DDT “MAX BUMP 2016” Results

April 24, 2016

all-hail-sasaki

DDT “MAX BUMP 2016”, 24/04/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,633 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark Title – 3 Way Match: Hoshitango (c) defeated Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Gota Ihashi when Hoshitango pinned Ihashi with the Midnight Buenos Aires (5:28).
*Hoshitango passes D1. Gota Ihashi becomes the 15th King Of Dark Champion.
1. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Jiro Kuroshio defeated Shunma Katsumata, Kouki Iwasaki & Guanchulo when Owashi pinned Guanchulo with La Magistral Cradle (5:43).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Saki Akai & Makoto Oishi defeated LiLiCo (c) & Mizuki Watase when Akai pinned LiLiCo after a Sleeper Hold (8:33).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,072nd champion.
3. Antonio Honda, Hiroshi Fukuda & Eddie French defeated Danshoku Dino, Soma Takao & Mao Inoue when Honda pinned Inoue with the Diving Fist Drop (7:22).
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles Next Challenger Decision 3 Way Match: Akito & Yasu Urano defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie and Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi when Akito pinned Ishii with the Hanamasa (9:46).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate CCC Match: Super Sasadango Machine (c) defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock onto a chair (7:21).
*V2 for Super Sasadango Machine.
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo when Sasaki submitted Takeshita with the Cross Facelock (15:22).
*V2 for Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa.
7. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) defeated Kazusada Higuchi with the Somato (18:58).
*V2 for HARASHIMA.
– KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki defeated HARASHIMA (c) with La Mistica Cross Facelock (1:45).
*HARASHIMA fails in V3. Daisuke Sasaki cashes in his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract. Daisuke Sasaki becomes the 57th KO-D Openweight Champion!

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There is a new ruler of DDT but it isn’t Kazusada Higuchi. It’s Daisuke Sasaki! A Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract was cashed in after the main event in which an exhausted HARASHIMA defeated Higuchi. The match between HARASHIMA and Higuchi was tense but respect was shown from both sides. HARASHIMA targeted Higuchi’s legs but an alternate tactic of bashing Higuchi’s head into the ring post had no effect on the challenger. Instead Higuchi picked up HARASHIMA and rammed his back into the ring post. Higuchi applied an Iron Claw back in the ring but HARASHIMA fought out of it and hit the John Woo Dropkick into the turnbuckles. He unleashed his arsenal of kicks and was able to lift Higuchi up for the Falcon Arrow. Higuchi fought back with Headbutts and a big Doctor Bomb. He was a fraction away from the three count but HARASHIMA somehow kicked out! HARASHIMA avoided the Goten and was set up for the Somato but Higuchi stopped him with a Lariat. HARASHIMA kicked out Higuchi’s left leg and hit an Enzuigiri when Higuchi was brought down to his knees. He then hit the Somato to the back, a Buzzsaw Kick and then another Somato and that was enough to put the big man down and out.

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There was no time for anyone to catch their breath when Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa rushed the ring! Ishikawa attacked HARASHIMA’s seconds and then removed Higuchi from the ring. Sasaki told Amon Tsurumi that HARASHIMA is in a weak state so he will now cash in his Right To Challenge Contract for an immediate KO-D Openweight Title match! The bell rang and Sasaki jumped at the champion. HARASHIMA shocked Sasaki by hitting a Reverse Hurricanrana and the Somato but Sasaki kicked out of the pin and locked in the Cross Facelock. HARASHIMA escaped the hold but Sasaki caught him with his flash Hurricanrana. HARASHIMA kicked out but Sasaki then performed his La Mistica variation of the Cross Facelock. This time HARASHIMA had nowhere to go and he fainted while in the move. Yukinori Matsui called for the bell meaning Sasaki is now the new KO-D Champion!

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The defeated HARASHIMA had barely left the ring when Yukio Sakaguchi appeared and stood face to face with Sasaki. He said he wasn’t going to copy Sasaki’s dirty plan because his principles are different. Instead he is sticking to his promise to cash in his Right To Challenge Contract for a regular title match in Sapporo on 8th May. He left the ring allowing Sasaki to celebrate his new found dominance of DDT. He may be small but he has a big attitude. He is now a double champion and he claims it’s all because of his talent and charisma.

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Sasaki’s scheduled match was the KO-D Tag Team Title defence with Shuji Ishikawa against the former champions Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo. There was no love lost between the two teams as the champions attacked the challengers to kickstart the match. A brawl outside the ring left Takeshita & Endo in a bad state but some big risks began to pay off. Takeshita dove out of the ring onto the champions with a No Touch Topé. He later Superplexed Sasaki into Ishikawa! But it all fell apart when Sasaki escaped from Endo’s Torture Rack Bomb and a follow up Lariat from Endo hit Takeshita instead. Sasaki capitalised by putting Takeshita in the Cross Facelock and changing it to a modified stretch until Takeshita could take no more. The champions were confronted by their next challengers Akito & Yasu Urano. Urano told them he knows their weakness.

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The latest DDT Extreme Title defence took place in an Ultimate CCC Match. CCC stands for Chair And Chair And Chair. Super Sasadango Machine was inspired to create this match when Kazuki Hirata got angry over him breaking a chair at the Nagaoka show last week. When one of three Ultimate CCC cards came into play then Sasadango’s seconds at ringside would bring chairs into the ring and they would be legal to use. One of the chairs turned out to be a beanbag chair and Sasadango drove Hirata into it with the Lehmann Shock. That didn’t do much damage. Hirata took control and used the chairs as part of his dance act. This allowed Sasadango to recover and give Hirata the Lehman Shock onto a pile of chairs to win the match.

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Sasadango was told that his next title shot is happening on 29th May. Sasadango said he doesn’t want to wrestle, he instead wants to fight somebody from Yahoo! Suddenly the unconscious body of LiLiCo was brought out to the ring on a stretcher. The shock of losing the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title earlier in the show put her into a deep sleep and only the power of love could wake her up. Mizuki Watase kissed LiLiCo and she awoke! She screamed that she has risen from Hell and she will bite more and more into DDT until she becomes a champion again. Sasadango took that as a challenge and accepted it.

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New challengers for the KO-D Tag Team Titles were declared in a 3 Way Match but the aftermath turned out to be the bigger story. Akito & Yasu Urano got the win and will get their title shot in Nagoya on 15th May. But the losing team in the match was Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie. When the match was over a defeated Ishii spoke into the mic and said Team Drift is breaking up! The audience was left stunned as Drift left the ring after their bombshell announcement.

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Danshoku Dino targeted Takao throughout the third match but Eddie French was there to hold him back. That was until French decided to throw him aside giving Dino the chance to chase after Takao and give him a Lip Lock. Antonio Honda cleared house with the Bionic Elbow and won the match with the Diving Fist Drop on Mic Inoue.

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Saki Akai has finally achieved her goal to regain the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and gain revenge on LiLiCo in the process. The two wanted to fight each other straight away although their respective tag partners Makoto Oishi and Mizuki Watase stepped in to make sure the action between the women wouldn’t go out of control. It all went wrong for LiLiCo when a Running Elbow hit Inoue by accident. Akai grabbed LiLiCo and rendered her unconscious with a Sleeper Hold. Instead of keeping the hold locked Akai decided to go for a pin and she got the three count to become the new champion! LiLiCo was put into such a deep sleep she had to be stretchered away from ringside with Watase worriedly chasing after her. In a backstage interview Akai called herself the New Generation Iron Man Princess. This time she’s ready to take on anybody, anytime, anywhere.

