DDT “GO! GO! WEST TOUR IN TAKAMATSU 2013” Results

September 7, 2013

DDT “GO! GO! WEST TOUR IN TAKAMATSU 2013”, 07/09/2013
Takamatsu Symbol Tower Exhibition Centre
255 Fans

1. Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga with the Rear Naked Choke (9:15).
2. 3 Way Match: Yoshihiko defeated MIKAMI and Antonio Honda when Yoshihiko pinned MIKAMI with the Rokudo Rinne (8:41).
3. Shigehiro Irie & Takao Soma defeated Hikaru Sato & Makoto Oishi when Irie pinned Oishi with the Flying Sausage (13:26).
4. Michael Nakazawa 3 Match Trial – Match 1: Sanshiro Takagi defeated Michael Nakazawa with the Sit Down Himawari Bomb (12:22).
5. KUDO & Yasu Urano defeated Kenny Omega & Masa Takanashi when KUDO pinned Takanashi with the Diving Double Knee Drop (13:27).
6. Shikoku Special 4 Way Match: HARASHIMA defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Danshoku Dino and Keisuke Ishii (10:40).
6a. Keisuke Ishii eliminated Danshoku Dino with the Kneel Kick (5:12).
6b. Keisuke Ishii eliminated Konosuke Takeshita by Ring Out (8:38).
6c. HARASHIMA eliminated Keisuke Ishii with the Somato (10:40).

Kota Ibushi was hospitalised after an emergency during the week when he suffered a kidney infection. He has pulled out of both shows this weekend as a result. Konosuke Takeshita took his place in the 4 Way main event while Yoshihiko was also added to the card to make up for Ibushi’s absence.

Michael Nakazawa’s intention for his latest trial series is to perform long championship level matches. However he eventually became impatient and went for the kill with an Ultimate Venom Arm. Sanshiro Takagi blocked it, forced Nakazawa’s hand and tights into his own mouth and then delivered the Sit Down Himawari Bomb to win.


DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2013” Preview

August 17, 2013

sumohall-doubleshot

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2013”, 18/08/2013
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Dark Match: Akito & Guanchulo Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato
0. Dark Match – KO-D 6-Man Tag Title Next Challenger Decision – Falls Count Anywhere: Antonio Honda, Hoshitango & Jun Kasai Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Akebono
1. Next KO-D Tag Team Title Challenger Finals: KUDO & Yasu Urano Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino Vs Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma Vs Kenny Omega & Gota Ihashi
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – “Research Group” Presents Battle Royal: Komyo (c) Vs Yoshihiko Vs MIKAMI Vs Michael Nakazawa Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs DJ Nira Vs Rion Mizuki Vs Yuto Aijima Vs Mitomi Masayuki Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs Seiya Morohashi
3. Saki Akai Debut Match: Masa Takanashi, Cherry & Saki Akai Vs Hiroshi Fukuda, Yoshiko & Hikaru Shida
4. Special Single Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima Vs Konosuke Takeshita
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kensuke Sasaki, Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Winners Of Dark Match
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Kota Ibushi Vs Kazuchika Okada
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Shigehiro Irie (c) Vs HARASHIMA

After having a go inside Budokan Hall last year for an event that luckily did not end with a satellite filled with dynamite falling from the sky and crashing into the building, DDT brings its annual Peter Pan supershow back to Sumo Hall. This time around Sanshiro Takagi’s crazy idea is to hold two shows inside Sumo Hall in the same weekend. While the first show focuses more on the entertainment side of DDT, this show right here is the culmination of everything DDT has done for the last 12 months. We have two generations of DDT aces fighting over the KO-D Championship, we have a dream match I never thought would happen between the Golden Star and the Rainmaker, we have the company’s most promising young wrestler going against one of modern wrestling’s best prodigies, we have a painting defending a championship against a bunch of people including a blow up doll and we have Akebono in a dark match. What more could you want from DDT?

