whenever they were asked to give up. Honda told Hirata to put them in the Paradise Lock but Hirata confessed he does not know how to do the move. Honda went outside to bring Milano Collection A.T. into the ring so they could learn it from him. But Honda tripped over the ropes on the way back in. He had injured himself and decided it was time to give up but first he needed to tell his latest Gongitsune joke. It turned into an attack that led to everyone brawling. As the dust settled, only Milano was left standing. He noticed a pair of Hirata GO! glasses had fallen onto the canvas so he put them on and “Tokyo GO!” began to play. He tried to ignore it until he couldn’t help but dance to the music belonging to an old foe. As this was happening, Honda and Taguchi were doing Gongitsune attacks and they both wound up pinching Milano by the nipples. Milano’s response was to put the both of them in Paradise Locks and then continue dancing on top of them. Both Honda and Taguchi gave up at the same time, causing the match to end in a tie.

The series was reaching its halfway point so Sasadango decided now was a good time to do a PowerPoint Presentation… From Hell! He explained to the audience that the ideal way of doing inter-promotional matches is to help develop the next generation. His presentation was suddenly interrupted when his laptop decided to reset itself for updates. While the fans started chanting for the laptop to restart, Sasadango handed his microphone to Hiroshi Tanahashi and asked him to talk for a bit. Tanahashi spoke about the repaired relationship between New Japan and DDT, entirely crediting himself for making it happen. Sasadango then gave up on the laptop and tried to continue his presentation without PowerPoint. He and Yano then broke out into an argument until they noticed Rukiya and Tatsuya Matsumoto both laughing at them nearby. Sasadango and Yano agreed they need to set a good example to their juniors or they would lose their respect. So for the next match the wrestlers involved would lose if their junior laughs at them!

Sasadango would step into the ring to finally be part of the action but his opponent was Hirooki Goto! Rukiya and Matsumoto were made to sit down near the ring with instructions to fill their mouths with water. Every time one of them laughed and spat the water out, their respective wrestler would lose a point. The first to lose three points would lose the match. Both of them laughed at the same time when Goto accidentally unmasked Sasadango during a Headlock off of the ropes. Rukiya then laughed a second time when Sasadango took a Lariat, apologized to Goto and then retreated from the ring. When Sasadango returned, he all of a sudden looked like a completely different person with a ripped physique. Goto was able to unmask him, revealing it was KANON under the mask. That made Matsumoto laugh. The real Sasadango returned to launch a sneak attack on Goto but that failed. He then challenged Goto to a sumo match and encouraged the fans to chant “Edmond” at Goto (because he plays E. Honda in the upcoming Street Fighter movie). Sasadango tricked Goto into taking a Dropkick but Goto got back up and grabbed his opponent. Just when Goto was in position to do the GTR, Sasadango instantly gave up so he wouldn’t take the move. Rukiya laughed at this, taking away Sasadango’s last point. Goto gave him th GTR anyway and pinned him for the three count so he ended up having three different ways to claim victory for the match.

Sasadango was beaten but DDT was not. He still had one more card to play. For many weeks leading up to this show, Sasadango has been trying to recruit one wrestler more than any other but his advances were rejected every time. Well it turns out this person finally agreed to show up because Danshoku Dieno made a big entrance to have a match with Goto! It didn’t take long for the match to get out of hand because the referees Yumehito Imanari, Marty Asami and Daisuke Kiso were all knocked out with Lip Locks that were intended for Goto. Akito ran into the ring to help put Dieno into the Hell Gate position over the top turnbuckle. Chaos then broke out with many wrestlers from both teams all running down to the ring to fight each other and then get their heads shoved into Dieno’s backside. Everything was so out of control that the match had to be called off.

By this point the DDT had run out of all of their players while the NJPW team still had only Toru Yano remaining. Yano thought this meant the series was over and his team had won without him even having to do anything. However Sasadango had one more trick up his sleeve. As much as he works hard for DDT, he does not have a contract with them and in fact wrestles as a freelancer. He is not really a DDT wrestler so that means the result of his match against Goto does not count towards the contest! Yano was furious over the revelation and demanded whoever is in charge of DDT to come out and face him. Sanshiro Takagi did just that and introduced himself to Yano as the supreme commander of DDT. For one more twist of the knife, Takagi and Yano would now face off in a Weapon Rumble!