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The mystery wrestler in Match #1 came from WRESTLE-1. The pretty boy known as Jiro “Ikemen” Kuroshio milked his entrance for all that it was worth, walking through the crowds and getting them to chant his name to the music. His antics won over the crowd and he received a loud “Ikemen!” chant after the match. Backstage both Sanshiro Takagi and Toru Owashi agreed that Kuroshio is ten times better than their usual partner Kazuki Hirata. Kuroshio will return on the 11th May DNA show.

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Gota Ihashi is being sent back to where he came from, the pre-show. He is now a 5 time King Of Dark Champion. Poor bastard.

The Great Kabuki will appear at “PETER PAN 2016” in Sumo Hall on 28th August.

DDT will hold a show in Katsuragi, Nara on 30th July. Katsuragi is known as the birthplace of sumo wrestling. The mayor of Katsuragi sent a video message welcoming DDT to the city.

This year’s Beer Garden week is changing venue. It will now be held in Shinjuku FACE with a show everyday from 8th to 13th August.


DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

March 19, 2016

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DDT “JUDGEMENT 2016 ~DDT 19th ANNIVERSARY~”, 21/03/2016
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. King Of Dark Title: Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango Vs DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nonoko Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Azusa Takigawa Vs Yuu Vs Nodoka-onesan Vs Marika Kobashi Vs Ai Shimizu Vs Poison Miura Vs KANNA
0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani
0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT
1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Masa Takanshi Vs Soma Takao Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Cherry Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yoshihiko Vs Ken Ohka
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akito & Yasu Urano
3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard Vs LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
4. Special Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA
5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Kendo Kashin (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine
6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs KENSO & Michael Nakazawa Vs Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Minoru Suzuki
8. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Akebono
9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs HARASHIMA

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DDT celebrates the 19th year of its existence with the first of two visits to Sumo Hall in 2016. After drawing a disappointing number back in August, they have packed this card with everything they have in their arsenal. Spin offs BASARA, DNA and Tokyo Joshi Pro all have spots on the pre-show so there is a sense of DDT getting everybody they can on their rosters onto the show in a WrestleMania kind of manner. Things to look forward to this year are the aces of DDT and BASARA facing off, one man and his dog chasing after tag team gold, sumo being challenged by the power of asses, two grumpy fighters being grumpy to each other, the return of a Golden Star to shine over the least wanted feud in wrestling, the presence of a Dragon and his son and the most extreme PowerPoint presentation known to mankind.

0. King Of Dark Title: Seiya Morohashi (c) & Hoshitango Vs DJ Nira & Dai Suzuki

Seiya Morohashi has the unwanted honour of defending the King Of Dark Title at one of DDT’s biggest shows of the year. The belt has been in existence for over a year now and has been a nightmare for everyone who held it. Morohashi needs to pin either DJ Nira or Dai Suzuki to transfer the belt to them and escape from dark match hell.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Battle Royal: Miyu Yamashita Vs Shoko Nakajima Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Nonoko Vs Rika Tatsumi Vs Hyper Misao Vs Azusa Takigawa Vs Yuu Vs Nodoka-onesan Vs Marika Kobashi Vs Ai Shimizu Vs Poison Miura Vs KANNA

The girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro take the stage with a Battle Royal. Miyu Yamashita is currently leading the brand as the first and only TOKYO Princess Of Princess Champion. She doesn’t have a No. 1 Contender at the moment so the winner here might grab that spot.

0. DNA Offer Match – Mao Inoue Comeback: Shunma Katsumata, Guanchulo & Mao Inoue Vs Kouki Iwasaki, Rainbow Kawamura & Nobuhiro Shimatani

The rookie brand DDT New Attitude has been a highlight for DDT throughout the year. The shows are uploaded to DDT’s official Youtube channel and are a great showcase for the younger and newer talent. In fact two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions are captaining the two teams in this match. Shunma Katsumata is teaming with his Chilean amigo Guanchulo and the returning Mao Inoue. Inoue debuted at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015” and is one of the more flashier wrestlers in DNA. But a jaw injury at “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2015” in November put him on the shelf. On the other side, one-third champ Kouki Iwasaki has the now more colourful Rainbow Kawamura and recently debuting Nobuhiro Shimatani to partner with.

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Takumi Tsukamoto, Daichi Kazato & Ryu Gouma Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT

It’s been go, go, go for Pro Wrestling BASARA since its first show earlier this year. As a replacement for Union, BASARA put together a much busier schedule than its predecessor and the shows held so far have been a success. One of the main storylines going on right now is FUMA’s obsession for heavy metal music resulting in the creation of Kotetsu Gundan. FUMA wants to spread around his love of heavy metal and convinced the now masked Yusuke Kubo and a slightly confused Madoka to join his cause. FUMA won’t shut up and it’s starting to annoy the rest of BASARA. Takumi Tsukamoto has a massive hammer to smash FUMA’s mouth shut, Daichi Kazato has a megaphone to drown out the noise and Ryu Gouma has his lawbook so surely he can find something to declare FUMA’s antics as noise pollution.

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1. Ryogoku First Appearance! Next KO-D Openweight Title Challenger Decision And Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Toru Owashi Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Masa Takanshi Vs Soma Takao Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Cherry Vs Ryuichi Sekine Vs Ryota Nakatsu Vs Yoshihiko Vs Ken Ohka

The show starts off proper with the annual Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere match appearing in Sumo Hall for the first time. It is a combination of a Money In The Bank Ladder Match and the Royal Rumble. The winner of the Rumble itself gets a guaranteed KO-D Openweight Title shot at Korakuen Hall on 24th April. However the competitors can instead try and claim one of several contracts held high above the ring. Those who grab a contract then leave the match with a prize. This year the prize is a MITB style title shot for any show from 26th March to 28th August, the date of the next Sumo Hall event. But this being DDT things are not always that simple. Rules can change but based on previous years the contract holder is forced to defend the contract in every single match they appear in until the contract is cashed in. This way the contract holder cannot just rest on their laurels and accept defeat after defeat knowing that they can claim an easy title shot whenever they want (see WWE booking). Plus it’s a bit unfair for the champion to have up to 4 or 5 people waiting to ambush him at any time so this concept keeps the roster scrambling amongst themselves for a few months.

After a string of wins including a Battle Royal victory, Kazuki Hirata offered to take the No. 1 entry spot in the match. He originally demanded to enter last but was convinced all of the contracts would be gone by the time he enters. So he’s entering first to grab a contract as soon as possible. He also has new heart shaped HIRATA GO! glasses on sale at the event. The rest of DDT’s misfits fill up the field. Masa Takanashi is aiming to win a title shot so he can become a double champion, one in Japan and one in Singapore. Toru Owashi is currently battling a flu but he also wants to snap every pair of HIRATA GO! glasses he sees. He also wants to flush Hirata down a toilet in the sumo locker room. Kazusada Higuchi held one of the contracts last year during his impressive rookie unbeaten streak. This time he wants to get a successful cash in. Tomomitsu Matsunaga and Cherry both want to finally achieve their goal of becoming KO-D Champion. Cherry wants to defend the title 41 times, one for every year she’s been alive. She believes this will end with her becoming reborn into an even more beautiful woman. Ryota Nakatsu is ready to get into a baseball dugout brawl if he has to. Ryuichi Sekine calls himself the best orthodox wrestler in BASARA and him getting a title shot will guarantee the belt either stays or comes back to his home company. Ken Ohka who briefly became KO-D Champion last year thanks to the Right To Challenge concept, sees himself as the outsider of the match due to being a representative of Ganbare☆Wrestling. At the press conference he challenged everybody to fight him one on one. Higuchi then gave him a Headbutt and he backed off, instead complimenting everybody for being so enthusiastic for the match. The other wild card is Yoshihiko. It probably just wants to watch the world burn.