0. Dark Match: Akito & Guanchulo Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato

The afternoon begins with a dark match featuring the young lions of DDT and Union. Out of the four Akito has made the most progress this year regularly teaming with Masa Takanashi and Yukio Sakaguchi. The highlight of which was when he and Sakaguchi fought New Japan invaders Jushin Liger and Hiromu Takahashi back in February. Guanchulo arrived from Chile along with Aggressor for a learning excursion throughout the year. Aggressor returned home in June but Guanchulo extended his stay and is a last minute replacement for the injured Tetsuya Endo. FUMA was very active when he adopted his new name and tried to usurp KUDO’s spot in Ura-Shima-Kudo. Daichi Kazato is slowly but surely emerging from the dark match level in Union.

0. Dark Match – KO-D 6-Man Tag Title Next Challenger Decision – Falls Count Anywhere: Antonio Honda, Hoshitango & Jun Kasai Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Akebono

The traditional Falls Count Anywhere Tag Team dark match makes its return. Sure it wouldn’t be a Peter Pan show without it. This time around there is a prize at stake. The winners will move onto the main card where they will receive a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title shot. The Monster Army gain a violent ally in the form of Jun Kasai. Sanshiro Takagi and Toru Owashi fired back with a big pick, Ribera’s favourite son Akebono!

1. Next KO-D Tag Team Title Challenger Finals: KUDO & Yasu Urano Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino Vs Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma Vs Kenny Omega & Gota Ihashi

A lot of guys I like are in this match. It’s a shame that many of them have been put here instead of somewhere more important on the card. Still, you can expect a fast paced sprint and maybe a great KO-D Tag Team Title match to look forward to in the future.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – “Research Group” Presents Battle Royal: Komyo (c) Vs Yoshihiko Vs MIKAMI Vs Michael Nakazawa Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs DJ Nira Vs Rion Mizuki Vs Yuto Aijima Vs Mitomi Masayuki Vs Shuji Ishikawa Vs Seiya Morohashi

The illustrious history of the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title added another fascinating entry to its hall of champions back in June. Komyo  (Guangming is another translation but I don’t think it’s the ring one) is a portrait painted by Akihiro Miwa who among other things is an actor, an author, an artist and a drag queen. Komyo was presented to DJ Nira as a bonus prize when he won the Iron Man Title. However the painting was too large and heavy for Nira to carry. The painting fell on top of Nira and ended up pinning him to win the championship. Since then Komyo has been kept under wraps by the “Research Group” and this match will be the first appearance by the champion since it won the belt. Furthermore, the “Research Group” has hired Shuji Ishikawa and Seiya Morohashi to be Komyo’s bodyguards for the match against the usual mix of DDT’s finest and oddest. Contrary to rumours, the ghost of Andre The Giant will not be competing in the Battle Royal. However I cannot rule out the ghost of Naoshi Sano’s career showing up.

3. Saki Akai Debut Match: Masa Takanashi, Cherry & Saki Akai Vs Hiroshi Fukuda, Yoshiko & Hikaru Shida

With Yuzuki Aikawa’s days of bouncing around the ring now over, it’s now time for another model to become a pro wrestler. Enter Saki Akai, the daughter of actor and retired boxer Hidekazu Akai. Masa Takanashi and Cherry have been busy training her and will be teaming with her on the show. Their opponents Yoshiko and Hikaru Shida offered some advice to Akai at a recent press conference. Yoshiko warned that she could break Akai’s bones while Shida, who knows Akai from their time working together on the TV show Muscle Girl said that friendships do not matter inside the ring. Shida also thinks it sucks that she has to team with Hiroshi Fukuda.

4. Special Single Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima Vs Konosuke Takeshita

What a year it has been for Konosuke Takeshita. The 18 year old rookie debuted at Budokan Hall against the hero to Mexican orphans everywhere El Generico (and by that point he was already a former Iron Man Champion). Since then he has been a ball of energy with some impressive performances for a teenager in his first year of wrestling. He took some crazy bumps from the Golden Lovers in separate matches, stepped in the ring with Tatsumi Fujinami and was also pinned Poison Sawada JULIE in his retirement match. His most impressive achievement yet was defeating Masa Takanashi and Yasu Urano to reach the semi final of the King of DDT tournament. Oh, and he recently had an hour long Ironman dark match. Now exactly one year after his debut Takeshita is pitted against another wrestling prodigy, Katsuhiko Nakajima!

