Dramatic DDT

UNION “10TH ANNIVERSARY BOX OFFICE”, 04/10/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,530 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Mitomi Masayuki & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Yusuke Kubo & Daichi when Masayuki pinned Kubo with the Salty Splash (7:09).
2. Selection!! Memorial Tag Team Special Rules Match: Sanshiro Takagi & New Sanshiro Takagi, Choun-Shiryu & Cao Zhang (w/ Princess Makoto), A.YAZAWA & Mame Endo (w/ Rumi Kazama), Ricky Fuji & DJ Nira and Gaijin A & Gaijin A (3) defeated Seiya Morohashi, Hiroshi Fukuda & Ryu Gouma (w/ Kazuhiko Ogasawara) (1).
2a. Seiya Morohashi & Hiroshi Fukuda defeated Ricky Fuji & DJ Nira when Morohashi submitted Nira with the Crippler Crossface (2:59).
2b. Sanshiro Takagi & New Sanshiro Takagi defeated Seiya Morohashi & Hiroshi Fukuda when Takagi pinned Fukuda with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (2:54).
2c. Choun-Shiryu & Cao Zhang defeated Seiya Morohashi & Ryu Gouma when Zhang pinned Gouma with the Huge Hammer Attack (3:09).
2d. Seiya Morohashi & Ryu Gouma Vs Gaijin A & Gaijin A ended in a No Contest when God appeared (8:02).
2e. A.YAZAWA & Mame Endo defeated Hiroshi Fukuda & Ryu Gouma whe YAZAWA pinned both Fukuda & Gouma with a Double School Boy (4:45).
3. Union Fly To Everywhere World Title: Cherry (c) defeated Masako Takanashi with the Union Lock (11:06).
*V1 for Cherry.
4. 3 Way Tag Team Match: MEN’S Teioh & SAGAT defeated Kengo Ohka & Madoka and Ken Ohka & Shinichiro Tominaga (w/ Mio Shirai) when Teioh pinned Tominaga with a Jackknife Pin (10:20).
5. FUMA defeated Daichi Kazato with the Jawbreaker (16:22).
6. Union MAX Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated Shuji Ishikawa with the Isamuashi Zan (23:46).
*V1 for Isami Kodaka.

After ten years of indie sleaze, Union Pro Wrestling has today closed its doors. The sub-brand was DDT’s bratty little brother consisting of hardcore matches and crazy stipulations amongst its small roster over the years. But with Naomi Susan leaving her role as the brand’s manager it was agreed that today was time for Union to end.

The main event was between two wrestlers who have been with Union Pro since it begun back in 2005. Isami Kodaka defended the Union MAX Title against Shuji Ishikawa to determine who was the better ace of the promotion. Both believed that this was not the end but the beginning for every Union wrestler. Union’s founder Poison Sawada was in attendance for the match and he handed a bouquet of flowers to both champion and challenger. Isami kicked out of Shuji’s Splash Mountain Bomb but Shuji later kicked out of Isami’s Diving Double Knee Drop. Shuji hit a barrage of Knee Lifts and also a Rainmaker Headbutt. He attempted a Cross Arm Splash Mountain but Isami escaped and hit Sliding Lariats and Sliding Kicks to take down Shuji. Another Splash Mountain was countered into a Hurricanrana for a nearfall. The two traded Elbow Strikes and Isami got the better of the exchange. He hit another Diving Double Knee Drop but Shuji kicked out at one! Shuji blocked the Isamuashi Zan once but Isami wore him down and tried the finisher again, this time nailing Shuji in the jaw. That was enough to put him away and end Union with Isami as the champion.

Isami was handed the title belt by Sawada and the Union roster filled up the ring. He called Shuji his older brother and said Sawada was like their father. Sawada congratulated both of them for becoming great wrestlers. He said there was no shame in Union ending on the match they just had. Ishikawa said he will now become a freelancer but he is disappointed he couldn’t win the MAX Title. He said his sweetness was his weakness today and he will work on becoming stronger when he wrestles in other companies. Everybody thanked the fans for attending the show and asked to continue supporting them wherever they go. Susan said that from now on everybody will be walking down a new road.