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2. 3 Way Tag Match: Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae Vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akito & Yasu Urano

It’s safe to say DDT has fallen in love with The World’s Cutest Tag Team. Last year’s video of Joey Ryan overpowering Danshoku Dino with his dick made him famous and the DDT roster fell head over heels for Candice LeRae, one of them even going so far to propose to her almost immediately. For their return to Japan they have two mainstay tag teams thrown in their way. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie are former KO-D Tag Team and All Asia Tag Team Champions. Yasu Urano & Akito are busy working their strategy for the match. They understand that communication is key to winning and both of their opposing teams have strong bonds. However the one thing Ryan & LeRae have over Ishii & Irie is the language barrier. Ishii & Irie are terrible at English! Urano & Akito however understand English and can work out what Ryan & LeRae will be saying to each other. They don’t speak it themselves but they still understand it. Ishii tried to prove them wrong at the press conference by having Irie translate his message to both teams in English.

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3. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Special 6-Man Tag Team Match: Saki Akai, Makoto Oishi & Lady Beard Vs LiLiCo (c), Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase

The Kawaii Connection reunite to deliver their cuteness to the entire world. Cute model Saki Akai, cute wrestler Makoto Oishi and cute crossdresser Lady Beard are ready to get revenge on LiLiCo for what she did to Akai. Back in December Akai finally achieved her goal and won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title for the second time in her career. But a few weeks later LiLiCo made a surprise return to choke out Akai with a steel chain and win the title. Now they will finally meet in the ring properly but LiLiCo has some back up. She recruited DNA wrestlers Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase. mostly based on their looks, to protect her and her championship. They’ve been living a lavish lifestyle in the run up to the show. LiLiCo’s been bragging about eating delicious meat with her handsome men. Umeda thinks the full stomach he has from the meat puts him in peak physical condition. Meanwhile a war of words has erupted between Akai and Watase over each other’s appearances. It’s gotten so bad that the two had to be pulled apart from each other during the press conference.

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4. Special Tag Match: Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA

The latest puroresu legend to step into DDT’s ring is WWE Hall Of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami! He’s been looking for a new challenge for himself and his son LEONA to overcome so DDT gave them a call and here they are. Antonio Honda spent the last few months chasing after the DDT Extreme Title and trying to get Kendo Kashin to notice him. The experience left him in a bad state of mind so when he heard he will be teaming with Hiroshi Fukuda it cheered him up. He said he always had fun when he’s in the ring with Fukuda. That it’s against Fujinami & LEONA is icing on the cake for both. Fukuda claims he recently received a WWE tryout and he wonders if Fujinami gets a Legends discount for the WWE Network because he’s in their Hall Of Fame.

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5. DDT Extreme Title – Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules: Kendo Kashin (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine

And now we go to whatever the hell this is. Kendo Kashin’s DDT Extreme Title run has been complicated in ways that should not be so. He created rulesets for his title defences that turn out to be exactly like normal match stipulations. Instead of a normal match it is an Amateur rules bout with 3 count pins, submissions allowed and 20 count ring outs. Instead of a tag team match it is a single match but both wrestlers have partners they can swap places with. Instead of a Triple Threat it is a singles match but with three wrestlers involved. And so on and so forth. Add in Super Sasadango Machine who is a master of bizarre match stipulations and you have a recipe for a beautiful disaster.

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So what exactly is an Ultimate Royal Barbed Wire PowerPoint No Power Blast PWF Rules match? Does it have anything to do with that stupid 4 Way MMA Gauntlet match New Japan did for its 2005 Tokyo Dome show? Actually yes it does but there’s only two wrestlers involved this time. Also Kashin has never seen the match so he’s not entirely sure what the rules for that are. Does it have anything to do with the Barbed Wire Explosion matches FMW was famous for? Again yes it does but explosions of that size are banned in Sumo Hall so they won’t be included. Instead barbed wire will be wrapped around the laptop Sasadango uses for his PowerPoint presentations and it will be rigged to explode after 5 minutes.

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6. Kota Ibushi Comeback & Ibushi Wrestling Institute 1st Leg – East & West Toward The Front Over The Entire Surface Falls Count Anywhere Weapon Treasure Hunt Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Jun Kasai Vs KENSO & Michael Nakazawa Vs Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi

There are two stories surrounding this match. First is the feud that no one wanted resurfaced last year and has lingered in DDT ever since. Sanshiro Takagi and KENSO had a feud in 2006 that ended with a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Match on a show where everything just fell apart. How bad was it? There were power outages during the match caused by the barbed wire ruining the explosions. KENSO showed up in DDT last year wanting to rekindle the feud. It was the most alive he ever felt and he wanted to experience it again. It turned smarky on social media with Takagi tweeting about KENSO’s failures in wrestling including losing to an actor when he wrestled in HUSTLE. KENSO’s response was usually just linking a picture of Takagi’s election poster, an embarrassing part of his past. A dark match 60 minute Ironman Match couldn’t decide a winner of the feud so it’s off to Sumo Hall for another final battle. Jun Kasai is coming to bring back his Crazy & President tag team with Takagi. KENSO has to rely on Michael Nakazawa who is returning from Singapore just to do this match. The stage is set for an out of control Falls Count Anywhere Match that will spread all over Sumo Hall. What could possibly take the spotlight from that?

Oh hey there, Kota Ibushi. How’s it going?

So get this. Last October Ibushi starts dropping out of shows including him missing a KO-D Title Match. Turns out he was diagnosed with a herniated cervical disc. So that’s him gone for God knows how long. Months pass and he’s all quiet until all of a sudden videos appear on Twitter of Ibushi working out and taking bumps with a training dummy. The herniated disc wasn’t as bad as expected and he was getting close to a full recovery. DDT and New Japan fans get excited for what will surely be his inevitable glorious comeback for both companies. Then in February he drops a bombshell. Ibushi decided to quit both DDT and New Japan. The double schedule took its toll on his body and he also felt he wouldn’t be able to do the kind of pro wrestling he wants to do while tied down to both companies. So he “graduates” from DDT and New Japan and then creates the Ibushi Wrestling Institute. What that is we still don’t know. What we do know is Ibushi’s first match back will be in this clusterfuck. He gets to wrestle Takagi and Nakazawa again, two men he has the deepest respect for and he gets to do a Falls Count Anywhere Match in Sumo Hall, which he has never done before.

What he does after the next few weeks is anyone’s guess. Maybe the WWE fans get their wish and he enters the Global Cruiserweight Series. Maybe NJPW fans can still get their wish of Ibushi Vs Kenny Omega at the Tokyo Dome next year. Or maybe he’s just going to do what he thinks is fun even if it means hardcore fans tearing out their hair because his big goal is to fight in Kaiju Big Battel. I mean fair play to EVOLVE and all but it has to be a bit embarrassing when everyone hears that the main reason a big star took your booking is because he wants to fight a devil monkey, a dust bunny, a murderous can of soup and a giant waffle in the same town that weekend.

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7. Dramatic Dream Match: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Minoru Suzuki

The last time Yukio Sakaguchi was in Sumo Hall for DDT he won the KO-D Championship. The last time Minoru Suzuki was in Sumo Hall for DDT he was part of some nonsense with Takagi, Kasai and Nakazawa. Both are grumpy hybrid wrestlers so it’s only natural for a showdown between the two. Sakaguchi isn’t in the mood to talk about the match. Suzuki cares a little more but he’s rather enjoying teasing Sakaguchi over his public reputation for being a bad guy. Expect this match to get physical.