5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kensuke Sasaki, Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi (c) Vs Winners Of Dark Match

The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles were introduced in December and crowned its first champions a month later. In its brief history the title has had few successful defences. In fact, the Monster Army are the only champions to have made at least one successful defence. The current champions are of Kensuke Sasaki, Danshoku Dino and Makoto Oishi. As odd as it is for Sasaki to team with Dino and Oishi, it’s still not as weird as the time he thought he was American.

6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka

My dark horse pick for match of the show. Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against Yankii Ni Cho Kenju (or Yankee Two Kenju or Yankee Trillion Pistols, I couldn’t figure out the correct translation). Isami Kodaka stepped up his game this year, taking Shuji Ishikawa’s role as the ace of Union and battling with Kenny Omega over the DDT Extreme Title. He recently brought Yuko Miyamoto into DDT to form their successful Big Japan team and they quickly climbed the ranks to get this title shot. Meanwhile Sakaguchi began to make sense of DDT and even found himself defending the promotion from Jushin Liger at one point. He and fellow shoot fighter Hikaru Sato have held the titles since May and defended against a mixture of veterans and promising rookies.

7. Dramatic Dream Match: Kota Ibushi Vs Kazuchika Okada

The match everyone is looking forward to from the moment it was announced. Unless you have been living under a rock, you would know that Kota Ibushi recently moved up to heavyweight status and competed in the G1 Climax for New Japan. As part of the deal between New Japan and DDT, the IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada (and hopefully Gedo too) comes over for a dream match against Ibushi. So we are getting the Golden Star against The Rainmaker and I for one am quite excited for it.

8. KO-D Openweight Title: Shigehiro Irie (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The actual main event has been overshadowed by Ibushi Vs Okada but it is a pretty important match for DDT. Shigehiro Irie won the KO-D Openweight Championship in March and since then has created the most dominant title reign in DDT history. This was helped by the creation of four Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contracts that allowed its holders to get a KO-D Title shot at whenever they wanted during DDT’s events. Makoto Oishi, Keisuke Ishii, Daisuke Sasaki and Big Japan’s Yuji Okabayashi all cashed in and left with nothing. Add to that some victories over Yukio Sakaguchi, Kota Ibushi, Hikaru Sato and Sanshiro Takagi and you have yourself a very impressive title reign. But there is someone Irie hasn’t faced yet and that man is one of DDT’s best. HARASHIMA is never far away from the No. 1 Contender position and he earned his main event spot by winning this year’s King of DDT tournament. Irie has never beaten HARASHIMA in a singles match. While he has come close with a time limit draw here and there, it’s been mostly HARASHIMA left standing on top. Will we get the same result or will Irie finally beat the one man he never could?


DDT “PROGRESS AND HARMONY OF WRESTLING” Preview

August 15, 2013

DDT “PROGRESS AND HARMONY OF WRESTLING”, 17/08/2013
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Dark Match – Tokyo Women’s Wrestling Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima Vs Chikage Kiba & KANNA
0. Dark Match: Gota Ihashi & SAGAT Vs Mitomi Masayuki & Tatsuhiko Yoshino
1. All Night Nippon GOLD Personality Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Nori da Funky Shibire-sasu Vs Hikaru Sato Vs Toru Owashi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs DJ Nira Vs Emi Sakura Vs GAMI Vs Honey Jiro Vs Guanchulo
2. Wrestling Style Vs Van: Hiroshi Fukuda (DPG) Vs Pour Lui (BiS) (w/ Jun Kasai)
3. Ultra Seven x DDT Collaboration Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & MIKAMI Vs Michael Nakazawa & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. DRESSCAMP PRESENTS: Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita
5. Idol Lumberjack 4 Way Match: Makoto Oishi (Sizukaze & Kizuna ~KIZUNA~) Vs Yuko Miyamoto (LinQ) Vs Isami Kodaka (Up Up Girls) Vs Sanshiro Takagi (Eri Nitta)
6. Monster Army Vs Sakaguchi Home: Antonio Honda, Daisuke Sasaki, Yuji Hino & Hoshitango (w/ Tetsu Watanabe) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi, Akito & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Kenji Sakaguchi)
7. Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma Vs HARASHIMA, KUDO & Yasu Urano
8. The Main Event: Danshoku Dino Vs Kota Ibushi

It’s that time again when DDT takes over Sumo Hall and puts on its biggest show of the year. This time however DDT will be holding two shows on back-to-back days. First up is “PROGRESS AND HARMONY OF WRESTLING”. This event will be more sports entertainment than usual for DDT. Those looking forward to title matches or anything that will contain significant progress for DDT’s storylines are probably better off waiting for the second show. This here is more like a variety show with the amount of celebrity guests showing up to get involved. That’s not to say there will not be any matches to look forward to of course.

0. Dark Match – Tokyo Women’s Wrestling Offer Match: Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima Vs Chikage Kiba & KANNA

Formed in June 2012, Tokyo Women’s Wrestling was created by DDT to bring in a new generation of girls into joshi wrestling. The project skid off track when its first and only trainee at the time NOZOMI quit the promotion after her brother Takashi Dai was forced into retirement due to spinal injuries suffered in his debut match. It wasn’t until November when the project emerged again with three brand new rookies Miyu Yamashita, KANNA and Chikage Kiba. They were soon joined by Shoko Nakajima and together the four spent all of this year competing in exhibition matches inside a tiny Akihabra concert hall. Now the time has come for the four girls to make their official pro wrestling debut.

0. Dark Match: Gota Ihashi & SAGAT Vs Mitomi Masayuki & Tatsuhiko Yoshino

The unsuccessful Kota Ibushi cloning experiment finally made some improvements this year. Gota Ihashi found some winning form as part of the Golden Rendezvous, winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. SAGAT is an indy wrestler who often competed in Union’s dark matches until Choun-Shiryu force fed him a potion that turned him into a Chinese Vampire. Now he spends his time hopping on the spot and looking like a male Hsien-Ko from Darkstalkers. Mitomi Masayuki is Union’s newest signed wrestler and has a cult following from his student wrestling days. Unfortunately his Union debut was delayed for a long time after he was injured in a car crash and it was only last month when he was finally able to wrestle. Tatsuhiko Yoshino is from Guts World. That’s everything I know about him… Ta da!

1. All Night Nippon GOLD Personality Battle Royal: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Nori da Funky Shibire-sasu Vs Hikaru Sato Vs Toru Owashi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs DJ Nira Vs Emi Sakura Vs GAMI Vs Honey Jiro Vs Guanchulo

The show starts proper with a Battle Royal sponsored by the All Night Nippon radio show. The usual gang of misfits you would expect in a DDT Battle Royal are here along with former TKG48 member Nori da Funky Shibire-sasu, Gatoh Move founder Emi Sakura, Pro Wrestling WAVE founder GAMI, Chilean Dick Togo student Guanchulo and comedian/part time wrestler/lucky bastard who once dated Sora Aoi, Honey Jiro.

2. Wrestling Style Vs Van: Hiroshi Fukuda (DPG) Vs Pour Lui (BiS) (w/ Jun Kasai)

Hiroshi Fukuda recently took an unexpected career change by forming his own music group with a bunch of friends (and Antonio Honda) where they dress up as super heroes. After the DPG (Dramatic Perfect Group) launched their debut video, Fukuda picked a fight with Pour Lui, the leader of a girl group called BiS (Brand-New Idol Society). So a match was made and Lui was given a wrestler to be in her corner to make things even. That wrestler is Jun Kasai.

3. Ultra Seven x DDT Collaboration Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & MIKAMI Vs Michael Nakazawa & Tomomitsu Matsunaga

Yoshihiro Takayama & MIKAMI join forces due to their love of Ultraman. Nothing more needs to be said.

