DDT “DANSHOKU DIENO 20TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK PUBLICATION COMMEMORATION”, 21/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 537 Fans
0. Dark Match – Karma Handicap Match: Akito, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Sanshiro Takagi when Hirata pinned Takagi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (5:43). *Sanshiro Takagi must purchase 47 copies of “The Eccentric’s Ambition: What I Learnt From Fighting The Invisible Man On How To Increase My Value” with his own money.
1. DDT Wrestlers With Short Career Experience Are Called Young Drama: Anarko Montaña & Hideki Okatani defeated Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi when Montaña pinned Sumi with the Shooting Star Press (9:27).
2. Untitled Staggered Entrance Rumble: Saki Akai defeated Makoto Oishi & Yusuke Okada by Double Ring Out (8:09). Order Of Elimination: Yukio Sakaguchi & Yasu Urano, HARASHIMA, Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda, Yuya Koroku, Yusuke Okada, Makoto Oishi & Yusuke Okada (8:09). *Saki Akai is declared the 2022 King Of Pantyhose.
3. In The Present 6-Man Tag Match: Chris Brookes, Masahiro Takanashi & Ken Ohka defeated Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima when Takanashi pinned MAO after the Hair Of The Dog (12:20).
4. Novelty Single Match: Naruki Doi defeated Shunma Katsumata with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (11:48).
5. DDT Tradition 6-Man Tag Match: Tesuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & DJ Nira defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Thanomsak Toba whne Endo pinned Ishida with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (11:12).
6. Selfishly For The 2nd Time In 20 Years, A Single Match That Danshoku Dieno Just Wants To See: Yuki “Sexy” Iino defeated Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari with the Badonkadonk (16:43).
7. Selfishly For The 1st Time In 20 Years, Danshoku Dieno’s Self-Satisfaction Match: Haku defeated Danshoku Dieno and Muscle Sakai when Haku pinned both Dieno and Sakai (16:08).
In January 2002 a pro wrestler by the name of Danshoku Dieno emerged from the college club scene and took the pro wrestling world by storm. Quickly finding a home in DDT, Dieno shocked audiences with his gimmick as a hyper gay wrestler but gradually built up a rapport with fans alongside a long list of in-ring achievements as the years went by. Now 20 years into his career he has written a book about how he sees the world through the eyes of pro wrestling. The book is titled “The Eccentric’s Ambition: What I Learnt From Fighting The Invisible Man On How To Increase My Value”. Today’s show at Korakuen Hall was the launch event for his book and everyone who attended received a copy as part of their ticket purchase (the ticket prices were adjusted for this reason, he wasn’t giving out the books for free).
Dieno was given full match making power for the show. So he came up with a card of matches that he would personally enjoy as a fan. He also wanted to have a match against one of his closest friends in the business Muscle Sakai in the main event. Sakai took the time before the match to hold a PowerPoint presentation explaining the line that seperates himself from Super Sasadango Machine. He made the speech because last week he received a message from a fan who told him he is more famous for his talking than his wrestling. Sakai also revealed he’s been reading other self-help books to figure out how to beat Dieno today.
In the match itself Sakai focused on using the Headlock. One of the books had a piece of advice saying you should always train the skills you already have. Dieno’s book also explains how low difficulty wrestling moves can determine who will win the match. The Headlock is always the first move a wrestler is taught and Sakai worked out if he uses it long enough he could destroy Dieno’s skull and win. They spent so much of the match doing Headlocks that they started doing other stuff to pass the time, like listen to music or eat chocolate. It got so intense they ended up creating visions of their thoughts for the audience to see. Together they reminisced about MUSCLE, Sakai’s original retirement match and how this was the last time they were wrestling each other in front of Hisaya Imabayashi.
Imabayashi entered the ring to break up the Headlock fest and was given a Brainbuster from Dieno for his troubles. The match heated up with Sakai kicking out of the Homo Ye at one and Dieno being given the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock. Dieno was sure to be beaten until he had a vision of his pet dog Haku flash across the screen. Haku is a rescue dog that Dieno adopted in September and has been the love of his life ever since. Along with the vision came a message that read “Don’t come here and do normal wrestling, do what only you can do.” With a flash of inspiration, Dieno kicked out. Haku then entered the ring and bit Sakai in the crotch. Dieno thought his pet came to rescue him but Haku then attacked him too and jumped on top of both fallen wrestlers. Yukinori Matsui decided to make the three count and declared Haku the winner of the match!