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8. Dramatic Dream Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Akebono

Danshoku Dino is an ass man. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. What could be a surprise is Dino might not be able to handle the next ass he’s in the ring with. Akebono was last in DDT for “SAITAMA SUPER DDT” at the Saitama Super Arena. Since then he’s won some titles, created his own wrestling company Odo and got punched in the back of the head by Bop Sapp. You know, the usual stuff Akebono likes to do. For this match Dino has been trying to hunt down the asses of various wrestlers as some sort of power up but the plan hasn’t been a success. He’ll need to pull out every trick he can think of to win but it’s possible. Dino once defeated Bob Sapp. He can do the same to Akebono!

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9. KO-D Tag Team Titles – Uchicomi! Presents: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa

The New Generation Combination are currently DDT’s top tag team. Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo are the leading examples that DDT’s future is in good hands. But for the last month they’ve had a duo barking up their tree and snapping at their heels. Daisuke Sasaki is a crafty veteran who has had success in the past. However his luck changed when he fell in love with Candice LeRae. After teaming with her he bent down on one knee and proposed. She turned him down and he had a mental breakdown when he found out she got engaged to someone else immediately afterwards. Unable to handle rejection Sasaki started bringing a dog leash with him. When he demanded a tag team title shot without having any tag partners he went out and got a dog named Adrien. The “dog” then showed up and attacked the New Gen Combo. He unmasked and was revealed to be Shuji Ishikawa! Sasaki now has a partner and together they want the tag titles. Takeshita & Endo believe they are the future of pro wrestling and they’re not going to drop the titles to a dumped man and his pet dog.

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10. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: Isami Kodaka (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The KO-D Openweight Championship has been around Isami Kodaka’s waist since November. Things have been great for him. His new promotion BASARA is doing well, he’s a tag team champion in All Japan and he’s been unbeatable in DDT. If there is anyone who has the best shot at winning the title from him it’s good old Mr. Reliable himself, HARASHIMA. For the 5th time in his career HARASHIMA is in the headline match for DDT at Sumo Hall. The last time was in 2014 in a 3 Way Match with Kodaka and Kenny Omega. HARASHIMA got the pin on Kodaka to keep the title. This time he’s going in as challenger and he aims to leave with the belt. Kodaka equates this match to the rivalry between Kenshiro and Raoh in Fist Of The North Star. Isami is Kenshiro, HARASHIMA is Raoh. Isami is desperate to win and he’ll even use the Muso Tensei if he has to!


DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2016” Results

February 28, 2016

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DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2016”, 28/02/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,596 Fans – No Vacancy

0. King Of Dark: Mizuki Watase (c) & Kota Umeda defeated Hiroshi Fukuda & Guanchulo when Watase pinned Guanchulo with a Back Drop (7:19).
*Mizuki Watase passes D3. Guanchulo becomes the 12th King Of Dark Champion.
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi, Shunma Katsumata & Kouki Iwasaki defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) when Iwasaki pinned Hirata with a Cradle (11:58).
*T2Hide fails in V1. Higuchi-gumi becomes the 24th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
2. Saki Akai & Makoto Oishi defeated Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine when Oishi pinned Dino with the Jikiden Tornado Clutch (8:38).
3. Special Single Match: Daisuke Sasaki defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Sasaki Hurricanrana (1:41).
4. 4 Way Tag Team Match: Isami Kodaka & Ryuichi Sekine defeated Yasu Urano & Akito, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi and Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao when Kodaka pinned Akito with the Zeyyari (8:50).
5. DDT Extreme Title – Single Match With 3 People: Kendo Kashin (c) defeated Antonio Honda and Yoshihiko when Kashin submitted Yoshihiko with a Cross Armbreaker (10:44)
*V3 for Kendo Kashin.
6. Special Single Match: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Splash Mountain (14:44).
7. KO-D Openweight Title Next Challenger Final: HARASHIMA defeated Shigehiro Irie with the Somato (19:52).

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The main event for DDT’s 19th Anniversary show in Sumo Hall is now official. HARASHIMA won the right to challenge Isami Kodaka for the KO-D Openweight Title on 21st March. He had to go through the difficult task of beating Shigehiro Irie to earn his title shot. Kodaka watched the match from ringside. The first sign of the match going in HARASHIMA’s favour was when he dodged a charging Irie outside the ring and Irie ran abdomen first into an iron fence. HARASHIMA targeted Irie’s abdomen until he was hit with a Lariat and the Teddy Bear. A Black Hole Slam, the Flying Sausage and the Beast Bomber only got Irie a two count. HARASHIMA avoided the Vertial Drop Back Flip, hit some Jumping High Kicks and the Reverse Frankensteiner. He hit the Somato but Irie kicked out! HARASHIMA then pulled out his rarely used Firebird Splash but Irie also kicked out of that! Irie blocked another Somato and turned HARASHIMA upside down for the Drill-A-Hole Piledriver. He hit another big Beast Bomber but HARASHIMA would not stay down for the three count. There was a strike exchange with Irie doing a Headbutt but HARASHIMA then stunned him with a High Kick. He then did a Canadian Destroyer but that was yet another nearfall. HARASHIMA followed up with a Buzzsaw Kick but Irie caught his foot. HARASHIMA surprised Irie with a short range Somato from that position and then hit a proper Somato one more time. That was enough to keep Irie down for the count. HARASHIMA thanked Irie for the match and said this was the strongest Irie has ever been. He wants to fight him again and again and again. Kodaka was then brought into the ring to say some words about the Sumo Hall main event. He wasn’t in the mood to start any arguements. He is confident in his ability to defend the title. He shook hands with HARASHIMA but HARASHIMA started pushing Kodaka’s hand down as if they were arm wrestling. Kodaka kicked him away and left the ring.

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Tetsuya Endo wasted no time going after Shuji Ishikawa. After attacking him right away he tried to set up the Sky Twister Press but Ishikawa rolled out of the ring. Endo brawled with Shuji up to the north side of Korakuen Hall where Endo was Body Slammed onto some chairs. He just about got back into the ring before the 20 count. Ishikawa was in control until Endo hit a Missile Dropkick. However Ishikawa was too heavy for the Torture Rack Bomb. Endo escaped the Splash Mountain and kicked out of the Running Knee Lift but his momentum was stopped with the Fire Thunder. He still had life in him and he kicked kept kicking out of Ishikawa’s signature moves until the Splash Mountain put him away for good. Daisuke Sasaki attached a leash to Ishikawa after the match and said he and his pet “Adrian” will win the KO-D Tag Team Titles at Sumo Hall.

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The DDT Extreme Title was defended in a normal one on one match with an extra wrestler involved. Totally not a Triple Threat Match. The champion Kendo Kashin entered with a body paint image of politician Kensuke Miyazaki. Yoshihiko was accompanied by his elder brother Muscle Sakai who was wearing an all black bodysuit. Sakai stood by Yoshihiko for the entire match to aid him with his moves. Kashin and Antonio Honda ignored them to brawl with each other around ringside. Kashin knocked out the referee and grabbed a chair. He attacked Honda and Sakai with the chair and then played dead. Yukinori Matsui woke up and saw Yoshihiko on the chair surrounded by unconscious bodies. He called a foul on Yoshihiko. Kashin used the distraction to sneak behind Yoshihiko and pin it but Honda stopped the count. Honda gave Kashin a Scorpion Death Drop and then hit the Diving Fist Drop on Yoshihiko. Yoshihiko recovered and Dropkicked Honda out of the ring with Sakai’s help. They went over to Kashin but it was a trap! Kashin locked them into a Cross Armbreaker and both Yoshihiko and Sakai tapped out! After the match Honda asked Kashin for one more title match. Kashin assured Honda that he will get what he wants and nominated… Super Sasadango Machine! Suddenly Sakai was gone and Sasadango appeared to accept the match!