4. DRESSCAMP PRESENTS: Kenny Omega Vs Konosuke Takeshita

We’re getting a little fancy with this one. DRESSCAMP is a fashion brand and they are providing some glamour to go along with Kenny Omega versus Konosuke Takeshita. Japanese-Swedish celebrity LiLiCo is the special guest ring announcer while models Saki Akai (who makes her pro wrestling debut the next day) and Ayumi Goto will also appear. The match itself looks promising. Takeshita has had a heck of a rookie year while Omega has been really strong with a KO-D Openweight and DDT Extreme Title run throughout the first half of the year.

5. Idol Lumberjack 4 Way Match: Makoto Oishi (Sizukaze & Kizuna ~KIZUNA~) Vs Yuko Miyamoto (LinQ) Vs Isami Kodaka (Up Up Girls) Vs Sanshiro Takagi (Eri Nitta)

Wrestling match or a Japanese take on the TV show X-Factor? You decide. What we have here is a Lumberjack match. The roles of the lumberjacks have been given to a bunch of different music idols, each one represented by one of the wrestlers competing inside the ring. The idols are allowed to attack any wrestler who leaves the ring. However none of the wrestlers are allowed to touch any of the idols or else they will be immediately disqualified.

6. Monster Army Vs Sakaguchi Home: Antonio Honda, Daisuke Sasaki, Yuji Hino & Hoshitango (w/ Tetsu Watanabe) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi, Akito & Kazuki Hirata (w/ Kenji Sakaguchi)

The Monster Army never learns. Last year Antonio Honda went on a stealing spree, robbing the DDT locker room of their gear and selling it online. The problem got so bad Sanshiro Takagi had to call in Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima to arrest them. Unfortunately only half a year passed until Honda and Daisuke Sasaki began stealing gear again. The line they crossed this time was when they stole the ring robe of Seiji Sakaguchi, Yukio Sakaguchi’s father. Speaking of fathers, Antonio Honda then revealed that his father Tetsu Watanabe is the Monster Army Marshall who ordered them to steal it! In response Yukio and his famous brother Kenji Sakaguchi planned to bring together a crack team of fighters to go to war with the Monster Army and win back the robe. Unfortunately, Jushin Liger thinks Yukio is a dick and he knows pretty much everybody in the industry so that probably stopped any hope of the plan from happening. So Yukio has to rely on DDT’s local crew Masa Takanashi, Akito and Kazuki Hirata instead.

7. Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma Vs HARASHIMA, KUDO & Yasu Urano

Team Dream Futures and Ura-Shima-Kudo have had plenty of 6-Man Tag Team matches together since both units were formed. What makes this one different is Shigehiro Irie will have his entrance song “Tachimukau” performed live by Kenji Ohtsuki. Also Irie will be in the ring with HARASHIMA the night before they main event Sumo Hall in the KO-D Openweight Title match.

8. The Main Event: Danshoku Dino Vs Kota Ibushi

The final match is a fitting main event between DDT’s two most loved wrestlers. Kota Ibushi and Danshoku Dino face each other for the first time since December 2010. They have had eight singles matches together in their careers (more like six, one was a backstage Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title change and the other was a wrestling match disguised as a figure dancing performance). While Ibushi is the favourite to win, Dino has had his number many times. Dino knows the Gedo Gay-do Clutch and that move has been Ibushi’s Achilles heel in the past. Ibushi also has bigger things to worry about the next day. If he can beat Dino and his eternal lust for anything male, then he can clear his head for The Rainmaker.


Ibushi’s G1 Has Climaxed

August 11, 2013

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 01/08/2013
Act City Hamamatsu
3,200 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

G1 Climax – Block B: Kota Ibushi [2] defeated Toru Yano [0] with the Phoenix Splash (7:32).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 02/08/2013
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

G1 Climax – Block B: Kota Ibushi [4] defeated Tetsuya Naito with the Phoenix Splash [0] (13:16).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 03/08/2013
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
7,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy

G1 Climax – Block B: Kota Ibushi [6] defeated Karl Anderson [4] with the Phoenix Splash (9:52).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 04/08/2013
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
6,700 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

G1 Climax – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [4] defeated Kota Ibushi [6] with the Boma Ye (19:18).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 06/08/2013
Ishikawa Industrial Exhibition Hall #3
2,000 Fans – No Vacancy

G1 Climax – Block B: Yuji Nagata [6] defeated Kota Ibushi [6] with the Back Drop Hold (13:49).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 07/08/2013
Sendai Sun Plaza Hall
2,950 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

G1 Climax – Block B: Shelton Benjamin [6] defeated Kota Ibushi [6] with the Paydirt (10:20).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 08/08/2013
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
5,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy

G1 Climax – Block B: Yujiro Takahashi [8] defeated Kota Ibushi [6] with the Tokyo Pimps (8:45).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 10/08/2013
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
8,200 Fans – No Vacancy

G1 Climax – Block B: Minoru Suzuki [10] defeated Kota Ibushi [6] with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (13:37).

NJPW “G1 CLIMAX 23”, 11/08/2013
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
11,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

G1 Climax – Block B: Kota Ibushi [8] defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] by forfeit.
Special 6 Man Tag Match: Kazushi Sakuraba, Akebono & Kota Ibushi defeated Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI when Sakuraba submitted YOSHI-HASHI with the Sakuraba Lock (13:25).

Kota Ibushi has completed the busiest two weeks of his life and came out of it with a wealth of new opportunities. His first set of matches as a heavyweight in the famous G1 Climax tournament won him plenty of praise as well as a few matches. Ibushi started off as strong as possible, winning his first three matches against Toru Yano, the eventual G1 winner Tetsuya Naito and Karl Anderson. But his run ended there as he lost the next five against Shinsuke Nakamura, Yuji Nagata, Shelton Benjamin, Yujiro Takahashi and Minoru Suzuki. His final match against Hiroyoshi Tenzan was cancelled when Tenzan suffered an injury halfway through the tournament. Instead, Ibushi spent the final night teaming with MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba and Ribera’s favourite son Akebono, forming possibly the weirdest 3-man team in Japan since the days of WAR. And he probably got a future match against Tomohiro Ishii out of it. Ibushi ended the tournament with 8 points and although he didn’t qualify for the final, he proved he can go with some of the best New Japan has to offer. Next up… Kazuchika Okada!


Practice Makes Perfect For HARASHIMA, Genius Vs Rainmaker

July 8, 2013

ibushi-vs-okada

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2013”, 18/08/2013
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – “Research Group” Battle Royal: Komyo (c) Vs
2. Dramatic Dream Match: Kota Ibushi Vs Kazuchika Okada
3. KO-D Openweight Title: Shigehiro Irie or Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs HARASHIMA

As the 2013 King of DDT winner, HARASHIMA gets a main event KO-D Title shot at Sumo Hall. It is a title shot that has alluded the challenger ever since February when HARASHIMA fought and lost to Kenny Omega. All that is left to figure out now is who the champion will be. Shigehiro Irie defends the championship against Big Japan’s Yuji Okabayashi in Korakuen Hall on 21st July. If Okabayashi wins, it will bring back memories of “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2010” when HARASHIMA challenged Daisuke Sekimoto for that very championship. A victory for Irie however will continue what is now arguably the most successful KO-D Title reign in DDT history.

Meanwhile a co-main event has been signed and I am so excited to see it happen. It will be the Independent Genius taking on the Rainmaker when Kota Ibushi faces the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada from New Japan. This will continue Ibushi’s move up to heavyweight status along with his recent weight gain (it is currently 88kg). What’s interesting to note is the match will take place one week after the final of the G1 CLIMAX, which both men have entered. Ibushi thinks he will win the G1 and is interested, is highly motivated to wrestle Okada and wants to challenge for the IWGP Title. However, since there has been no mention of the championship during the announcement, I believe that Ibushi Vs Okada will be a non-title bout if Okada is still the champion when “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2013” takes place.

Speaking of Ibushi and the G1 CLIMAX, his group match with Shinsuke Nakamura in Osaka on 4th August will be shown live on Ustream iPPV.


DDT “KING OF DDT OSAKA 2013” Results

July 7, 2013

DDT “KING OF DDT OSAKA 2013”, 07/07/2013
Osaka Umeda Nasci Hall
350 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. 3 Way Tag Team Match: Antonio Honda & Daisuke Sasaki defeated Kushinbo Kamen & Michael Nakazawa and Masa Takanashi & Akito when Sasaki pinned Nakazawa with the Now Or Never (6:26).
2. Hikaru Sato defeated Tetsuya Endo with a Boston Crab (6:59).
3. King Of DDT Semi Final: Kenny Omega defeated Yukio Sakaguchi with the Croyt’s Wrath (9:59).
4. King Of DDT Semi Final: HARASHIMA defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Somato (10:09).
5. Kota Ibushi & DJ Nira defeated Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi when Ibushi pinned Oishi with the Osaka Muscle Sakai Last Ride (10:07).
6. Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma defeated KUDO, Yasu Urano & FUMA when Irie pinned FUMA with the Flying Sausage (13:11).
7. King Of DDT Final: HARASHIMA defeated Kenny Omega with the Swan Dive Somato (15:20).

HARASHIMA wins the 2013 King of DDT and will challenge for the KO-D Openweight Title in the co-main event of “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2013”. It took two Somatos and a Swan Dive Somato for HARASHIMA to beat Kenny Omega in the final. HARASHIMA defeated the rookie phenom Konosuke Takeshita in the semi-final while Omega took care of Yukio Sakaguchi. Now we to see who the champion will be, Shigehiro Irie or Yuji Okabayashi?

The “super important” announcement was the reveal of Kazuchika Okada competing at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2013”. But that’s not all, it was announced Okada will take on Kota Ibushi in the co-main event! Ibushi thanked the crowd for the support they will give him in the upcoming G1 Climax and he promised he will do his best against the Rainmaker.

Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi announced that Kensuke Sasaki will be the third member of their team when they challenge the Monster Army for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 21/7. GM Tsurumi Amon was completely unaware of this and now has to contact Sasaki and negotiate with him to actually appear at the show.

Antonio Honda and Daisuke Sasaki both wrestled in Kushinbo Kamen costumes along with the gear they stole from Masa Takanashi & Akito. I guess they are Kamen’s spare costumes and the Monster Army stole them too.


Ibushi Enters G1 CLIMAX 23!

July 5, 2013

ibushi-g1

Kota Ibushi surprised everyone by being announced as a participant in this year’s G1 Climax tournament in New Japan. He made an appearance at today’s New Japan iPPV in Korakuen Hall after the reveal. His message was brief and polite. “I am Kota Ibushi from DDT Pro Wrestling. I decided to enter the G1 Climax for the first time. Thank you!”

Ibushi had previously competed in New Japan as a Jr. Heavyweight, winning the Best of the Super Jr. tournament and holding both IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championships. Now he has moved up to Heavyweight and the decision may not be as sudden as you think.

During an interview on the DDT website last year, Ibushi said one of his dreams was to compete in the G1 Climax. Ever since Ibushi returned to active competition, he has toned down his high flying moves a little bit while adding some power to his repertoire. These changes might have helped Ibushi adapt his style to be more compatible with heavier opponents. Could it be that Ibushi’s entry was planned a long time ago?

Kota has been added to Group B where he will have matches against Yuji Nagata, Shinsuke Nakamura, Minoru Suzuki, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tetsuya Naito, Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi, Shelton X Benjamin and Karl Anderson. The tournament will take place in the first two weeks of August.


No Glass Slipper Necessary, More Hulk Hogan Gymnastics

April 29, 2013

Stardom “CHAMPION FIESTA 2013 RYOGOKU CINDERELLA”, 29/04/2013
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
5,500 Fans

Mayu Iwatani, Lin Bairon, Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi defeated Eri Susa, Makoto, Michael Nakazawa & Hikaru Sato when Iwatani pinned Nakazawa with a Dragon Suplex (12:26).