One by one each of the wrestlers said their goodbye. Ryu Gouma said he spent the last ten years as a rip off of someone else (Ryuma Go). Yusuke Kubo said he developed a deep love of wrestling during his time here. Daichi said he was grateful to be standing here even though he was only in Union for a short while. Mitomi Masayuki said Union was where he was born and it will always be his hometown. Tomoya Kawamura, who could not wrestle today due to injury, said he was the last rookie to debut in Union and he was happy to be part of it. Hiroshi Fukuda said from now on he wants to fight the strongest wrestlers in honour of Union. Seiya Morohashi’s message was interrupted by the fans chanting “USA!” at Fukuda but he was able to tell fans to remember the “Love Muscle”. Cherry also said she hopes the fans will remember her because she won’t forget them. SAGAT said he came to Union as part of an experiment and it he lived the best life because of it. FUMA thanked everyone for their support and also for their future support. Daichi Kazato thanked the fans over and over. Sawada said Union wrestlers will never die. Susan and Ishikawa both said Union was the best. Kodaka finished the roll call by promising to stop crying. Let’s all laugh instead. The show ended with the combined cries of “3, 2, 1, Thank You Union!”

The Union MAX Title is now sealed, at least temporarily. Kodaka may bring the MAX Title back some day but he thinks a new championship should be made if a successor to Union appears.

Daichi Kazato had a chance to kill off the King Legion for his final Union match. The unit would be forced to dissolve if Kazato could beat its leader FUMA. He came close when he hit the Sister Abigail but FUMA recovered and hit the Jawbreaker kick for the three count. FUMA grabbed Kazato by the hair after the match and lifted him to his feet. He then offered a handshake which Kazato accepted. FUMA said he was disappointed not to be in the MAX Title match but was satisfied to go against another Union made wrestler. There was no mention about what the King Legion will get up to now.

The 3 Way Tag Match had Ken Ohka and Mio Shirai reunite for one last time. The retired Shirai was in Ohka’s corner and wore a Ganbare☆Wrestling shirt to support him and Shinichiro Tominaga. Ohka also got to be in the ring with his replacement model Kengo (Mashimo) Ohka one more time. The King Legion benefited from the match going out of control. Ken Ohka got rid of Kengo Ohka with the Spear Of Flame but he then accidentally collided with his partner Tominaga. MEN’S Teioh capitalised and pinned Tominaga with a Jackknife.

Cherry was happy to defend the Fly To Everywhere Title against her “best pupil” Masako Takanashi. She pinned Takanashi with an over-rotated School Boy she calls the Union Lock. Cherry has not decided what to do with the championship now Union has closed. She will take her time making her decision over the belt’s future.

A bunch of old faces returned to Union for a special series of tag matches. Seiya Morohashi, Hiroshi Fukuda and Ryu Gouma paired into various combinations to go against various wrestlers from Union’s past. Ricky Fuji and DJ Nira came out wanting to rock and roll. Gouma told them it’s 2015 and nobody wants to hear the old kind of rock music. Morohashi and Fukuda defeated Fuji and Nira while Gouma yelled “Rock ‘n’ roll is dead!” They did not fare as well in the second match against Sanshiro Takagi & New Sanshiro Takagi. New Takagi gave Fukuda a Stunner and old Takagi pinned him with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb. Team #3 was New Beijing Pro Wrestling. Choun-Shiryu & Cao Zhang came out with a giant tonkachi hammer as well as the lovely Princess Makoto. She distracted the referee with her charms so Zhang could hit Gouma with the giant hammer for the win. The next team was supposed to be Yusuke Inokuma & Keisuke Masuda but it was announced that they injured themselves during their pre-match warm up. Taking their place was the violent team of Gaijin A & Gaijin A! They attacked Morohashi, Fukuda, Gouma and even the referee with sellotape until the lights dimmed. God came out and he began singing badly while Gaijin A & Gaijin A hung the other wrestlers over the rope with sellotape wrapped around their necks. The match ended in a no contest. When all the tape was cleared up out came the final team A.YAZAWA and Mame Endo with Rumi Kazama. Everybody danced to Swan Lake until YAZAWA pinned the entire Union team with a School Boy to end the match.

The show opened with some of the unsung heroes from Union. Mitomi Masayuki was a big signing when he turned pro but a car crash, some bad behaviour on Twitter and another serious injury wrestling elsewhere kept him out of the ring for a significant amount of time. Ryota Nakatsu only debuted last year as part of the DNA brand. Yusuke Kubo previously wrestled under a mask as Goro Jr. and only unmasked back in February. Daichi was a part timer with only a few appearances in Union under his belt.

I think Naomi Susan might still be working for DDT behind the scenes. She mentioned her decision to quit as Union’s manager does not mean she is retired from the pro wrestling industry entirely. She has in the past helped DDT bring in foreign talent.