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The Zeyyari Isami Kodaka used to pin Akito is a Running Knee Kick to the side of the head. Kodaka said he will continue to defend the KO-D Title once he beats the next guy DDT throws at him. Ryuichi Sekine asked if he could get a title shot. Kodaka said yes. Ryota Nakatsu told them they could do the match in BASARA. Amon Tsurumi told them the next challenger will be determined at Sumo Hall in the Right To Anywhere Rumble match. Sekine & Nakatsu demanded to enter the match. They agreed with Tsurumi to take themselves out of the BASARA offer match so they can be in the Rumble.

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Daisuke Sasaki became grumpy when he was told at the start of the show his match with Konosuke Takeshita would not be for the MAX Lucha Libre Maximo Title. It didn’t matter because Sasaki stunned Takeshita by quickly pinning him with a flash Hurricanrana. However the result came from a dirty gameplan. Sasaki escaped the ring and attacked Hiroshi Fukuda at ringside, prompting Takeshita to chase him. Takeshita caught up and hit Sasaki with a Lariat but was pinned out of nowhere by the Hurricanrana afterwards.

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LiLiCo appeared after Match #2 with Suguru Miyatake by her side. Makoto Oishi asked her who she is teaming with to take on the Kawaii Connection at Sumo Hall. LiLiCo said Miyatake was supposed to be one of her partners but he is injured. Instead she found two other ikemen she fancies, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase! The two entered the ring and were presented to LiLiCo. She looked at them approvingly and called both of them delicious. Akai said it doesn’t matter who the old hag teams with, she’ll win back the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. The two grabbed each other and had to be pulled apart.

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Danshoku Dino’s current goal is to collect other wrestlers’ asses. Doing so will prepare him for his match with Akebono in Sumo Hall next month. Saki Akai was worried Dino would target her ass but he wasn’t interested for obvious reasons. Super Sasadango Machine had his mask twisted around after he was thrown into Dino’s Hell Gate. A blinded Sasadango gave Dino the Lehmann Shock and Oishi capitalised to grab the win for himself and Akai.

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Before the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title match began Kazuki Hirata took the time to ask the DNA team if they did enough training. He then mockingly wished them luck. The DNA team wasted no time in targeting Hirata. The champions gained control and Hirata looked to pin Kouki Iwasaki for the third time in a month. He caught Iwasaki in the Miracle One Shot Cradle but this time Iwasaki blocked it and cradled Hirata for the surprise three count. Shunma Katsumata credited Iwasaki’s luck for winning them the titles. Kazusada Higuchi was proud to be part of the first DNA wrestlers to win a championship.

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Amon Tsurumi had to explain the King Of Dark Title to Guanchulo when he became the new champion. He wasn’t happy to learn he is being demoted to dark matches.

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The show ended with Sanshiro Takagi bringing the roster into the ring for one last speech in Korakuen before they go to Sumo Hall. He spoke about DDT running inside Saitama Super Arena this time last year. He then brought up DDT running Sumo Hall twice this year. It is a big step for DDT and everyone will make sure it will be successful. The entire roster formed a circle inside the ring and all yelled “Ryogoku Gonna Be Full House! Ooh!” as the show ended.

Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA was announced for the 21/3 Sumo Hall show!

DDT is currently looking for companies to sponsor their shows in Korakuen Hall. The first sponsored show will be “BLACKOUT PRESENTS KING OF DDT 2016 TOKYO” on 28th June. BLACKOUT is an energy drink DDT has promoted in the past on their “SAITAMA SLAM” shows.

The Ring☆Dream characters for Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dino and KUDO will soon be voiced in the web browser game.


DDT “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! 2016” Results

January 3, 2016

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DDT “NEW YEAR LOTTERY SPECIAL! 2016”, 03/01/2016
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) & Hoshitango defeated Guanchulo & Dai Suzuki when Hoshitango pinned Guanchulo with the Nodowa Otoshi (2:00).
*D2 for Gota Ihashi.
1. Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie defeated Tetsuya Endo & DJ Nira when Ishii pinned Nira with the Swivel Double Arm DDT (10:07).
2. New Year Kakizome Rumble: Shuji Ishikawa defeated Hiroshi Fukuda with the Fire Thunder (16:24).
Order Of Elimination: Kazusada Higuchi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Seiya Morohashi, Kouki Iwasaki, Gorgeous Matsuno, Soma Takao, Yuko Miyamoto, Antonio Honda, Hiroshi Fukuda.
3. Makoto Oishi & Shunma Katsumata defeated Saki Akai & Cherry when Oishi pinned Cherry with a Saki Akai Assisted Cradle (4:09).
Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: LiLiCo defeated Saki Akai (c) with a Chain Attack (7:34 pm).
*LiLiCo becomes the 1,071st champion.
4. Joey Ryan & Candice LeRae defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Suguru Miyatake when LeRae pinned Miyatake with the Ball Plex (10:40).
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Scramble Bunkhouse Locker Coffin Anywhere Death Match: Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & KENSO defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata (c) when KENSO threw Takagi into the Locker (13:22).
*T2Hide fails in V2. #OhkaEmpire becomes the 22nd KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
6. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masa Takanashi & Kota Umeda defeated HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano when Takanashi pinned HARASHIMA with the Takatonic (13:48).
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) defeated Konosuke Takeshita with the Rasengan (18:56).
*V2 for Isami Kodaka.

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Isami Kodaka has scored back to back KO-D Openweight Title defences against the two KO-D Tag Team Champions. Konosuke Takeshita came close to winning but his German Suplex was countered into a match ending Rasengan roll through pin. Kodaka threw out a challenge for a Tag Title match with Ryota Nakatsu as his partner. Amon Tsurumi decided the match will take place in Yokohama on 16th January. Tsurumi then announced the next KO-D Title matches will take place on 31st January in Korakuen Hall and 21st March in Sumo Hall. The Sumo Hall challenger will be decided with a tournament ending on 28th February. Masa Takanashi was chosen as the No. 1 Contender for the 31/1 show. Takanashi was hesitant with the decision but Yukio Sakaguchi encouraged him to accept it. Takanashi admitted he might be going into a losing battle and could suffer an embarrasing defeat. But if he can win the title he will do it for Shuten-dōji!

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There was a loud Takanashi chant when he pinned HARASHIMA with the Takatonic in the semi-main event.

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The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles were put on the line in a Scramble Bunkhouse Locker Coffin Anywhere Death Match. The match could only be won if a wrestler was trapped for three seconds inside the locker provided. Kazuki Hirata was thrown in but he burst out of it wearing his HIRATA GO! glasses with the music provided. KENSO finally got his hands on Sanshiro Takagi and was able to lock him inside the locker to win the titles for #OhkaEmpire. Afterwards KENSO again demanded a singles match with Takagi. It was finally accepted and will take place in Korakuen Hall on 31st January.