The rules are a new weapon would be brought down to the ring Royal Rumble style and each weapon was decided upon by either DDT or New Japan. Yano complained that his team didn’t prepare any weapons but Sasadango revealed that he surveyed YOH about it beforehand and was able to get the weapons he suggested. The weapons included a blonde wig, a fire extinguisher, a “Yano Set” of a chair and sake, Mecha Mummy armed with the Mecha Drill, Daisuke Sasaki drinking tequila and El Desperado drinking tequila. The big surprise of all came when Takagi brought out his greatest weapon, Konosuke Takeshita! He had travelled to Japan just to be at this show and he attacked Yano on Takagi’s behalf. But just as Takeshita was about to give Yano the Raging Fire, the countdown for Yano’s next weapon fell to zero and it was revealed to be… Konosuke Takeshita?!? He played along with the rules and switched to attacking Takagi until Takagi started protesting. He said Takeshita belongs to DDT while Yano argued he also belongs to New Japan. Sasadango then stepped into the ring with Tanahashi as everyone agreed this was an issue that needed to be sorted out immediately.

Sasadango pointed out to Takeshita that this is the drawback to having contracts with three different wrestling companies. Two of them are here today so he needed to make a choice between them. Takagi spoke about Takeshita contacting him at 15 years old asking to become a pro wrestler because he was so confident he could reach to the top. Takagi always believes Takeshita will come back to DDT even when he is winning championships in AEW and New Japan. Tanahashi reminded Takeshita of the singles match they had in Sumo Hall back in 2014. He could feel Takeshita’s potential all the way back then and he still has high expectations for him going forward.

Sasadango handed Takeshita a “Final Rose” for him to give to the person he wants to be with (exactly like what Yuma Anzai experienced in Japan’s version of The Bachelorette recently). Takeshita said when he watched NJPW as a kid it gave him dreams and DDT made those dreams come true. He belongs to both companies solely out of gratitude with a desire to repay their kindness. He told Tanahashi he will do his best to protect NJPW from now on. He also made a promise to Takagi he will work hard to help him bring DDT to the Tokyo Dome!

Takeshita was about to hand the Final Rose to both Tanahashi and Takagi when Yano angrily cut him off. Yano complained he cannot choose both and Sasadango agreed that nobody would be satisfied with this ending. Sasadango then said if DDT carelessly goes into the Tokyo Dome and fails miserably then DDT will be finished and everyone will be left out on the streets! All of a sudden Yano & Sasadango now wanted to fight Takeshita in a Handicap match. It didn’t take long for Takeshita to dispatch both of them before pinning Sasadango with the Raging Fire.

After the impromptu match, Takeshita felt it was time he explained himself. He couldn’t find the way to properly convey his feelings up to this point so he got Muscle Sakai to help him out by creating a PowerPoint Presentation for him. It is titled “Why I Belong To Three Pro Wrestling Organizations” He introduced himself as a 31 year old wrestler currently living in Orlando with two special skills: working out and pro wrestling. He won the KO-D Openweight Title in DDT at a young age and still holds the record for most title defences. In New Japan he won the G1 Climax and then held the IWGP World Heavyweight Title. Recently in AEW he defeated Kazuchika Okada (the crowd popped at the mention of this) to become the new AEW International Champion. He is confident he is one of the busiest wrestlers in the world.

He gets all sorts of requests from the companies he works for. NJPW wants him on more domestic tours, DDT wants him to bring them to the Tokyo Dome and AEW doesn’t want any other company taking him away from them. The reason he is signed to all three companies is a simple one. He wants to share his world of pro wrestling to more people. He felt left out when he was not a part of last year’s DDT Vs New Japan show and it is one of his biggest regrets because he belongs to both companies. An all star show like this is supposed to be the most entertaining showdown but there are many ways for people to entertain themselves these days. Takeshita has other hobbies to keep himself occupied but pro wrestling will always be the most interesting.

So Takeshita has come up with three ideas that will prove his point. The first idea is he wants to hold the world’s largest pro wrestling league consisting of 365 wrestlers all fighting each other in a gigantic year long round robin tournament! He watches so much wrestling in his off time that he is subscribed to all of the different streaming services. That means he’s been able to carefully select a list of 365 wrestlers from all over the world he wants to compete and has also created a tentative schedule of matches to be held across Japan so there will be tournament events every single day from the opening bouts on 1st January all the way to the final night on 31st December! He understands the schedule might be difficult to pull off which is why he thinks the league should only be held once every four years likes the Olympics.