Today was the big day for the Stardom joshi promotion. They ran an important show in Sumo Hall dedicated to the retirement of Yuzuki Aikawa. Miss Bouncy Bouncy received a lot of support from DDT during her pro wrestling career so it was fitting to see some of the wrestlers having a match on the undercard. The 8-Person Tag Team match had a crossover of talent from Stardom, DDT and Wrestling New Classic as Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi teamed with Stardom’s Mayu Iwatani and the new WNC Women’s Champion Lin Bairon to face Michael Nakazawa, Hikaru Sato, Eri Susa and the former WNC Women’s Champion Makoto. Nakazawa and Sato were in hentai mode with Nakazawa dressed as a nurse while Sato wore a women’s bathing suit. Ibushi and Makoto got to reignite their small rivalry when they paired off in the ring. Nakazawa was his usual creepy sense and attempted to apply the Ultimate Venom Arm on Iwatani. Makoto did not want her team to win that way and tried to stop him but got caught in the crossfire. Iwatani capitalised on the backfire and pinned Nakazawa with a Dragon Suplex in an impressive feat. Now, if someone from DDT is reading this could they please go console Sanshiro Takagi?

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Meanwhile a few other DDT wrestlers appeared at the the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo to attend the Nico Douga Conference. Antonio Honda put on his red and yellow tights and brought Hulkamania to life again with a Hulk Hogan Gymnastics performance. He was cheered on by Danshoku Dino, Tsurumi Amon, Daisuke Sasaki, Hiroshi Fukuda and Chikage Kiba. The video of the original performance is one of the more popular sport videos on the website. The video can be seen here: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/1333972847


DDT X Stardom Street Assault

February 12, 2013

ddt-stardom

DDT “HANAYASHIKI STREET WRESTLING”, 27/03/2013
Tokyo Asakusa Hanayashiki

4 Way Mixed Tag Team Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Yuzuki Aikawa Vs Danshoku Dino & Yoshiko Vs Kota Ibushi & Jaiko Ishikawa Vs Michael Nakazawa & Miho Wakizawa

DDT and Stardom join together to check off one final achievement from Yuzuki Aikawa’s wrestling bucket list before she retires in April. The one thing left that Yuzuki wants to do is to take part in DDT’s famed street wrestling matches. Sanshiro Takagi, who has probably been Yuzuki’s biggest fan throughout her bouncy career has granted her wish and set up the match to take place in Japan’s oldest amusement park, the Asakusa Hanayahiki in Tokyo.

It was originally supposed to be only two teams taking part in the match. Takagi and Aikawa will look for revenge on Danshoku Dino & Yoshiko for losing to them at “SWEET DREAMS!” last month. Kota Ibushi then showed up upset that nobody told him about DDT doing another street wrestling match. He added himself into the match but was told he needed to have a female tag team partner. Yoshiko was furious that she has to team with Dino again instead of her darling Ibushi and opted to join his team. She thinks she can win his heart by wrestling in the street just like he does. Dino cockblocked her and told Ibushi to find someone else. Ibushi did just that and announced Jaiko Ishikawa (Shuji Ishikawa’s… identical twin sister?) as his partner. Takagi joked that the two have to be dating each other.

So it looked like a 3 Way Tag was set when Michael Nakazawa made his presence felt. He too wanted to be in the match and he called over Stardom wrestler Miho Wakizawa to be his tag partner. He then taught her how to do the Ultimate Venom Arm and they formed a Venom Arm Connecion to signify their new team.


Kota’s Contract Conflict

November 6, 2012

Kota Ibushi got himself into an awkward situation today when he unintentionally crashed a press conference held by New Japan to promote their upcoming PPV on 11/11. The conference included a contract signing for the IWGP Jr. Title Match between champion Low Ki and challenger Prince Devitt. However, Ibushi entered the room before either wrestler and sat down at the table. When Devitt, Low Ki and New Japan president Naoki Sugabayashi entered they were surprised to see Ibushi greeting them. Ibushi explained he was here to sign the contract for his rematch with Low Ki. Sugabayashi tried to explain that the contract wasn’t for him. Ibushi sighed with disappointment but cheered up when Sugabayashi said that when this match is over, Ibushi will be able to compete for the next title shot. Ibushi tried to seal the president’s promise with a pinkie shake but Sugabayashi redirected the offer of gratitude to his interpreter Mr. Nishizawa. Ibushi then left the room and was escorted out of the building.