Imabayashi was confused by what he just watched. He asked the fans if that was a good main event and they applauded. Sakai explained this was the last time they could wrestle their match in front of him because Imabayashi is leaving DDT at the end of the year. Imabayashi had to correct them. It’s true he is quitting the company soon in order to spend more time with his family in Fukuoka but he recently agreed to remain the DDT GM as a subcontractor. With this deal he will only be gone from DDT once a month. There wasn’t much time left in the show to explain so Dieno was given the final moments to give his speech and thank everyone for coming. He especially singled out the older generation of DDT wrestlers who were there with the company before him.
The other big idea for a match Dieno had was his two contemporaries from Pheromones facing off against each other. All of the lewd stuff surrounding Pheromones was shoved into this match. Yuki Iino did his sexy poses while Yumehito Imanari tried to take over one of the Samurai TV cameras to film it. There actually was wrestling going on in between the antics, although Dieno told Iino through a video message to bring out the “Sexy” that nobody has seen yet. Iino did just that and finished the match on top. Imanari said there was a lot of conflict in Iino’s heart but he could see the “Sexy” pride inside. Iino just said “Pheromones good, forever.”
There was plenty of nonsense all over the show. A 6-Man Tag had Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida both wrestle in mawashi and fight using sumo techniques. Thanomsak Toba did not join in, preferring to stick to the kickboxing he knows. The match was briefly interrupted by the announcement that one of Jun Akiyama’s friends was here to celebrate his 30th anniversary. Antonio Honda entered the ring in a diaper and Toru Owashi put a home made Ultimo Dragon mask over his head. Meanwhile it took DJ Nira several attempts to pull off a successful double team move with Akiyama. When it finally worked, Tetsuya Endo took over and got the win for his team. Honda then returned in his diaper with several other wrestlers wearing the same costume to dance around Akiyama. None of the wrestlers in the match knew what was going on except for Toba. He explained to the others backstage that this kind of match used to happen all the time in DDT back when he was around. Now it only happens once every ten years.
Naruki Doi beat Shunma Katsumata in a first time singles meeting. Katsumata hit a dive to the outside onto Doi and a bunch of other wrestlers seconding at ringside. Doi almost won with the Avalanche Doi 555 but got the victory with the Bakatare Sliding Kick afterwards. Katsumata asked for a handshake at ringside and Doi gave him the NeppoWER pose instead. He’d like to have another match with him either as partners or opponents. Doi also promised to read Dieno’s new book instead of sleeping tonight.
6-Man Tag action saw CDK & Ken Ohka get the better of The 37KAMIINA. Ohka kept taunting Toi Kojima by saying his moves didn’t hurt at all after every bump. Everyone ended up forming a group pyramid submission with Ohka posing on top until Yuki Ueno made it all collapse with a Dropkick. Ohka returned with the Spear Of Fire to both MAO & Kojima before taking out Ueno with a Death Valley Bomb. That left CDK to pin MAO with the Hair Of The Dog to win the match. Backstage MAO complainied about both Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi pinning him at the same time. That is supposed to be illegal in tag team matches. However MAO has an open mind and accepts that double pinfalls are fair play in ChocoPro, which is where CDK learned it from. He now wants the vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles match between CDK and ShunMao on 3rd January to allow double pinfalls.
The Rumble match had an unannounced rule where every competitor had to wrestle wearing pantyhose over their head, making them unwillingly pull funny faces. HARASHIMA and Koju Takeda had a pose off. Yuya Koroku didn’t want to wear it and got booed when he pulled his off. The eliminations caught some of the wrestlers off guard, like when Yukio Sakaguchi and Yasu Urano eliminated each other right when Sakaguchi entered the match. the match came down to Makoto Oishi and Yusuke Okada fighting on the apron. Suddenly the final wrestler made their entrance. It was Saki Akai! She walked out in full catwalk mode and the sight of her wearing pantyhose over her face scared the other wrestlers off the apron and out of the ring. She ended up winning the match without touching anybody. It was then revealed the match was to crown the King Of Pantyhose 2022! Akai credited the victory on reading Dieno’s book because it gave her courage.
The opening match gave the spotlight to DDT’s younger wrestlers along with the guest Anarko Montaña. The visitor hit some high risk moves including a Moonsault out of the ring. Takeshi Masada & Kazuma Sumi had their moments and could smell victory at times but Hideki Okatani was always there to stop it from happening. Instead Montaña planted Sumi with the Michinoku Driver II and pinned him with the Shooting Star Press.
An extra rule was added to the 5 Vs 1 dark match. Before it began, Keigo Nakamura wheeled out a cart full of copies of Dieno’s book. The rule was every count that happens in the match will be added up and whatever the total is, the losing side will have to buy that many copies of the book. The number ended up at 47 and Sanshiro Takagi was the loser after he was pinned by Kazuki Hirata. As a result, Takagi was forced to purchase 47 copies of the book with his own money. Even though Akito is currently Dieno’s enemy, he admitted he was happy to be a part of today’s show.
DDT “ROAD TO NEVER MIND 2022 IN KUMAMOTO”, 17/12/2022 Kumamoto City Information Distribution Center 250 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. 3 Way Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Saki Akai and Kazuki Hirata when Katsumata pinned Hirata with a Cradle (6:31).
2. Special Tag Match: Akito & Kazuma Sumi (w/ Yoshihiko) defeated Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno when Akito pinned Dieno with a Stepover Toe Hold (11:26).
3. Sanshiro Takagi & Yusuke Okada defeated Toru Owashi & Takeshi Masada when Okada pinned Masada after the Stunner from Takagi (8:28).
4. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani when Sasaki submitted Okatani with the Numero Dos Punto Seis Seis Seis (11:23).
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the WR (16:03).
6. Kumamoto Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Chris Brookes & Yuki Ishida when Oishi pinned Ishida after the Cactus Flower (20:36).
Yuki Ishida’s homecoming show was spoiled by Ω. Ishida got to speak on the microphone at the beginning of the show. The end of the show however had Makoto Oishi standing over him throwing insults in front of everyone. Yuji Hino also announced Ω will be producing his 20th Anniversary show in Kumamoto on 20th July next year. DDT will be back there before then in May so Ishida promises to become stronger in time for that.
The big news coming out of this show came from backstage comments made by Sanshiro Takagi & Akito about Atsushi Onita’s upcoming appearance on 7th January. All of a sudden they accused Onita of monopolizing the Current Blast Death Match gimmick! They fear that style of wrestling will die out when Onita is finally gone and called it a negative on the pro wrestling world. Takagi & Akito challenged him to put his trademark for the stipulation on the line in a 6-Man Tag Death Match. Soma Takao will be the third man on the DDT team, putting the three company president wrestlers together to take the trademark away from Onita by force. They claim it will be better if DDT gets control of the trademark so they can spread exploding death matches across the world.
Takeshi Masada still has a lot to learn, like don’t trust anybody while you are wrestling. He almost had Yusuke Okada beaten when Takagi suddenly told him he passed his test and can now go to the DDT show in Hollywood next year. Masada believed him and dropped his guard. Takagi then kicked him in the gut and gave him a Stunner so Okada could roll him up into a pin. Masada said he will remember this and swore revenge on Takagi.
Akito’s team winning today against Pheromones means that his requested stipulation is now added to their match on 29th December. That stipulation is Pheromones must disband if they lose that match.
DDT “DDT FREE -DECEMBER-”, 14/12/2022 Shinjuku FACE 437 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match – No Tag Rules: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno (w/ Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari) defeated Akito, MAO & Kazuma Sumi when Iino pinned Akito with the Missionary Position (8:16).
2. Tryout Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated Anarko Montaña with the ¡Hasta la vista! (8:48).
3. Road To NEVER MIND 2022! Special Tag Match: Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata defeated Saki Akai & Yoshiko Hasegawa when Anou pinned Hasegawa with the Special Pottering (10:07).
4. Sanshiro Takagi, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi defeated Soma Takao, Yuya Koroku & Takeshi Masada when Oishi pinned Masada after a Reverse horizontal Chop from Hino (9:17).
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yusuke Okada defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya when Endo pinned Hirata with a Cradle (14:08).
-. Emergency Decision Match: Kotaro Suzuki defeated Yusuke Okada with the Tiger Driver (8:28).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Chris Brookes & Hideki Okatani when Sasaki pinned Okatani with El Es Culero (11:55).
7. Road To NEVER MIND 2022! Special Tag Match: Yuki Ueno & Toi Kojima defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida when Kojima pinned Ishida with the Kojima In Wonderland ~KOJIMA Wonderland~ (22:41).
They days are counting down to DDT’s final show of 2022 taking place in Tokyo Dome City Hall. There are few chances left for Kazusada Higuchi and Yuki Ueno to test each other in the ring before their big KO-D Openweight Title match to close out the year so they did a lot here. Higuchi blocked the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher and avoided the BME. Ueno in return blocked a Diving Body Press with his knees and took down Higuchi with a Standing Shining Wizard, leading to a double down. Their time in the ring together remained in a stalemate so the result came down to Yuki Ishida against Toi Kojima. The Kojima In Wonderland finisher got a nearfall but when the ~KOJIMA Wonderland~ variant was used, Ishida was down and out.
After the match Kojima said he was able to win today under his own strength along with Ueno’s help. When Kojima watched the D-Ou Grand Prix, seeing Ueno never giving up no matter what inspired him. Ueno said Higuchi has been amazing ever since his debut match. But Ueno thinks DDT will be even more fun if he takes the KO-D Title from him. If Ueno wins the KO-D Title while holding the DDT Universal Title then it will be the ultimate proof he is the best in DDT. In the backstage comments, Kojima reminded Ueno that he promised to keep teaming with him until he is stronger than him. Ishida is taking the loss in his stride. He understands that Harimao has to work harder while Naomi Yoshimura is out injured.
Daisuke Sasaki and DAMNATION T.A find themselves taking a detour before TDC Hall. The unit will be heading over to Yoyogi on 19th December for a special JUST TAP OUT show being produced by TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. On the show Sasaki & MJ Paul will have a match against El Desperado and a wrestler to be announced (as of this writing Desperado asked Lance Archer on Twitter if he is available). Sasaki sent a message to Desperado by using one of his signature moves El Es Culero to win his match today. He said this isn’t a Forbidden Door situation because the door was always there. It’s just that it was an automatic door that stayed closed in order to conserve energy. Sasaki then complained about his own drinking habits and said Desperado is going to take responsibility for it. He also has a 4 Way Match coming up in TDC Hall but isn’t worried because he’s been called a 4 Way Magician. Not sure by who though.
With preparations for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match on their mind, BURNING got together to hash things about between them and make sure they all combined into a well oiled machine. They won the 8-Man Tag Match against DISASTER BOX & Yukio Naya by avoiding a last second slip up. Kazuki Hirata tried rolling up Tetsuya Endo with the Miracle One Shot Cradle but it ended with a kickout. Endo responded with the Tetsuya In The Sky and then used his own “Miracle Cradle” to pin Hirata. It was later discovered that Toru Owashi of all people was angry at Endo for embarrassing Hirata like that when Hirata was already clearly defeated. After the match Yusuke Okada told everyone that years ago he held a grudge with Kotaro Suzuki in All Japan. In order to put that past behind him, he suddenly challenged Suzuki to a match there and now so it could be settled. Suzuki agreed and the match went ahead with Suzuki winning in the end. Afterwards Suzuki said Okada gave everything he got and he responded in kind so there should be no more animosity between them. Okada admitted he wasn’t able to close the gap between himself and Suzuki but he is happy to live his life here in DDT. He is now ready to go win the KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles with Endo & Suzuki! Endo was happy to hear that and set his target. He is going to win the belts by pinning Naruki Doi!
An injured shoulder made Sanshiro Takagi an even bigger target for Takeshi Masada for the rookie’s attempt to convince his boss he is ready to wrestle at DDT’s show in Hollywood next year. However Takagi persisted and was able to hit a Lariat and also the Spicolli Driver for a nearfall. Masada kept on fighting but was overwhelmed by then numbers game when he had to fight Ω. He eventually took a big Chop from Yuji Hino and fell into a pin by Makoto Oishi. Takagi taunted him after the match and said he will never lose to Masada even if his shoulder is not 100%. Masada said he lost to Oishi today, not Takagi. He will still work hard in the remaining shows until he gets to face Takagi one on one at TDC Hall.
Saki Akai got a taste of what to expect from the combined forces of Saori Anou & Riko Kawahata. She had plenty of back and forth exchanges with both women until she was taken out with sandwich kicks from her opponents. It was all up to Yoshiko Hasegawa to keep the match alive from there but she was soon pinned by Anou. After the match Anou asked Akai how it was like wrestling her again after a long time away from each other? There’s still a long way to go until 29th December and Anou is looking forward to that match the most. Kawabata said she is also looking forward to showing everyone what she’s got in a bigger venue and wants to be the one to beat Yuki Arai in the match. Anou also left a vague comment about what she and Kawabata might do in the future. If they beat Reiwa AA Cannon in DDT then would they be interested in a rematch at Tokyo Joshi Pro for the Princess Tag Team Titles?
The tryout match saw Shunma Katsumata beat Chile’s own Anarko Montaña in a friendly contest. Katsumata re-introduced him to the fans after the match, explaining he was briefly in DDT 8 years ago along with Diego. They are amigos and Katsumata hopes one day to do this match again but this time in Chile.
It’s common booking on wrestling shows to do a bunch of preliminary matches between upcoming opponents to build up to their more important matches in bigger venues. Danshoku Dieno came up with a point that the results for most of the matches in the Pheromones Vs Akito feud mean nothing if they are just being done to promote the proper blow off on 29th December. Akito tried to defend the thought process by explaining these matches still exist to liven up the shows. Dieno came up with a proposal to add more stakes to the prelim matches. Akito agreed on the condition that if his team win any of the prelim matches then Pheromones will have to disband if they lose at the TDC Hall show. Dieno accepted but then revealed his own stakes. If Pheromones win today’s match then they add another stipulation to the TDC Hall match. That stipulation is whoever drops the fall to Pheromones on that show has to join their unit for one day! Imagine if that happens to either of the politicians Osamu Nishimura or Shinichiro Kawamatsu? Akito accepted, loudly thinking that if his team ends up losing it will likely be Shunma Katsumata taking the pin and having to take the punishment. He later came to regret that decision when MAO fell for Pheromones’s charms during their match and turned on Akito, costing them the match! Dieno told Akito he has to live up to his end of the deal and tell the politicians the new stipulation for 29th December. He doesn’t want politics in this ring because all Dieno wants in here is the freedom to do whatever Pheromones wants!
A press conference was held before the show revealing a few matches for 3rd January. First, Daisuke Sasaki Vs Naruki Doi was announced with the winner getting the next DDT Universal Title shot. Doi said he’s been in DDT for two months and already showed enough results to deserve to challenge for a singles championship. He never fought Sasaki before so he thinks the match is going to be a treat. Sasaki thought Doi was Masato Yoshino at first and complained about the Dragongate guys not knowing the rules here in DDT. Sasaki then said he is supposed to be the guy to take the Universal Title from Ueno, nobody else.
The other match announced is CDK Vs ShunMao for the vacant KO-D Tag Team Titles. MAO described the history and relationships between all four wrestlers involved are complicated. His expectations for the match are high and he thinks his team will win if they genuinely enjoy the match. Katsumata echoed the comments about their history with their opponents. He wants to win the KO-D Tag Titles and defend them as much as possible. Chris Brookes said the match will be interesting. Masahiro Takanashi pointed out he is about to turn 40 years old and he set himself a goal to accompany it. He wants to win the KO-D Tag Titles on the first DDT show of the year and then participate in every DDT show for the rest of 2023. He hasn’t pulled off a run of attendance like that in DDT for a long time.
DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022 Chiba 2AW Square 110 Fans – No Vacancy
1. Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima defeated Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi when Okatani pinned Sumi with the Double Arm Suplex (10:34).
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno defeated Akito & Hiroshi Yamato when Iino submitted Akito after the 2AW Death Lock (10:55).
3. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON defeated Akira Raijin & Tomomitsu Raijin when Sasaki submitted Raijin with the Crossface Lock (10:59).
4. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm defeated Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada when Higuchi pinned Masada with the Doctor Bomb (10:45).
5. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata defeated Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku when Ueno pinned Koroku with the BME (14:13).
6. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya defeated Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi when HARASHIMA pinned Oishi with the Somato (16:18).
DDT’s collaborations with ONLY WE are turning more and more into Ω tributes as time goes by. It continued here with Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi losing in the main event and blaming the loss on Shiori Asahi not being there with them. Hino said he wants to revive the entire original Ω unit by the end of the year. He also told Yukio Naya to go and win the D-Ou Grand Prix final tomorrow. HARASHIMA was just happy to be there and win like he always is.
There was less PERON GRANDES action on the show than planned because Shogun Okamoto didn’t want to come home from America in time to be here. Tomomitsu Matsunaga took his place and renamed himself Tomomitsu Raijin so he could fit in better with Akira Raijin. He even had facepaint and writings across his body. But no matter how much of a heel he tried to be, he could not out-heel DAMNATION T.A and ended up losing the match.
BASARA “BASARA 204 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 21~”, 26/11/2022 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. Daichi Kazato & Lil’ Kraken Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
2. 3 Way Match: SAGAT Vs Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano
3. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi Vs Ryota Nakatsu
4. FUMA Vs Yasu Urano
5. Isami Kodaka & Masato Kamino Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Fuminori Abe
We’re building up to Isami Kodaka against Fuminori Abe for the Union MAX Title next month.
The FUMA Vs Yasu Urano match can be treated as an unofficial 3rd place playoff from the Chouten ~Itadaki~ tournament. Both of them were eliminated from the semi finals.
BASARA “BASARA 205 ~OJI NI KITSUNE 22~”, 26/11/2022 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. Submission Tag Match: Daiki Shimomura & Takato Nakano Vs Man Man Kai Kind & Fuminori Abe
2. Jacket Tag Match: Daichi Kazato & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Masato Kamino & Lil’ Kraken
3. Horror! Jusenkyo Single Match: Tsutomu Oosugi Vs Banana Senga (Special Referee: Isami)
4. Loser Loses Gilberto Style Match: Yasu Urano Vs Isami Kodaka
5. Kung Fu Yoga Allied Forces Vs Ninja USA Forces Counter Attack: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & FUMA Vs Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT
Asian Kung Fu Revolution are producing the evening show. Can the alliance of Kung Fu and Yoga defeat American ninjas in the final battle of the night?
The Gilberto Style Match between Urano and Kodaka is taken from the anime Baki The Grappler. In the anime it is a contest where both fighters hold onto the same handkerchief while they fight. The first one to let go of the handkerchief loses. The “Loser Loses” wordplay is because the Loser Loses his honour in defeat.
Speed Of Sounds having a match against each other is notable by itself but the match title sounding like a reference to Ranma 1/2’s cursed springs has me confused over what they could be planning.
DDT “UTAN FESTA 2022”, 27/11/2022 Tokyo JR Omori Station East Exit Square
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Kazuma Sumi
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Yusuke Okada & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Toru Owashi, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Hideki Okatani
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Joey Janela, Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
5. World Omori Title: Chikara (c) Vs Soma Takao
6. Omori Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & RSP Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata
Harimao will be without Naomi Yoshimura for a while but at least Kazusada Higuchi still has Yuki Ishida with him. They will team up with RSP to take on The 37KAMIINA.
We’re getting a preview of Joey Janela against Jun Akiyama. It may be the most normal action we’re going to get between the two as they prepare for the DDT Extreme Title match.
No Battle Royal to determine next year’s No. 1 Contender for the World Omori Title?
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. 2 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
2. Suzume Vs Yoshiko Hasegawa
3. Mizuki Vs Arisu Endo
4. Maki Itoh & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta
5. Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Moka Miyamoto & Juria Nagano
6. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
7. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku
8. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz
Raku tested positive for covid and is unable to appear on this weekend’s show. Yuki Aino will now team with Pom Harajuku for the Princess Tag Team Titles match. Harajuku was chosen because the show coincides with the 4th anniversary of her debut match and this will be her first ever title shot.
DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022 Chiba 2AW Square
1. Yusuke Okada & Kazuma Sumi Vs Hideki Okatani & Toi Kojima
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs BURNING!: Yuki Ueno, MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yuya Koroku
4. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ DAMNATION T.A Vs PERON GRANDES!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Shogun Okamoto Vs Akira Raijin
5. ONLY WE x DDT Special 6-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuki Ishida & Quiet Storm Vs Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada
6. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match: Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya
Yoshimura’s injury changes the top matches for the DDT & ONLY WE collaboration. Ω now faces the team of HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya, giving Naya a chance to fight Yuji Hino again. Higuchi is now in a 6-Man Tag Match with Ishida and Quiet Storm against the international trio of Chris Brookes, RSP & Takeshi Masada.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 THE FINAL”, 04/12/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Antonio Honda
2. Soma Takao, Hideki Okatani & Hikaru Machida Vs Yuya Koroku, Yuki Ishida & Takeshi Masada
3. BURNING Vs The 37KAMIINA!: Tetsuya Endo & Yusuke Okada Vs MAO & Shunma Katsumata
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazuma Sumi
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & RSP Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON
6. DDT Extreme Title: Joey Janela (c) Vs Jun Akiyama
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Yukio Naya
Naya visited his father Takatoriki Tadashige this week to give him the latest report on his pro wrestling career as well as talk about his brother Oho’s currently impressive run at the Grand Sumo Tournament in Fukuoka. Naya told his father he was competing in the D-Ou Grand Prix and qualified for the final next month. Takatoriki praised his son for working hard but told him he always had weak luck. Everybody likes people who are hungry to succeed and try their best but those qualities can be useless if Naya does not have the spirit to bring down his opponent and win. So Takatoriki offered to teach Naya that spirit by using forbidden gambling training to improve his luck.
The training is forbidden because Takatoriki was a retired sumo wrestler who became blackballed from the sport after admitting to illegal gambling on baseball games which resulted borrowing large amounts of money to pay off his debts. Despite his dark history with gambling, he felt this was necessary and challenged Naya to beat him in a game of blackjack. Naya succeeded and his father promised to reward him with a 6 month gift voucher at a Personal Training gym if he wins the D-Ou Grand Prix.
Four of the D-Ou Grand Prix participants who failed to make the final now have to team up together and fight the entire DAMNATION T.A.
Naruki Doi returns and gets his request to fight HARASHIMA granted. It’s in a 6-Man Tag Match though and HARASHIMA has to fight against the rest of his DISASTER BOX stablemates.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 450 Fans
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada defeated Yuki Ishida with the Sudden Death (6:45).
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda defeated Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno when Iino pinned Honda after the Sexy Lock Up (8:28).
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku when KANON pinned Koroku with the Sleepy Hollow (5:57).
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada when Doi pinned Kojima with the Bakatare Sliding Kick (11:38).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4) ended in a Double Countout (11:36).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (4) defeated Tetsuya Endo (5) with the Harai Goshi (7:05).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Yuki Ueno (6) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (5) with the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher (16:53).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (4) defeated Yuji Hino (7) with a Modified Samson Clutch (12:10).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (8) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (7) with the Back Drop (19:05).
The race to the final is complete and two men are left to fight over who will win the 2022 D-Ou Grand Prix. The Block was decided by what is possibly the biggest upset in the entire tournament this year when Yukio Naya defeated Kazusada Higuchi! The reigning KO-D Openweight Champion was one of two unbeaten wrestlers left in the group and when the path opened up for him to remain the only one at the finish, but Naya decided it would go differently. The Headbutt was the key move in a Higuchi match yet again. The twist however was the move came from Naya to get the advantage. Some Knee Lifts were used afterwards to soften up Higuchi for the Back Drop for the surprise result. Naya’s win means he vaults over the two top heavyweights to reach the final!
So how did it all go wrong for Yuji Hino, the other undefeated wrestler in B Block? Blame CDK for that. Chris Brookes relied on Masahiro Takanashi to help him get a win. The referee was taken out after being used as a shield then Takanashi gave Hino a Low Blow right when he was about to hit the Fuckin’ BOMB on Brookes. Makoto Oishi came to the rescue by grabbing the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt off of Takanashi. However Brookes then pushed Oishi right into Hino, knocking the big guy loopy when he head first came into contact with the title belt. He was still able to kick out of the pin but was too dazed to kick out of a Samson Clutch afterwards. Brookes isn’t happy with this year being the fourth in a row he failed to win the final. If things don’t improve for him in the next 12 months he does not see a point in him being in the next D-Ou GP. Hino isn’t mad because he doesn’t feel like he lost. All he knows is his head and crotch both hurt so he just wants to go home and get into his bed.
The A Block was a much tighter race with five of the six contestants still in the running one way or another. When the dust settled it was Yuki Ueno who was left standing above everyone else in first place uncontested. He took a beating to get there because Daisuke Sasaki attacked him with plenty of chairs in their match. But Ueno had enough with that kind of stuff and stopped Sasaki with a Dropkick. He hit the BME but Sasaki only kicked out at one. He also blocked the Crossface Lock when Sasaki tried to convert it into the Crossover Facelock. However the BME only got a one count so Ueno had to pull out his new finisher, the Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher to clear past Sasaki and book his place in the final. Sasaki is so upset over the loss he says 2022 has ended for himself and DAMNATION T.A as well as the first half of 2023. You’ll have to wait until the second half of 2023 to see them get their revenge!
Tetsuya Endo fell at the final hurdle thanks to Naomi Yoshimura. Endo was fighting for first place going into this show and would have made the final had he won, now that we know how Ueno Vs Sasaki went. Instead the Harai Goshi pinned Endo out of nowhere and dashed his chances of advancing. It’s been one of the few bright spots of Yoshimura’s tournament this year and he is currently not in the mood to talk about it. Meanwhile Endo is already thinking of any lessons he learned, figuring out that he has not grown since their last singles match while Yoshimura clearly has.