 

Takeshita’s second idea is to revise pro wrestling’s rules so they are more in line to modern times. He recognizes that violence doesn’t solve anything and disputes can be resolved through discussion. A suggestion he has is to introduce AI judging and a scoring system based on technical points, artistic points, and compositional skills. His example of a scoring system that works is the annual M-1 Grand Prix comedy show that is always a huge hit at the end of the year. His third idea is to ultimately unify the world of pro wrestling. Today the polar opposites that are New Japan and DDT fought each other in exciting ways because of their completely different styles. If doing this with two companies is exciting then imagine adding countless more into the mix. In order to achieve that goal, Takeshita believes he must first become the world’s No. 1 pro wrestler! He asked for everyone’s support so they can all create the perfect world where pro wrestling is the best.

The presentation touched the hearts of everyone who listened… Well, almost everyone. Takagi was still in a fired up competitive mood and wasn’t going to stand there letting the action go to waste. He tried to rally the other wrestlers around him but everyone went over to the other side of the ring and all stared him down. It was time for the final match where Takagi had to fight everyone else all by himself! He got pummeled by everyone one after the other until Takeshita finished him off with a Stunner.

The show was now reaching its end and a few wrestlers wanted to give their final words. Sasadango asked all of the NJPW fans watching to continue supporting Takeshita. That request goes to the wrestlers in Hontai too. Yano announced that Takeshita was the winner of today’s series and Takagi told him to liven up the wrestling world even more. Tanahashi then led everyone to say the same catchphrase that was used to end last year’s show: “3, 2, 1, Love Muscle! Muscle!”

Wait, wait, wait, hang on. There’s one more thing. After everyone left the ring, Sasadango and Akito both suddenly remembered something and ran out of the room. They rushed through a hallway to find a closed out locker room featuring the final secret weapon that they completely forgot to use during the show. They opened up the door and there inside was the furious NOAH wrestler Kenoh! He demanded to know where Toru Yano was while Sasadango & Akito both desperately apologized to him. It turns out that even though DDT is the last place Kenoh ever wants to be, he has been trying to pick a fight with Yano for ages and agreed to be part of Sasadango’s plan if it meant he could finally get his hands on Yano. That didn’t happen so Kenoh stormed out of Korakuen Hall and went down to the NJPW store in near Suidobashi in search of Yano. The shop was closed and Yano was nowhere to be found so Kenoh decided to start a livestream on his YouTube channel and complain about the whole thing.


DDT Around The World – May 2026

June 1, 2026

It happened. It’s now done. AEW finally made it to Konosuke Takeshita’s match with Kazuchika Okada and got Takeshita out of The Don Callis Family. At last we can move on with our lives and wait to see if Takeshita’s babyface turn will turn out to be more than just a lateral move. His wife Yuka Sakazaki got some more screentime on ROH this month including a PPV main event. MAO & Yoshihiko brought Kazuma Sumi along on their latest adventure in France, giving Sumi some invaluable overseas experience away from DDT. Chris Brookes gave Munetatsu Nakamura a similar opportunity with a wild weekend over in Manila. Will the summer provide even more wrestling to follow around the globe or can we all take a break for the World Cup? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s being ruined by American corporate greed and so on but Blue Lock seems to be timing their latest story arc to climax by the time the final takes place so that gives me something to look forward to after Ireland failed to qualify. Also getting to watch South Korea Vs Czech Republic at 3am is the kind of football sicko behavior that’s been missing in my life for a while.

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Videos

Konosuke Takeshita In AEW Playlist


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/05/2026
Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

1. AEW World Title: Darby Allin (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita


ROH “SUPERCARD SHOWDOWN”, 14/05/2026
SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

1. Athena, Billie Starkz & Marina Shafir Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Maya World, Lacey Lane


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026
Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA

1. AEW International Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita


Kyle Fletcher BETRAYS Konosuke Takeshita! | AEW Double or Nothing 2026


AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026
Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) Vs Daniel Garcia

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Results


ROH “SUPERCARD SHOWDOWN”, 09/05/2026 (Aired 14/05/2026)
SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

1. Athena, Billie Starkz & Marina Shafir defeated Yuka Sakazaki, Maya World, Lacey Lane when Athena pinned Lane after the Swanton Bomb from Starkz

So Ring Of Honor taped a few matches at the same indoor golf course AEW was at last month and they didn’t let Yuka Sakazaki loose around the place? That was a missed opportunity. Instead her warmup match for Survival Of The Fittest also involved some of the other participants Athena, Billie Starkz and Maya World. However a lot of Sakazaki’s time in this match was spent wrestling with Marina Shafir and also building up the hot tag to Lacey Lane. She also hit a big dive out of the ring onto Shafir and World but that left Lane fighting on her own. Starkz gave Lane the Swanton Bomb but not before Athena blind tagged herself in so she could get the pinfall and take the glory for herself.


AEW “DYNAMITE”, 13/05/2026
Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA

1. AEW World Title: Darby Allin (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Coffin Drop (15:29).
*V5 for Darby Allin.

Even though Takeshita’s match with Okada was already on the schedule, he was given a big detour a few weeks before the show by getting an AEW World Title shot. It was the latest defence in Darby Allin’s eventful title run where he crammed in many title defences into one month. Takeshita couldn’t get the job done fast enough so El Clon ran down to distract the ref while Don Callis handed Takeshita the Dynamite Diamond Ring to use as a weapon. Takeshita refused to use it and threw it away. Too bad moral victories don’t win you championships because Allin made his comeback after that which included a Coffin Drop to the outside and also the Scorpion Death Drop on top of the steel steps. He hit another Coffin Drop outside the ring but Takeshita wouldn’t be beaten that way. He tried to make a comeback of his own but Allin cut it off with the Scorpion Death Lock, keeping Takeshita down long enough to land one more Coffin Drop for the win.


ROH “SUPERCARD OF HONOR”, 15/05/2026
Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland, USA

1. ROH Women’s World Title – Survival Of The Fittest Match: Athena (c) defeated Maya World, Trish Adora, Zada Steel, Yuka Sakazaki and Billie Starkz (26:12).
1a. Athena eliminated Zayda Steel with a Rope-Assisted School Boy (5:01).
1b. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round (15:39).
1c. Billie Starkz eliminated Yuka Sakazaki with the Avalanche Star 10 (17:27).
1d. Maya World eliminated Billie Starkz with a Jackknife Pin (21:47).
1e. Athena eliminated Maya World with the O-Face from the Ladder (26:12).
*V36 for Athena.

This turned out to be a mess of a match. It turned into a Hardcore Match midway through because of the whole “No DQs In In X Way Match” booking cliche so Sakazaki got to do an American style plunder match for once. She also scored an elimination by pinning Trish Adora with the Magical Merry-Go-Round. Her time in the match came to an end a few minutes later when some high risk fighting ended with Sakazaki taking Starkz’s finisher from the top rope.


BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “MNL”, 23/05/2026
Sari Sari Makati, Makati, Philippines
??? Fans

1. Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes defeated Hotdog De San Jose & Super P when Sabre submitted San Jose with a Manjigatame (?:??).
2. Main Ronn, Joya & Robienne Sane defeated Demonyitang Daniella Cavite, Crystal & Max Liwanag when Joya pinned Cavite with the Cutter (?:??).
3. Emman & “Mad Kat” Karina defeated Trainee Kenzo & Trainee Kiko when Emman pinned Kiko with the Styles Clash (?:??).
4. Jonathan Johnson defeated Munetatsu Nakamura with a Bridging Pin (?:??).
5. Jake De Leon & Shivam defeated Black Kat & Lifeguard Jack when De Leon pinned Black Kat with the Jumping Super Kick (?:??).

A report of the show can be found here.


GCW/BZW “NOW OR NEVER”, 23/05/2026
Espace Isabelle de Hainaut, Rue de Saint-Quentin, Bapaume, France

1. BZW Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Tag Match: MBM & Ultima Sombra defeated MAO & Yoshihiko (c) and Jimmy Lloyd & Jeffrey John when MBM pinned Yoshihiko with the Reincarnation Reversal (15:27).
*MAO & Yoshihiko fail in V8. Rivality become the 7th BZW Tag Team Champions!
2. DDT Universal Title – 3 Way Match: Kazuma Sumi (c) defeated Gringo Loco and Leedz Lewis when Sumi pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash (14:22).
*V2 for Kazuma Sumi.

Kazuma Sumi’s goal of defending the DDT Universal Title overseas finally came to pass this month. MAO got him booked for the BZW collab show with GCW in France. His match wasn’t an easy task at all because he had to fight the former Universal Champion Gringo Loco as well as French wrestler Leedz Lewis in a 3 Way bout where he could lose the title without being pinned. Sumi made the most of his moment and pinned Lewis with the Reverse 450 Splash to keep the belt and impress the fans in attendance. He said afterward that he now has a great sense of accomplishment because he can go do his style of wrestling anywhere in the world. He is eager to compete overseas again and spread his name around the planet.

The same success wasn’t there for MAO & Yoshihiko. Their year and a half long reign as BZW Tag Team Champions finally came to an end in a 3 Way Tag against a BZW team and a GCW team. Everybody brawled out of the venue and Yoshihiko did a dive off of a truck to put Jimmy Lloyd through a table. Rivality brought the belts back to their home promotion in the end when MBM found a counter to Yoshihiko’s finishing move, reversing the pin into one of his own for the three count. MAO feels happy that he got to wreak havoc in four different countries while holding the belts with Yoshihiko. His next goal in BZW is to win a singles championship so then some day DDT can hold a show in Europe!


DXCN “DAKILA II”, 24/05/2026
Brawl Pit Bulusan, Quezon City, Philippines

1. 4 Way Match: Robin Sane defeated Jonathan Johnson, Shaheen and Munetatsu Nakamura (?:??).
2. Dexcon World Title: Jake De Leon (c) defeated Chris Brookes (?:??).
*V5 for Jake De Leon.

Another packed weekend in the Philippines is in the books for Brookes. He wasn’t able to come back to Japan with another championship because Jake De Leon was able to defend his Dexcon World Title against him. Munetatsu Nakamura was also part of the Dexcon weekend, taking part in a high flying 4 Way Match where Robin Sane picked up the win over Shaheen.


AEW “DOUBLE OR NOTHING”, 24/05/2026
Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) with the Raging Fire (19:01).
*Kazuchika Okada fails in V10. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 13th AEW International Champion!

Being at the show live I can tell you the building was very excited to see Okada Vs Takeshita happen with the match graphic on the pre-show getting one of the largest pops out of the lineup. The match was fantastic even with the Don Callis drama at ringside happening midway through. Callis tried to play neutral by telling Okada not to risk injuring Takeshita. While Okada reluctantly followed that instruction, Takeshita did not do the same when Callis gave him the same order. It still took a lot for Takeshita to finally beat Okada, countering the Rainmaker with his own Lariat and then hitting a big Elbow Strike when the Wagamama only got a one count. But when he finally used the Raging Fire there was no fight left in Okada to kick out and Takeshita became the new AEW International Champion! The sweet taste of victory was quickly spoiled when The Don Callis Family all looked to turn on Takeshita after the match. Kyle Fletcher made his big return from injury to hug Takeshita only to turn on him with a backstabbing attack, confirming that our guy is now kicked out of the Family.


AEW “COLLISION”, 30/05/2026
Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

1. AEW International Title: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Daniel Garcia with the Raging Fire (14:27).
*V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.

Takeshita had to get over the heartbreak of ProtoShita being split up by having his first International Title defence against Daniel Garcia. A wrestler like Garcia has some tricks up his sleeve, like countering Takeshita’s top rope Clothesline into an Arm Drag to the canvas where he then applied the Sharpshooter. Takeshita blocked a rolling cradle that would have set up another submission hold, turning it over to a German Suplex. The big Elbow Strike after that set up the Raging Fire and Takeshita got his first defence in the bag, all while Jon Moxley was watching on from the commentary table. Members of The Don Callis Family ran into the ring to attack Takeshita after the match while outside the ring the Death Riders and Shane Taylor Promotions all suddenly appeared to brawl with each other. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, The Conglomeration entered the fight and cleared the room so it was only them and Takeshita left in the ring. So we end the month with Takeshita finding a new bunch of friends (or an old friend in Mike Bailey’s case).

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Upcoming Appearances


EVE “EVE 150: HISTORY MAKERS RULE BREAKERS!”, 05/06/2026
Big Penny Social, London, England

1. EVE International Title: Kris Statlander (c) Vs Miyu Yamashita

Right, let’s get things out of the way before the World Cup starts. Miyu Yamashita returns to EVE very soon hoping to win gold there again, this time fighting Kris Statlander from AEW for the EVE International Title. As much as I would love to see a result here that follows up from Yamashita’s match with Jamie Hayter last time around, I’m not sure if that’s something EVE is planning for.


WXW “DRIVE OF CHAMPIONS 2026”, 06/06/2026
Turbinenhalle 1, Oberhausen, Germany

1. Ahura & Jun Akiyama Vs 1 Called Manders & Thomas Shire

Germany welcomes Jun Akiyama for the weekend where he will meet Ahura to team up against Cowboy Way.


CMLL “FANTASTICA MANIA 2026”, 19/06/2026
Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

1. Konosuke Takeshita Vs X

It is CMLL’s turn to host “FANTASTICA MANIA” and Konosuke Takeshita will be there on behalf of New Japan.


SETUP “HELLRAISER”, 27/06/2026
The Circus Studio, G Village, Bangkok, Thailand

1. Hardcore Unsanctioned Anything Goes Match: Daisuke Sasaki Vs Jonathan Johnson

The travelling is not ending yet for Daisuke Sasaki. A few weeks after he is done with Best Of The Super Jr. he will be going over to Thailand for a SETUP show. Jonathan Johnson threw out a challenge recently to prove he is one of the best wrestlers in his corner of the world. Sasaki answered his challenge and wants it to be unsanctioned so anything goes!


DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 13 ~MY SPIRIT GUARDS MY LORD IN THE EAST~” Results

May 17, 2026

DDT “DRAMATIC DREAMS! VOL. 13 ~MY SPIRIT GUARDS MY LORD IN THE EAST~”, 17/05/2026
Osaka City Sumiyoshi Community Center
??? Fans – Unannounced

0. Special Dark Match ~ Young Warrior Wrestling Summit: Takahiro Hirakimoto, Sora Fujikawa & Koki Fujimoto defeated Tetsuya Goto, Masaya Ishikawa & Hinata Kasai when Hirakimoto pinned Kasai with the Little Boy (9:04).
1. Kansai Vs DDT, A Battle For Freedom!: HUB, Tsubasa & Billy Ben Kid defeated Junta Miyawaki, Viento Maligno & Yuni when HUB pinned Yuni with the Arumaka Shuryo (7:16).
2. Black Eagle In Danger! Against The Four Heavenly Kings Of DDT Comedy, 1 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuto Kikuchi defeated Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Kikuchi pinned Hirata with a Big Boot (0:10).
2a. Rematch: Yuto Kikuchi defeated Danshoku Dieno, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi when Kikuchi pinned Honda with the Black Eagle (8:33).
3. A 6-Man Tag Match That Tests How Far A Young Heel With 4 Years And 9 Months Of Experience Can Assert Himself When Surrounded By Seasoned Veterans: Magnitude Kishiwada, MJ Paul & Ilusion defeated CIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano when Ilusion pinned Urano with the Swanton Bomb (9:50).
4. ACF & Koyo Daiichi Consultants Presents Mixed Martial Arts Match – Irregular 2 Round System: Tyson Maeguchi defeated Bushimasa by Tyre Out (R2 0:57).
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~Crush The Super Heavyweights!~: Naomi Yoshimura, Yukio Naya & Hiroaki Taniguchi defeated Shigehiro Irie, Kazuaki Mihara & Daichi Sato when Yoshimura pinned Sato with the Harai-Goshi (9:52).
6. Special Tag Match ~ Laughter Brings Fortune: MAO & KANON (w/ KIMIHIRO) defeated Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro when KANON submitted Kamen & Kikutaro with a Camel Clutch (13:20).
7. Special Tag Match ~ Encounter With A Wrestling Master: Dick Togo & Hideki Okatani defeated Shunma Katsumata & Kohei Kinoshita when Okatani pinned Katsumata with the Skewer-Style Claymore (10:15).
8. Special 6-Man Tag Match ~STARTING NOW!~: Kazuma Sumi, Takeshi Masada & Yuya Koroku defeated To-y, Yuki Ishida & Rukiya when Masada pinned Rukiya with the Masada No Chikara KOBU Mukimuki (9:43).
9. Double Main Event I – Shosho Kogyo Presents Special Tag Match ~ Infinite Stimulation Anniversary: Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes defeated HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki when Brookes pinned HARASHIMA with a Modified Samson Clutch (16:44).
10. Double Main Event II – Special Tag Match ~ A Ruthless Giant That Blocks The World Guide Us To Our Dreams Blooming Flower: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA & Yuki Ueno defeated Jun Akiyama & Shuji Ishikawa when Takeshita pinned Ishikawa with the Raging Fire (22:29).