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Candice LeRae gained some new admirers after her debut match for DDT. As part of the World’s Cutest Tag Team with Joey Ryan they were successful against two-thirds of the Golden☆Storm Riders. Ryan got to show off the strength of his penis again while LeRae won the match with the Ball Plex. No one was more won over with her than Daisuke Sasaki. He spoke to Candice in English after the match, telling her “You are so really cute.” He then proposed to her. Candice reacted negatively so Sasaki reiterated that he meant they should team together in Osaka next week. Candice was happy with that idea and accepted the offer.

akai-lilico

Saki Akai & Cherry spent just as much time wrestling each other for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title than against their opponents during Match #3. Makoto Oishi capitalised by pressing down on Cherry when she tried to pin Akai with a Small Package. Oishi won the match but the pin counted against Cherry so there was no title change. Akai spoke on the microphone about her title defences but she was suddenly ambushed by LiLiCo with a steel chain! LiLiCo choked out Akai with the chain and pinned her to become the new champion!

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Every wrestler entering the Kakizome Rumble had a different special rule painted on their back by a calligrapher named Nachu. As part of a demonstration before the match she painted “Happy New Year” on Guanchulo’s chest. If a wrestler broke the rule painted on their back they were eliminated from the match. Since the wrestlers could not see their own paintings they had to figure it out based on how their opponents acted towards them. Kazusada Higuchi was eliminated for doing a Sumo Stomp, Tomomitsu Matsunaga was eliminated for doing his version of the RVD pose, Seiya Morohashi was eliminated for doing the “Strange Uncle” dance (the audience cheered him into doing an encore afterwards), Kouki Iwasaki was eliminated by a one count pin (and didn’t have his back painted for some reason), Gorgeous Matsuno was eliminated for climbing the top rope, Soma Takao was eliminated for speaking English (he complained to the ref after a nearfall by saying “Three” over and over), Yuko Miyamoto was eliminated for using a steel chair (the chair was planted behind him when he did a Suplex) and Antonio Honda was eliminated for giving a handshake (he kept doing Ric Flair style fake outs until he gave a proper handshake). The match was down to Hiroshi Fukuda (who was not allowed to say the words “You’re more beautiful than roses” yet sang parts of songs that contained those lyrics) and Shuji Ishikawa (who could not run the ropes). Ishikawa refused to do anything because he couldn’t figure out what rule he could not break. Fukuda charged Ishikawa but got hit with a Kneelift. When Ishikawa realised he wasn’t breaking any rules he gave Fukuda the Fire Thunder and pinned him to win the match.

Jun Kasai and Michael Nakazawa are confirmed to appear at DDT’s 19th Anniversary show in Sumo Hall on 21st March. Nakazawa is being brought in to do his infamous anal explosion opening ceremony. The Sumo Hall show will feature involvement from the entire DDT family of promotions and a special Dramatic Award ceremony is being planned to recognise DDT’s best over the last year.

The card for BASARA’s debut show on 21st January was revealed. The main event is Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs FUMA & Daichi Kazato. Also on the show is Hiroshi Fukuda Vs Daisuke Sekimoto and Ryota Nakatsu Vs Ikuto Hidaka.

Keisuke Ishii is producing a show on 23rd January in Tokorozawa, Saitama. The main event will be Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto for the All Asia Tag Team Titles. Ishii feels that his momentum was taken from him when he & Irie lost the belts back in 2014.

Hyper Misao & Saki Akamiya made an appearance to promote Tokyo Joshi Pro’s Korakuen debut on 4th January. Poison Sawada JULIE interrupted their message and used his snake magic to move them out of the ring.

DDT will return to Izuguranparu Park for an outdoor Elimination match on 3rd April.

The Bed Inn Girls will return for the YaroZ show at Shinkiba on 1st March.


DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015” Preview

August 20, 2015

ryogoku-peterpan-2015

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015 ~FROM DDT WITH LOVE~”, 23/08/2015
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa
1. Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase Debut Match: Yasu Urano, Akito & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda, Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase
2. Time Difference Tag Battle Royal: Aja Kong & Makoto Oishi Vs LiLiCo & Suguru Miyatake Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MIKAMI & Shunma Katsumata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Great Kojika Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko Vs Hoshitango & Mio Shirai
3. DDT Extreme Title – Uchikami! Presents: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Masa Takanashi
4. Tetsuya Endo Comeback Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. Genichiro Tenryu Retirement Road Round 15: Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Kazusada Higuchi & Meiko Satomura
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki
8. Dramatic Dream Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
9. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: KUDO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi

In just a few short days DDT will be in Sumo Hall for the seventh annual “PETER PAN” extravaganza! You’d think the area would be sick of pro wrestling after last week but ticket sales suggest otherwise. The show is almost entirely sold out and DDT had to open up extra seats next to the stage to meet demand. The big stories surrounding the show are a dream match between a once in a lifetime talent and the indie world’s strongest warrior, a battle between two brothers in arms over DDT’s greatest prize, two Storm Riders attempting to take gold from some strong style golems, a trio of lifelong companions getting the band back together in search of glory, a grumpy old sumo’s short stay during his journey to retirement, the return of a future main eventer in the making, a day in the limelight for one of DDT’s longest serving wrestlers and some new blood making their debut.

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0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa

But before we get to all that we have to get through the pre-show. Created back in February, the King Of Dark Title has been an albatross for some of the worst and unluckiest wrestlers in DDT. Those who hold the championship are banished to wrestle in dark matches until they win. Still, it’s more valuable than the King Of The Mountain TitleGota Ihashi has been the face of the championship for it’s short history, racking up a total of 18 defeats/defences during his two reigns. Ihashi has done everything he could to get rid of the belt but every plan has ended in failure. His embarrassment continues when he goes against one of the most legendary losers in pro wrestling, “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa! Ihashi is confident in his ability to win but he should underestimate Stalker at his peril! I’m pretty sure Stalker has won more matches than Ihashi ever did.

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1. Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase Debut Match: Yasu Urano, Akito & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda, Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase

The opener features the debut of two new wrestlers. Mao Inoue is an 18 year old Youtube wrestler from Miyagi who was scouted by Sanshiro Takagi. Mizuki Watase is a 24 year old comedian from Nagano and is most known for his work in Tenori Tiger. They were both surprised to learn their debut match is taking place so soon in Sumo Hall. They will be placed in the ring with DNA wrestlers Ryota Nakatsu and Kota Umeda as well as veterans Yasu Urano & Akito. Akito’s inclusion here is pretty disappointing to be honest. He was on fire with his DDT Extreme Title run throughout the year. Him in the opening match centred around the rookies is a step down. However DDT has a knack for discovering talented new wrestlers lately. The DNA shows have been proof of that and Nakatsu is one of the stand outs. Akito might be just the guy needed to help break in the rookies.

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2. Time Difference Tag Battle Royal: Aja Kong & Makoto Oishi Vs LiLiCo & Suguru Miyatake Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MIKAMI & Shunma Katsumata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Great Kojika Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko Vs Hoshitango & Mio Shirai

Usually the Battle Royal match in these shows are for the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title. However this year is a little bit different. We’re getting a Tag Team Battle Royal and all of the attention is on the official pro wrestling debut of LiLiCo. The half Swedish, half Japanese celebrity was a guest on last year’s show and she ended up winning the Iron Man Title. This time she’s back to give pro wrestling a proper go. She picked Suguru Miyatake as her partner after he impressed her with his physique. Unfortunately for LiLiCo, the current Iron Man champion Aja Kong demanded to be in the match and is forcing Makoto Oishi to team with her. Kong is setting her sights on LiLiCo and looking to end her wrestling career before it even begins.

