Dramatic DDT

DDT “MAX BUMP 2014”, 29/04/2014
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,200 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Exhibition Match: Hoshitango & Gota Ihashi defeated DJ Nira & Shun Miyatake when Hoshitango pinned Nira with the Midnight Buenos Aires (4:36).
1. Shunma Katsumata Re-Debut: Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi defeated Guanchulo & Shunma Katsumata when Sakaguchi submitted Katsumata with a Rear Naked Choke (8:33).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi (c) defeated Shun Miyahebi with the Spiccoli Driver (7:07).
Other Competitors: MIJAMI, Yasu Urano, Michael Chuhebiwa, Sohebi Takao, Kazuki Hirahebi, Snake Antonio, Snake Toru and Super Snake Snake Machine.
*V3 for Sanshiro Takagi. Yasu Urano wins Snake Antonio’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
– Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Iron Man Belt defeated Sanshiro Takagi (c) by Pinfall (12:37 pm).
*Iron Man Belt becomes the 1,000th champion!
3. HARASHIMA & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo when HARASHIMA pinned Endo with the Somato (10:44).
*HARASHIMA wins Tetsuya Endo’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
4. All Asia Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) when Ishii pinned Kanemaru with a Brainbuster Cutback (11:41).
*Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru fail in V4. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie become the 94th All Asia Tag Team Champions!
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki (c) defeated Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi & Yoshihiko when Sasaki pinned Oishi after the PK Mind Ω (18:45).
*V1 for The Golden Lovers.
6. KO-D Openweight Title: KUDO (c) defeated Akito with the Diving Double Knee Drop (24:26).
*V1 for KUDO.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: KUDO (c) defeated Yasu Urano with the Buzzsaw Kick (10:28).
*V2 for KUDO. Yasu Urano cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract.
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Jun Akiyama defeated Iron Man Belt by Pinfall (c) (3:02 pm).
*Jun Akiyama becomes the 1,001st champion.

It was a busy afternoon in DDT with a lot going on. KUDO fought tooth and nail to keep his KO-D Openweight Title, first defeating Akito in a main event match that lasted almost 25 minutes. Akito tried to lock in the Triangle Scorpion to make KUDO tap just like he did in Saitama just over two weeks ago but the champion escaped the hold and delivered a Buzzsaw Kick in retaliation. Akito survived the barrage of kicks but eventually stayed down after the Diving Double Knee Drop. Victorious, KUDO said it was an interesting match and he wants to have more interesting matches because he will continue to stand in the centre of DDT. He offered a handshake to Akito but it was refused. That was not all KUDO had to put up with at the end of the show.

Two of the Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts changed hands today. HARASHIMA pinned Tetsuya Endo to gain possession of a contract. He approached KUDO at the end to challenge him to a title match. HARASHIMA said he was not going to take the cowardly route and instead will cash in his contract in Nagoya on 25th May. Yasu Urano won the other contract by pinning a possessed Antonio Honda in the Battle Royal earlier in the show. He also told KUDO he wanted to cash in and he was going to do it right now! The impromptu KO-D Title Match then began with Urano targeting KUDO’s. But despite the well prepared gameplan, KUDO was able to withstand Urano’s offense and fight back. In the end, two Buzzsaw Kicks put away Urano and KUDO was still the KO-D Champion. Urano left the ring pissed off and he tore apart the UraShimKudo shirt he was wearing. Amon Tsurumi praised KUDO for defending the title twice in one night and urged the remaining contract holders not to cash in today. He confirmed KUDO Vs HARASHIMA will take place on 25/5 as long as HARASHIMA still has his contract. HARASHIMA said he was looking forward to winning the title back because he is the strongest. KUDO then said if HARASHIMA is the strongest challenger, then defeating him will make KUDO strongest in the truest sense. KUDO then held a toast with his Shuten-dōji teammates.

The Golden Lovers went into their KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title match with a big advantage. It turned out one of their opponents was badly injured. Was it Danshoku Dino? No. Makoto Oishi? Nope, it was Yoshihiko! The most dangerous member of the challenging trio entered the ring with its left arm heavily wrapped in bandages. Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki took advantage immediately by pouncing Yoshihiko. What followed was one of the most violent sights to ever take place in a DDT ring as Omega and Sasaki literally tore Yoshihiko apart! Kota Ibushi had to look away as his partners dismantled Yoshihiko limb from limb.But fear not because Yoshihiko cannot be killed that easily. Just when it looked liked the Golden Lovers had the match won, the arena lights switched off and “TOKYO GO!” played over the speakers. Out came Kazuki Hirata and with him was a revived Yoshihiko wearing a Magnum TOKYO mask! Yoshihiko cleared the ring and was a house of fire until Ibushi got rid of Hirata with a Missile Dropkick. Despite the odds evening out, the Golden Lovers were able to win by delivering the PK Mind Ω to both Oishi and Yoshihiko at the same time.