For the second year in a row, Yukinori Matsui’s annual Osaka show was headlined by Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno teaming up together. This time around they took on a more honorable set of opponents, Jun Akiyama & Shuji Ishikawa. Although as soon as Takeshita and Ishikawa face off to start the match, Ishikawa quickly knocked down his opponent with a big Elbow Strike. He also gave Ueno a Giant Swing outside the ring throwing his into the front row of abandoned chairs. Akiyama also wrestled more aggressively but Takeshita launched a comeback that included giving Ishikawa a Superplex. He combined the Jumping Knee with Ueno’s Dropkick to knock over Ishikawa and then Ueno did a Moonsault onto Akiyama outside the ring. Ishikawa was able to kick out of the Wagamama but Takeshita lifted him up for the Raging Fire and dropped him back down to get the win. Both Takeshita & Ueno showed their gratitude to Matsui after the match.

The other big match for the show involved Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes teaming up again as SchadenTekkers (with matching purple gear between them) to take on HARASHIMA & Shinya Aoki. It would be the first time Sabre and Aoki got to wrestle each other. That confrontation was not enough to determine who was beter. Instead Brookes got the result by pinning HARASHIMA with a Samson Clutch. Aoki wished he could have gotten to fight Sabre for a little longer. Sabre suggested they have a singles match together the next time they meet. He also called Aoki one of the best submission wrestlers he has ever fought.

A ringside chairshot from Dick Togo stunned Shunma Katsumata and left him vulnerable to Hideki Okatani to finish him off.

KANON was made into the target of everyone’s comedy in Match #6. That meant he was the one tricked to hop in the air while nobody else joined him. MAO and KIMIHIRO then got into dueling Figure 4 Leg Locks with Kuishinbo Kamen & Kikutaro, leaving KANON out in the cold. When the four of them all got caught in the holds, KANON simply rolled them all over so he could put both Kamen & Kikutaro in a Camel Clutch. He got both of them to then give up. He doesn’t understand why he had to go through that in Osaka today but he admitted it was fun.

Kyoto indie wrestler Hiroaki Taniguchi came in as a substitute for the injured Masami Inahata in Match #5.

The mixed rules fight between Bushimasa and Tyson Maeguchi was a two round contest. The first round was MMA rules that lasted for three minutes. Then the second round was Tyre Boxing Rules where a tyre was placed in the middle of the ring and they had to fight while keeping one foot each inside the tyre hole. Maeguchi punched Bushimasa out of the tyre three times to earn a TKO style victory.

Ilusion had something of a trial by fire in his match. He often got himself isolated away from Magnitude Kishiwada & MJ Paul then had to find ways to get to safety. However he successfully Low Blowed both CIMA & Akito while Kishiwada took care of Yasu Urano. Ilusion then got the last laugh by getting the pin with the Swanton Bomb.

The 4 Vs 1 Handicap match had to be restarted because Hisaya Imabayashi wasn’t happy to see Yuto Kikuchi win it so easily. Kikuchi ended up giving him a Low Blow late in the rematch before winning again the second time.

It was a packed house for the show but that caused a little bit of a problem. While Sanshiro Takagi was giving the show opening speech, Keiko Takeshita (Konosuke’s mom) was seen walking around the venue looking for her seat. Takagi and Imabayashi invited her into the ring to say hello to the fans but she ended up attacking them with chops to the chest instead. Matsui tried to stop her because she was ruining the start of his show again just like last year. She gave him the Rainmaker and finished off the opening call by herself.


Video – DDT Episode Of “The Wrestlers”

May 8, 2026


The Silliest Wrestling In The World | The Wrestlers – Ep.6