The rest of the field is made up of DDT regulars and a few guests. MIKAMI left DDT a few months ago to become a freelancer but he returns to team with the promising rookie Shunma Katsumata. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki recently formed Pigging 2015 with Gota Ihashi much to the annoyance of everyone else. Gorgeous Matsuno & The Great Kojika are here to be the classy old gentlemen who puts the young whipper-snappers in their place. Kazuki Hirata wants to dance while Toru Owashi has to tolerate him. Hiroshi Fukuda combines his American sports entertainment style with the power of Yoshihiko to form a force of unbelievable strength. Last but not least Hoshitango & Mio Shirai make up the team of random character selects from a custom Fire Pro Wrestling save. Shirai will be retiring on 20th September and said she is happy to be in a crazy DDT battle royal one last time.

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3. DDT Extreme Title – Uchikami! Presents: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Masa Takanashi

Antonio Honda has had quite the career in DDT. He’s been a Cuban manager with Tourette’s, an Italian drug lord, a Hawaiian Ricky Steamboat knock off and a kleptomaniac soldier. He introduced Hulk Hogan Gymnastics to the world and just recently had the honour of fighting an invisible Mel Gibson. But the spotlight has never really been on him for long. There was that one night at the end of 2010 when he became the Interim KO-D Openweight Champion but that was short lived. Honda accepts that he is approaching his twilight years in the ring but he’s not giving up just yet. Every dog has his day and Honda could get his inside Sumo Hall. An upset victory over Akito in July earned Honda the DDT Extreme Title. Unfortunately since then his feel good story has been interrupted by Masa Takanashi. Honda lost a few non-title matches to Takanashi, who later became the No. 1 Contender for the Extreme Title.

Takanashi remembers when he fought Danshoku Dino for the Extreme Title at the very first “RYOGOKU PETER PAN” back in 2009. He lost then but he intends to win the belt this time. Honda is keeping the stipulation for the match a secret until the day of the show. All he will say is the match will use fear as a theme and it is inspired by a previous match the two had together. Honda says the rules scare even himself and he must overcome that fear to defend his title.

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4. Tetsuya Endo Comeback Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo

Tetsuya Endo has been out of action for four months when he broke his third metatarsal in his left foot. For his return, Endo will face his Happy Motels tag team partner Konosuke Takeshita in a battle between two of DDT’s future main eventers. Endo is believes this match is as important to him as a championship match and he will treat it as such. He’s been working backstage and at ringside during DDT’s shows while he recovered and has seen in person the improvement in Takeshita’s Dropkick. Takeshita said he will go full force from the beginning and he thinks this match will be fighting against the two main events for the best bout of the show.

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5. Genichiro Tenryu Retirement Road Round 15: Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Kazusada Higuchi & Meiko Satomura

The legendary Genichiro Tenryu will wrestle in DDT for the first and only time this Sunday. This won’t be the weirdest thing he’s ever done in wrestling, that would be dressing up as HG in HUSTLE. Tenryu sent in some words about the other wrestlers in his match. He noted Sanshiro Takagi’s dexterity and how nothing ever worries him. He is quite pleased to team with Saki Akai and knows her father’s history in boxing. Akai is hoping she will inherit Tenryu’s patented Goo Punch. That is a lot better for her than the original idea of Tenryu Vs Akai in a singles match. Tenryu calls Shuji Ishikawa a natural wrestler and acknowledges the physical fitness of his fellow sumo Kazusada Higuchi. Due to their sumo backgrounds Higuchi has a few similar qualities with Tenryu and some of Higuchi’s movements does remind me of Tenryu. Higuchi admits he is nervous to be in the same ring as Tenryu but he wants Tenryu to fight him with all of his body and soul. Meanwhile Akai is preparing for Meiko Satomura and remembers when they fought last November. Satomura submitted her with a Sleeper Hold and she’s been frustrated over the results ever since.

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6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka

Last year Team Dream Futures were the challengers, this year they are the champions. Team Drift currently have the most successful KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Title run in the belts’ history with three successful defences (it’s a hot potato championship). Facing them is a trio reunited by the power of friendship. Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine and Ken Ohka consider each other close friends from the same generation of DDT wrestlers. However Ohka has been missing from this group for years. He’s been busy forming a new identity as the leader of Ganbare☆Wrestling. Ohka even did the unthinkable and very briefly became the KO-D Openweight Champion back in June. It took some convincing but Ohka is back in DDT as a new man. Together with Dino & Sasadango they are the Gamba Wrestle Dream Factory.

Happy reunions aside the challengers have a big challenge ahead of them. Team Drift are one of the longest running stables in DDT. Also Soma Takao is still undefeated at “PETER PAN” with a 6-0 record. Tensions flared at the press conference when Keisuke Ishii gave a lot of praise to Dino and Sasadango but gave Ohka a backhanded compliment. Ohka took offence and dared Ishii to slap him. He did. Ohka then dared Takao to slap him. He did. Ohka then dared Shigehiro Irie to hit him. Irie sent him reeling with a headbutt. The challengers left to get Ohka some treatment but he returned and dared Irie to headbutt him again! Irie did so and Ohka was left in tears from the pain.

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7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki

The unfortunately named Strong BJ have been unstoppable in DDT ever since they won the KO-D Tag Team Titles in Saitama Super Arena back in February. It seems like there is no one in DDT capable of beating Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi. Right now it seems like DDT’s last hope of ever reclaiming the belts lie with Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki. However Ibushi is no doubt tired after the G1 Climax and Sasaki has had no luck with trying to beat Okabayashi in the meantime. The flash Hurricanrana Sasaki has used to great effect all year did not work on Big Japan’s golem. He is still confident that himself & Ibushi are the strongest team on Earth and will take down the champs. He gave himself & Ibushi a 65% chance of winning. Okabayashi’s response is he & Sekimoto will crush the challengers with 120% of their strength. While Sasaki and Okabayashi are arguing over percentages, Sekimoto was probably just thinking “Not this shit again” to himself.

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8. Dramatic Dream Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

It’s not closing out the show but this is the marquee match. The ace of DDT versus the ace of New Japan. Or if you want to be cynical, the John Cena of DDT versus the John Cena of New Japan. Either way “___WinsLOL” can apply to either result. But why be negative about this? We’re going to get a great match. HARASHIMA has been on top of his game this year and if anyone deserves a shot against this year’s G1 winner, it’s him. Hiroshi Tanahashi previously wrestled in DDT at last year’s “PETER PAN” against Konosuke Takeshita. He sent a message to DDT saying HARASHIMA is a refreshing challenger and he expects HARASHIMA to bring his A-game. HARASHIMA called Tanahashi “the most delicious opponent” now that he is coming into the show as the G1 winner.

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9. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: KUDO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi

The semi-main event has the most attention but the main event is the most dramatic match on this card. To sweeten the deal a 2 million yen cash prize will be awarded to the winner courtesy of the match’s sponsor Good Com Asset. The KO-D Openweight Title is also on the line between two wrestlers who consider each other as brothers. They share a bond over fine liquor but the high tension of main eventing DDT’s biggest show of the year nearly split them apart. KUDO has been champion for most of the summer and did not flinch when Yukio Sakaguchi won the King Of DDT tournament to earn this title shot. However a series of defeats created a rift between the two and KUDO started to question whether or not Sakaguchi deserved to have the title shot. Sakaguchi himself had doubts and at one point even requested to be removed from the match! However fortunes turned around and Sakaguchi found his way back to a winning streak. Sakaguchi regained his confidence and warned KUDO that he was coming for him and the title! Their friendship was still frosty as they fought each other in tag matches up until the end of Beer Garden week. The two were full of mutual respect for each other and fist bumped to signal a recovery of their friendship. With all of the bad blood out now of the way there is nothing stopping them from going all out to prove who is more deserving to be champion. KUDO calls this match a clash of souls and promises to drink the most delicious alcohol in his life when he wins.


DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2015 ~DDT DAY~” Results

August 9, 2015

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DDT “BEER GARDEN FIGHT 2015 ~DDT DAY~”, 09/08/2015
Shin-kiba 1st RING
460 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

0. King Of Dark Title – Boxing Match: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Gota Ihashi (c) by KO with a Right Hook (2R 0:34).
*D7 for Gota Ihashi.
1. Yasu Urano & Akito defeated Daisuke Sasaki & Tomomitsu Matsunaga when Akito submitted Matsunaga with a Figure Four Leg Lock (11:39).
2. Toru Owashi & Kota Umeda defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Shunma Katsumata when Owashi pinned Katsumata with La Magistral Cradle (8:54).
3. 4 Way Match: Makoto Oishi defeated Kazuki Hirata, Hiroshi Fukuda and Suguru Miyatake when Oishi pinned Hirata, Fukuda and Miyatake with a Triple Crucifix Pin (5:19).
4. Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka defeated Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao & Kouki Iwasaki when Dino pinned Iwasaki with the Beer Garden Moonsault (15:28).
5. Masa Takanashi defeated Antonio Honda with the Takatonic (13:58).
6. Beer Garden Specialty! 6-Man Lottery Tag Match: KUDO, Konosuke Takeshita & HARASHIMA defeated Shigehiro Irie, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi when KUDO pinned Kazusada with the Diving Double Knee Drop (21:55).

The final day of Beer Garden 2015 had a lot going on. This was the final DDT event before “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015” on 23rd August so some of the matches were previews of what to expect in Sumo Hall.

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In the main event the two teams of three were decided by a lottery drawing. Each ball was picked out of the box by a random fan in the audience. The teams wound up being KUDO, Konosuke Takeshita & HARASHIMA on one side and Shigehiro Irie, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi on the other. This meant KUDO and Sakaguchi would face off one more time before their KO-D Openweight Title match. KUDO’s team got the win when they isolated Higuchi and bombarded him with a German Suplex from Takeshita, an 8×4 from KUDO, a standing Somato from HARASHIMA and then the Diving Double Knee Drop from KUDO to seal the deal. After the match KUDO and Sakaguchi finally put away the bad blood growing between them and bumped fists.

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Masa Takanashi scored another non-title victory over Antonio Honda. Afterwards Honda said he was exhausted after his match with Transparent Mel Gibson from Thursday and it has been a struggle for him to complete Beer Garden week. However the struggle is what makes him strong going into the most important chapter of his story. He said he will be ready for Takanashi when the DDT Extreme Title is on the line.

beergarden-moonsault

Things are looking good for Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka. They beat two thirds of the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions. However they got the win by beating the rookie Team Drift was teaming with. Kouki Iwasaki was put away with the Spear Of Flame from Ohka, the Verdict from Sasadango and a special beer spitting Moonsault from Dino. The challengers all agreed that they need a team name for the upcoming DDT Dramatic General Election. Sasadango came up with three options: Gamba Osaka, Gamba Wrestle One or Gamba Wrestle Dream Factory. They decided for the moment to call themselves the Gamba Wrestle Dream Factory.

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Makoto Oishi found a very clever way to win the 4 Way Match, rolling over Kazuki Hirata, Hiroshi Fukuda and Suguru Miyatake with a Crucifix Pin all at the same time when the three were all busy singing together.

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But all of a sudden Aja Kong suddenly appeared for the first time in DDT since May. Kong located Amon Tsurumi at ringside and complained about not being on the Sumo Hall show even though she is still the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. Tsurumi told her this year’s Battle Royal will be for tag teams instead of single wrestlers. Surprised, Kong began looking for someone to team with and picked Oishi. A frightened Oishi had no choice but to accept. Toru Owashi went over to Hirata and declared they will be in the Battle Royal. Miyatake suddenly hit Fukuda with the Heart Attack out of nowhere causing the lights to go out. When the lights came back on Yoshihiko was in the ring! It came to Fukuda’s rescue and attacked Miyatake, sending him packing. Yoshihiko and Fukuda are now joining forces for the Battle Royal.

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A press conference was held during the show for LiLiCo’s pro wrestling debut. She gave an update on her training, saying she is currently on around Week 4 or 5. She has a busy schedule but spends time every day in the gym. She announced her intention to enter the Tag Battle Royal at Sumo Hall but she doesn’t have a partner. Suguru Miyatake suddenly appeared and made his case to LiLiCo, flexing his muscles for her. LiLiCo was impressed and said Miyatake looks delicious. The press conference was then interrupted by Owashi, Hirata and Fukuda who all came out to make fun of Miyatake. Aja Kong then reappeared to confront LiLiCo. Kong had to be restrained by the others as the conference ended.

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Everybody in Match #2 wore pantyhose over their heads, even Daisuke Kiso. Unfortunately for Kiso he got knocked out with an accidental Lariat from Toru Owashi. Owashi put Shunma Katsumata in La Magistral Cradle but Kiso was unconscious. Yukinori Matsui appeared at the entrance also wearing pantyhose over his head and he sprinted to the ring. However Matsui somehow caught himself on the ropes. Owashi still had La Magistral applied and Kiso eventually woke up to count the pin.

matsunaga-spit

 

After the opening match Tomomitsu Matsunaga told Daisuke Sasaki it’s been ten years since they first met. Matsunaga always wanted to team with Sasaki and he begged to join the Golden☆Storm Riders. Sasaki denied the request and apologised before leaving the ring. Matsunaga called him a bastard then spoke to Yasu Urano & Akito. He said he’s known Urano for over 10 years and fondly remembers the DDT Extreme Title match he had with Akito last year. He then begged to join Smile Squash. Urano and Akito turned him down and also apologised as they left him alone in the ring. Matsunaga would solve his unit problem later.

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Gota Ihashi took one last shot at getting rid of the King Of Dark Title before “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015”. He challenged Ryota Nakatsu to a boxing match before the show started. Nakatsu was clearly winning the fight after Round 1 but Yukio Sakaguchi suddenly appeared and took his place in Round 2. Sakaguchi easily knocked Ihashi out.

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Ihashi wasn’t done for the night. He came back out later in the show with Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Last year they were part of a unit called Booing. The unit was forced to split up after it finished last in the DDT Dramatic General Election. Now Booing is back! Joining them is Kouki Iwasaki. He said Ihashi has always been there for him when he needed help so this is him repaying the favour. Together the three of them are Booing 2015. Everybody in the crowd booed the announcement.

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2015 ~FROM DDT WITH LOVE~”, 23/08/2015
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. King Of Dark Title: Gota Ihashi (c) Vs “Hollywood” Stalker Ichikawa
1. Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase Debut Match: Yasu Urano, Akito & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Kota Umeda, Mao Inoue & Mizuki Watase
2. Time Difference Tag Battle Royal: Aja Kong & Makoto Oishi Vs LiLiCo & Suguru Miyatake Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MIKAMI & Shunma Katsumata Vs Gorgeous Matsuno & Great Kojika Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Hiroshi Fukuda & Yoshihiko Vs Hoshitango & Mio Shirai
3. DDT Extreme Title – Uchikami! Presents: Antonio Honda (c) Vs Masa Takanashi
4. Tetsuya Endo Comeback Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Tetsuya Endo
5. Genichiro Tenryu Retirement Road Round 15: Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai Vs Shuji Ishikawa, Kazusada Higuchi & Meiko Satomura
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao (c) Vs Danshoku Dino, Super Sasadango Machine & Ken Ohka
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) Vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki
8. Dramatic Dream Match: HARASHIMA Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
9. KO-D Openweight Title – Good Com Asset Presents: KUDO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi