Ibushi Out Until May

November 20, 2011

And that’s all I know about the situation…Yeah it’s been a quiet news week.

Last Tuesday, Kota Ibushi had successful surgery done on his left shoulder, which has been injured ever since Ibushi separated the shoulder after a Firebird Splash on Prince Devitt during the 2010 Best Of The Super Jr Final. Until this week, Ibushi had always opted to take short breaks to let the shoulder heal on its own rather than take the surgery and be put on the shelf for longer periods of time. Unfortunately this meant the shoulder could never fully heal and the injuries kept coming back. The recurring problem cut short his run as the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion for New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as his new role in Homoiro Clover Z. Ibushi finally gave in and announced at “NON-FIX 11.13” that he was going under the knife. At the moment everyone is expecting his return to happen in May 2012, just over six months time. He is most likely going to miss the big DDT event of the year, their 15th Anniversary show in Nippon Budokan, the date of which will be announced at next Sunday’s “GOD BLESS DDT 2011” show in Korakuen Hall. DDT’s previous anniversary events have been held in March but that is no guarantee next year’s edition will be the same.

As the year soon draws to a close, I am hoping to add a complete results history for DDT and Union plus some of the sub brands like Hard Hit, BOYS and Cruiser’s Game. The roster pages for DDT and Union have been updated and now show some info on all of the active wrestlers. Any corrections would be appreciated. Rosters for the sub-brands will be included eventually.

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Posted by JamieOD

DDT “NON-FIX 11.13” Results

November 13, 2011

DDT “NON-FIX 11.13”, 13/11/2011
Shin-Kiba 1st RING
311 Fans

1. Michael Nakazawa & Kazuki Hirata defeated Hikaru Sato & Rion Mizuki when Nakazawa submitted Mizuki with the Michael Never Cry (8:32).
2. DJ Nira & Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Matsuno pinned Irie with a School Boy (6:22).
3. Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda & Keita Yano defeated MIKAMI, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hoshitango when Honda pinned Matsunaga with the Diving Fist Drop (11:15).
4. Homoiro Clover Z Audition: Danshoku Dino Vs Makoto Oishi ended in a No Contest when the referee was attacked (7:15).
Audition Participants: Hiroshi Fukuda, Akito, DJ Nira, Speed Of Sound and Mitsuya Nagai.
5. Kenny Omega defeated Takao Soma with the Croyt’s Wrath (14:15).
6. KUDO & Masa Takanashi defeated HARASHIMA & Daisuke Sasaki when KUDO pinned HARASHIMA with a Buzzsaw Kick (11:10).

In their first of two tag team bouts today, KUDO scored the victory over his KO-D Openweight Title challenger HARASHIMA in the main event. KUDO was just a little too fast for HARASHIMA as he rolled out of a Jackknife Pin hold and struck his unprepared opponent with a Buzzsaw Kick. Afterwards KUDO spoke on the mic about how he would not see himself as a true champion in DDT until he defeats HARASHIMA in the KO-D title match on 22nd November in Korakuen Hall.

Kota Ibushi announced that his shoulder injury cannot fully recover without surgery. He will be having shoulder surgery in a few days time, extending his absence from the competing in the ring (and the campsite, and the street, and the shopping mall, and the factory, so on and so on).

Tsurumi Amon decided to add some handicap pinfall rules to Match #2 to aid Gorgeous Matsuno due to his ill health. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie had to pin either Gorgeous Matsuno or DJ Nira for five seconds in order to win the match. Meanwhile Matsuno & Nira only had to pin the KO-D Tag Team Champions for one second to win. Matsuno was able to do that on Irie and as a reward, he and Poison JULIE Sawada will challenge Ishii & Irie for the belts at Korakuen Hall later this month. However, Matsuno suddenly fainted backstage shortly after the match. This now puts the KO-D Tag Title match into doubt.

Michael Nakazawa challenged Hikaru Sato to a singles match at Korakuen Hall on 27/11.

Kazuki Hirata suffered a concussion in the opener. He will miss the rest of today’s shows as a result.

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Posted by JamieOD

Frantic Card Reshuffling, Ibushi’s Replacements

September 12, 2011

DDT “NON-FIX 9.18”, 18/09/2011
Chiba Blue Field

1. 3 Way: Darkside HERO! Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Masa Takanashi
2. Poison JULIE Sawada & Keisuke Ishii Vs MIKAMI & Daisuke Sasaki
3. Yasu Urano Vs Hiro Tonai
4. HARASHIMA Vs HERO!
5. Shigehiro Irie & Takao Soma Vs Yuji Hino & Ryuichi Sekine
6. Danshoku Dino & YOSHIHIKO Vs Antonio Honda & Michael Nakazawa
7. KUDO Vs Makoto Oishi

With Kota Ibushi now out of action for the forseeable future, DDT has a big hole to fill on their cards. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures and DDT went searching for the only man they knew they could rely on to replace Ibushi. Luckily for them, he has accepted their offer and has come to the rescue. YOSHIHIKO will now be replacing Ibushi on the “NON-FIX 9.18” card in Chiba Blue Field. Like I said, desperate times, desperate measures.

DDT “DDT48 Election”, 25/09/2011
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Gorgeous Matsuno Vs YOSHIHIKO
2. Kazuki Hirata Vs Hiro Tsumaki
3. Isami Kodaka Vs Yasu Urano
4. Keisuke Ishii Vs Shigehiro Irie
5. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs El Generico & Hiroya Fukuda
6. DDT Vs Union: KUDO, HARASHIMA & MIKAMI Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Sanshiro Takagi & Kengo Ohka

However, DDT went and found another replacement for Ibushi this time at the “DDT48 Election” show in Korakuen Hall. El Generico comes back to DDT to team with Hiroya Fukuda from Union to fight Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi. That’s right, the dream match of Danshoku Dino Vs El Generico will now come true! I mean sure, it’s the kind of dream you get when you eat a lot of cheese at night before going to sleep, but it’s a dream match none the less!

The teams have been chosen for the DDT Vs Union 6-Man Tag Team main event. DDT will be represented by the Caps Lock squad of KUDO, HARASHIMA & MIKAMI. Union has a mix of three seperate factions, Union ace Shuji Ishikawa, Sanshiro Takagi of the TKG48 and Kengo Ohka from the Susan Guard.

Another match to watch out for is Keisuke Ishii Vs Shigehiro Irie. I have become a big fan of both wrestlers over the year. Their matches against each other has lead to an entertaining generation rivalry between the two. Ishii is coming off of a loss to KUDO over the KO-D Openweight Title, but has grown into a confident wrestler who still has a bright future ahead of him. Irie is the lovable big brute of both DDT and Union. With a KO-D Tag Team Title reign and pinfalls over Kota Ibushi and Shuji Ishikawa listed under his recent accomplishments, Irie is quickly climbing the ranks of both brands. He will be looking to avenge his defeat to Ishii at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2011”.

There are plenty more matches to come for this show. This is because every wrestler involved in this year’s DDT48 Election (except for Ibushi) will compete and get one last chance to campaign for votes from the fans. In order to fit everyone in, every match except the main event will have a ten minute time limit.

DDT “CAMPING-GROUND PRO-WRESTLING OM”, 26/09/2011
Yamanashi Natureland Om

1. Kazuki Hirata Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
2. 4 Way: HARASHIMA & KUDO Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa Vs Isami Kodaka & Ken Ohka

HARASHIMA will now take Ibushi’s place on the Campsite show.

DDT “PRO WRESTLING FESTIVAL IN SAPPORO”, 10/10/2011
Sapporo Teisen Hall

1. MIKAMI Vs Masa Takanashi
2. KUDO & Hikaru Sato Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa
3. KO-D Tag Team Title Decision Match: Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi Vs X & X

The KO-D Tag Team Championship has now been vacated. Danshoku Dino will have a chance to win back the belts with his other Homoiro Clover Z partner Makoto Oishi in Sapporo. Their opponents will be determined in a mini tournament to be held before then.

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Kota Ibushi Vacates Titles!

September 12, 2011

Kota Ibushi’s niggling shoulder injury returned to haunt him this week and it has cost him the title he values most. Ibushi dislocated his left shoulder during an indy wrestling event in Osaka yesterday and will be out of action for an undisclosed amount of time. Unfortunately, this means his scheduled IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title defence against KUSHIDA at the 19th September New Japan event at Kobe World Hall. As a result, Ibushi has forfeited the title and is no longer the IWGP Jr. Champion. The title will now be awarded to the winner of KUSHIDA Vs Prince Devitt at that show.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the injury has also forced Ibushi and Danshoku Dino to vacate the KO-D Tag Team Titles they won just last month. This is a major blow at a time when Ibushi was at the peak of success as a DDT pro wrestler.

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Ibushi At “ALL TOGETHER”, Extra Campsite Match, Union Vs Russia

August 30, 2011

NJPW/AJPW/NOAH “ALL TOGETHER”, 27/08/11
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
17,000 Fans

ALL TOGETHER Opening Match ~ SUNRISE OF J: Kota Ibushi, Taiji Ishimori, Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI defeated Tiger Mask, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Ricky Marvin when Ishimori pinned Marvin with the 450 Splash (10:05).

Kota Ibushi was on the winning team for the opening match of the “ALL TOGETHER” charity show held in Nippon Budokan. Despite the positive atmosphere that surrounded the event, Ibushi and Shuji Kondo had to be pulled apart outside the ring after the match ended. Could this lead to Kondo challenging Ibushi for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title somewhere down the line? Meanwhile Ibushi had support from Sanshiro Takagi, Yukinori Matsui & Michael Nakazawa who all attended the show to see him compete while also checking out the venue in the run up to DDT’s 15th Anniversary show next year.

Speaking of Ibushi, he has joined Danshoku Dino and Makoto Oishi in DDT to form the new faction Homoiro Clover Z.

DDT “CAMPING-GROUND PRO-WRESTLING OM”, 04/09/2011
Yamanashi Natureland Om

1. Kazuki Hirata Vs Hiroshi Fukuda
2. 4 Way: Kota Ibushi & KUDO Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa Vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa Vs Isami Kodaka & Ken Ohka

A battle of rookies has been added to the Campsite Pro Wrestling show. Kazuki Hirata and Hiroshi Fukuda will face each other in the great outdoors, an important learning experience for any wrestler in DDT.

Union will be welcoming two wrestlers from Russian promotion Independent Wrestling Federation to the brand in September. The two wrestlers will be teaming with each other on both Shinjuku FACE shows on 19th September. First off we have Ivan Markov, a cornerstone of the IWF and head trainer of its wrestling school. Joining him is Ronnie Crimson, a former IWF Champion. Together they will go after the Big China Tag Team Titles on the second Union show. Will Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa be prepared for the Russian attack?

UNION “ILLUSION ~DREAM~”, 19/09/2011
Shinjuku FACE

1. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Big Morohashi & Hiro Tsumaki Vs Yoshiaki Yago, Kengo Ohka & Madoka
2. Chou-un Shiryu & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Ivan Markov & Ronnie Crimson
3. Cherry Vs Masako Takanashi
4. TKG48 Offer Match: Featuring Sanshiro Takagi, Shigehiro Irie, Takao Soma and others
5. Shuji Ishikawa Vs BENTEN (w/ Miyako)
6. Ken Ohka Vs Masao Orihara
7. DDT Extreme Title: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs El Generico

UNION “ILLUSION ~VISION~”, 19/09/2011
Shinjuku FACE

1. 3 Way: Masako Takanashi & Cherry Vs Shigehiro Irie & Takao Soma Vs Kengo Ohka & Madoka
2. Loser of DDT Extreme Title Match Vs BENTEN (w/ Miyako)
3. Big Morohashi & X Vs Hiro Tsumaki & Hiroshi Fukuda
4. Big China Unified Nakahara Tag Team Titles: Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa (c) Vs Ivan Markov & Ronnie Crimson
5. SGP Jr. Heavyweight Title – Chain Deathmatch: Mio Shirai (c) Vs Ken Ohka
6. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi Vs Yoshiaki Yago
7. DDT Extreme Title: Isami Kodaka or El Generico (c) Vs Shuji Ishikawa