The big news of the night was Keisuke Ishii and Shigehiro Irie winning the All Asia Tag Team Championship! The two members of Team Dream Futures got their second title shot against Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru after Ishii spent weeks following Akiyama begging for another match. The persistance paid off as Akiyama finally agreed and the match was booked in DDT. Even with the homeside advantage Ishii & Irie were the underdogs against a team with a combined 39 years of experience. And you know, a whole bunch of All Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH championships between them. But Ishii & Irie shocked everyone by winning the titles. The champs had things in control for the final moments. Kanemaru dropped Ishii with the Deep Impact and Brainbuster but Ishii would either kick out or be saved by Irie everytime. Akiyama tried to give Irie the Exploder Suplex but Irie did what he could to block him. Then as Kanemaru lifted Ishii up for another Brainbuster, Ishii counters it into a Small Package for the three count! Amon Tsurumi was exceedingly happy to see Ishii & Irie win the titles and congratulated them for holding the same titles Footloose did. Irie said it was a dream for him and Ishii to win the titles. Ishii said it was a frustrating journey but thanks to the fans and to Drift for their support he and Irie were able to do it. They now want to defend the titles over and over in DDT.

It was now or never for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. The reigning and defending 999th champion Sanshiro Takagi wanted to retire the belt so it would never have a 1,000th champion. The belt’s creator Poison Sawada JULIE was able to stop him by claiming the belt’s strap contains an ancient treasure map that appears when roasted with an Inca lighter. Takagi agreed he would put the belt up for one more defence. If he wins, the belt is retired and he gets the lighter. When he entered the ring for the Battle Royal he said he wanted it to end quickly because he wanted to go find the treasure and use it to buy luxury watches. He was cut off by video footage of Poison Sawada passing bottles of S-Cells to several wrestlers. The S-Cells gave the wrestlers snake magic but also put them under Sawada’s control. Sawada’s goal? Get the title back from Takagi by any means necessary! Takagi fought through Sawada’s minions as well as the other wrestlers involved in the Battle Royal and became the last man standing. After the match Takagi told Sawada he was not a fool. There is no ancient treasure and the Inca lighter was something Sawada just bought in a shop for one hundred yen. Takagi wasn’t going to wait any longer to retire the championship and the ceremony begun. Sawada grabbed the belt and yelled “I have to challenge you!” The two struggled until Sawada knocked over Takagi with the belt falling on top of him. All of a sudden Yukinori Matsui slapped the mat three times. The Iron Man Title belt pinned Takagi. The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship itself became the new champion and will go down in history as the 1,000th Champion!

The belt clearly spent the rest of the day celebrating to the point of exhaustion. It was found unconscious backstage at the end of the show. Jun Akiyama entered the room for a post match interview and sat down with his arm leaning on the belt. Yukinori Matsui suddenly jumped into view and started to count but Akiyama raised his arm at two and told Matsui to leave. When Matsui went away he unknowingly leant onto the belt again. This time Kyohei Wada appeared and he counted to three. Jun Akiyama is the new Iron Man Champion! Wada handed the belt to the new champion but at this point Akiyama was just annoyed by everything going on around him.

The opening match had both good news and bad. The good news was Shunma Katsumata debuted and got a good reaction from the crowd. The bad news was Guanchulo wrestled his final match in Korakuen Hall before he returns home to Chile. He and Katsumata became friends during his stay and he was happy he got to team with him before he leaves.

DDT’s other rookie Shun Miyatake did not have a good day. He wrestled the dark match hoping to impress Amon Tsurumi enough so he could get a proper debut match. Tsurumi didn’t like what he saw and told Miyatake it wasn’t going to happen yet. Miyatake threw a fit and complained that he will forever be a rookie.

Michael Nakazawa will face Minoru Suzuki in Shinjuku FACE on 9th May. Nakazawa actually asked for this match to happen because of what happened four months ago. Nakazawa defeated Sanshiro Takagi at “NEW YEAR NEW YEAR SPECIAL!” back in January thanks to some help from Suzuki. Nakazawa begged Suzuki to coach him but it was rejected and downgraded into Suzuki maybe doing something with Nakazawa down the line. Four months later and Nakazawa now wants to fight Suzuki. Nakazawa is certain he is going to win. He’s just not sure how.

The annual King Of DDT tournament returns this June. The first round will take place in Fukuoka on 14th June, the second round will be in Osaka on 15th June and the semi-finals and final will be in Korakuen Hall on 29th June. This year 16 wrestlers will enter the tournament and the first round pairings will be revealed on 29th May.