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Omega & Sato Vs All Japan, Ibushi Vs KUSHIDA

August 16, 2011

This September, Kenny Omega and Hikaru Sato are both crossing over to All Japan to compete in this year’s AJPW Jr. Heavyweight League. Omega has stated that he wants to win a singles title in Japan. Since his fellow Golden Lover is currently king of the New Japan Jr Heavyweight scene, Omega has set his sights on All Japan for his search of glory. Omega’s opposition in his group are the current AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion KAI, aswell as Kaz Hayashi, Minoru, BUSHI and BLACK BUSHI (who I assume is BUSHI’s non-union Canadian equivalent). Hikaru Sato returns to the tournament after a luke-warm win-loss record from last year. This time Sato’s opponents in his block are Shuji Kondo, Hiroshi Yamato, MAZADA, Jimmy Yang and New Japan’s Koji Kanemoto.

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX SPECIAL 2011”, 19/09/2011
Kobe World Hall

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs KUSHIDA

Meanwhile, Kota Ibushi has learned of his next challenger for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. KUSHIDA surprised many fans by defeating Ibushi when they clashed at the Best Of The Super Jr. XVIII back in June. Now just five months after he joined New Japan full time, KUSHIDA gets his first shot at the belt.

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Golden Lovers Get Got, Ibushi Gets It All Together

August 14, 2011

NJPW, 14/08/11
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
11,500 Fans

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) defeated Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega when Devitt pinned Omega after the Black Sunday (15:01).
*V6 for Apollo 55.

The Golden Lovers returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling to battle with Apollo 55 once more over the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. It was the fourth time these two teams faced each other with the belts on the line. This time Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi were victorious when Devitt pinned Kenny Omega with the Black Sunday double team finisher. Apollo 55 and The Golden Lovers both have two wins each in their series but surely it will be a long time until they wrestle each other again.

NJPW/AJPW/NOAH “ALL TOGETHER”, 27/08/11
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

ALL TOGETHER Opening Match ~ SUNRISE OF J: Kota Ibushi, Taiji Ishimori, Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI Vs Tiger Mask, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Ricky Marvin

Kota Ibushi will be taking part in one of the most important wrestling events to take place in Japan this year. The “ALL TOGETHER” event will be a festival of wrestling consisting of crossover matches featuring the New Japan, All Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH rosters. All proceeds from the show will go to charities of the earthquake disaster from earlier this year. As IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Ibushi will get to be a part of the show in the first match of the night. The SUNRISE OF J bout will have Ibushi teaming with Taiji Ishimori from NOAH and Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI from AJPW to take on New Japan’s Tiger Mask, Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo from All Japan, and finally NOAH’s Ricky Marvin.

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Ibushi Defends IWGP Jr. Title, Nakazawa In Kensuke Office, Kenny Fights Little Girl

August 1, 2011

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX XXI ~THE INVINCIBLE FIGHTER~”, 01/08/2011
Fukuoka International Center
4,500 Fans

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi with the Phoenix Splash (16:10).
*V2 for Ibushi.

Kota Ibushi remains the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion after defeating Ryusuke Taguchi in the opening show of the famous G1 CLIMAX tour. With both Taguchi and Prince Devitt failing to win back the title for New Japan, Ibushi currently has no challengers for the belt. Now Ibushi will team up with Kenny Omega to battle Apollo 55 once more, this time with the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles at stake. That match will take place on 14th August at the final show of the G1 tour.

Kensuke Office, 31/07/2011
Kensuke Office Exercise Hall
171 Fans

Summer Volcano Tag Tournament – Round 1: Kenichiro Arai & Namazu Man defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima & Michael Nakazawa when Nakazawa was disqualified (19:30).

Michael Nakazawa took part in the Summer Volcano Tag Tournament for Kensuke Office yesterday, teaming with Katsuhiko Nakajima. Unfortunately for them, the team were eliminated in the first round by Namazu Man and Dragon Gate’s Kenichiro Arai. Nakazawa was DQ’ed in the match for taking off his tights while he was hulking up on Arai.

Stardom “STARDOM X STARDOM 2011 ~ NANAE TAKAHASHI 15TH ANNIVERSARY”, 24/07/2011
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,310 Fans

Kids Fight ~Haruka’s Pro-Wrestling Story Summer Vacation Chapter~: Haruka Vs Kenny Omega ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00).

On the same day DDT held the “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2011” show, Kenny Omega made an earlier appearance for the new Stardom joshi promotion at Korakuen Hall. Omega was there to take on Stardom’s youngest wrestler, a nine year old girl named Haruka. Kenny tried to be a good sport before the match by offering a handshake, but Haruka kicked his hand away. The two fought to a 3 minute draw with the bell ringing right when Omega was about to use his Croyt’s Wrath finishing move. Afterwards Omega offered another handshake to the little girl but got a slap across the face instead. Haruka won over the crowd and Omega once again learned that Japanese children are violent little brats.

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Ibushi Takes On Kaiju Big Battel

July 18, 2011

Way, way back in 2009 Kota Ibushi travelled over to America as part of Team DDT to wrestle for Chikara Pro during their big King Of Trios weekend of shows. The biggest memory Ibushi left on fans was him winning the Rey De Voladores tournament. However, some of you may also remember the Youtube video of Ibushi meeting up with Louden Noxious from Kaiju Big Battel where Kota requested to enter the Danger Zone and have a battel with some of the notorious Kaiju. Hopes were raised and T-shirts were made to support the idea but nothing ever really came from it. When Ibushi returned to the USA for the debut EVOLVE show in January 2010, he paid a visit to Studio Kaiju along with Michael Nakazawa and Munenori Sawa (who had his own confrontation with some of the monsters, as can be seen here) but again it looked like the plan to bring him in for a Kaiju show just wasn’t going to happen. However, both parties still had a plan up their sleeves.

As you can see, Ibushi ended up writing a letter to the Kaiju Commissioner in hopes of getting to fight a Kaiju, any Kaiju. He could have fought side by side with The Heroes to battel the evil Dr. Cube and his henchmen, he could have fought an epic battel with Uchu Chu The Space Bug, he was even willing to step into the Danger Cage against the psychotic Kung Fun Chicken Noodle. Unfortunately due to the slight setback of the Commissioner being murdered and Dr. Cube taking over the company, Ibushi was informed that he would never get the chance to fight in Kaiju Big Battel. Disappointed but not losing hope, Ibushi journeyed over to Dr. Cube’s hideout to take matters into his own hands.

What happens next? Stay tuned to find out…

For more information on Kaiju Big Battel, head on over to www.kaiju.com

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Ibushi Wins The IWGP Jr. Title!

June 18, 2011

NJPW “DOMINION 6.18”, 18/06/11
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi defeated Prince Devitt (c) with the Phoenix Splash (13:49).
*Devitt fails in V8. Ibushi becomes the 61st IWGP Jr. Champion!

This week has just been getting better and better for Kota Ibushi. Eight days after he made history in New Japan by becoming the first outsider to win the Best Of The Super Jr tournament, he defeats Prince Devitt in Osaka to become the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion! Ibushi was described to be so happy to win the title and will accept challenges from anyone over the belt, Devitt included. When asked about what his next goal will be in the future, Kota said he wanted to “raise the genre of professional wrestling”.

Ibushi will return to DDT tomorrow for an 8-Man Tag Team match that has had little attention due to other events on the card such as Dick Togo’s final match in DDT, the two KO-D Openweight Title matches, Danshoku Dino’s final battle with Bob Sapp’s Assassin Academy and the return of Masa Takanashi. But he will be sure to receive a hero’s welcome when he enters the ring with the IWGP Jr. Title over his shoulder.

And of course this now means that us DDT fans can start fantasizing over Ibushi’s role for Sumo Hall on 27th August. Will he be able to defend the belt there and if so, who will he face against? An immediate rematch with Prince Devitt? A repeat of the BOSJ final against the runner-up Ryusuke Taguchi? Or how about a certain crazy Capcom collecting Canadian and golden loving BFF who goes by the name of Kenny Omega? Just something to ponder over.

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