The two American wrestlers both left their mark in the A Block as wild cards disrupting everyone else’s chances. Both Joey Janela and RSP had slim chances of staying in the Grand Prix but they also had their sights set on each other during the entire tour due to their history together on the American indies. It led to a match where the two tried to destroy each other with the biggest moves they could think of. The biggest came when RSP gave Janela a Death Valley Bomb from the ring apron onto the floor outside. The move took out both men and the match ended in a Double Countout. Due to the new scoring rules implemented this year, a Double Counout means neither wrestlers received any points. Janela takes some enjoyment that the result stopped RSP from getting anywhere near the final. He also now wants to move on to his next target, Jun Akiyama! He thought he would get to fight Akiyama until he found out DDT added an age limit to this year’s D-Ou GP. If that’s not enough, while Janela is here in Japan Akiyama is in America wrestling Eddie Kingston in Janela’s previous workplace AEW! Janela wants Akiyama to come face him when he returns to Japan.
The D-Ou GP final is now set. The A Block winner Yuki Ueno faces the B Block winner Yukio Naya on 4th December. Ueno is in the final for the second year in a row and did not expect to be seeing Naya with him here. Naya’s a big guy but Ueno wants to live up to his promise to carry DDT on his own back. Naya said he is ready to do that too. He just beat Higuchi and now he has to beat Ueno. Should he do that then Naya will make it clear he wants to challenge Higuchi for the KO-D Title inside Tokyo Dome City Hall at the end of December!
Even without the tournament there is a lot of news coming out of this show. Naruki Doi made his next appearance for DDT, forming a team with DISASTER BOX that was nicknamed Disaster Muscle. Doi felt like he was being pranked with DISASTER BOX, The 37KAMIINA and even Takeshi Masada all getting him involved in wacky spots. Toru Owashi did his lucha while Kazuki Hirata tried to mimic MAO’s Koppojutsu but was easily brushed aside. He also tried to wear the Hirata GO! glasses but the music immediately caused Doi to kick him. Toi Kojima was the one to step up to Doi but was cut down with the Doi 555 and Bakatare Sliding Kick. After the match HARASHIMA welcomed Doi to DDT and congratulated him on winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, one of the few championships that HARASHIMA has never held. Doi asked the fans if they would like to see him face HARASHIMA some day? He then said he will be back in DDT on the 21st and 29th December. If anyone wants to fight Doi, Owashi & Hirata for the titles then Doi will accept any challengers… except for Shunma Katsumata.
KANON had a poor run in the tournament but that is all behind him now. He rejoined MJ Paul & Minoru Fujita to get a win against Eruption & Yuya Koroku. It was a close match with Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani keeping DAMNATION T.A on their toes. Koroku then took the lead against KANON but a reversal of fortunes saw KANON pin him with the Sleepy Hollow.
There were also two matches on the pre-show. Danshoku Dieno was absent with a fever so it was up to the rest of Pheromones to keep it up with their obscene antics. This is bad news for Akito because their behaviour is getting so bad that Korakuen Hall management may consider stepping in and banning DDT from doing further shows in the building. Yuki Iino & Koju Takeda may have found a kindred spirit because Gorgeous Matsuno was more than ready to compare his fit body with theirs. Antonio Honda used Iino’s backside to charge up Gongitsune but some bad targeting led to both Akito & Takanashi getting knocked out. Yumehito Imanari saw the opening and got his partners to lock up with each other. Doing so had them essentially teabag all of their opponents over and over into submission. Akito was mad with the result because he bungled the numbers advantage and now DDT is at risk of being kicked out of Korakuen. Pheromones need to be subjugated so Akito will bring in the political tag team of Osamu Nishimura & Shinichiro Kawamatsu for the big 29th December show at Tokyo Dome City Hall!
The other dark match saw Yusuke Okada take all that Yuki Ishida could throw at him. Ishida fought out of a Crab Hold and kicked out of a long distance Diving Headbutt. It was a good effort but Okada beat him with the Sudden Death in the end.
Katsumata feels like there is not enough excitement going around so he came up with an idea to do an Explosion Death Match in the new year. So one will take place in Tsurumi on 7th January where Katsumata will aim to surpass Atsushi Onita and become the Reiwa era’s version of “Evil Ways”. He promised that show will not end until he blows up Onita!
An update was given in regards to LiLiCo’s request to take part in the Anal Explosion opening ceremony for the 29h December show in TDC Hall. Hisaya Imabayashi took part in a show with LiLiCo’s husband Ryohei Odai during the week so he recorded a video discussing the situation with him. Odai does not like the idea but is under the impression that all couples have a rule where they do not need to be concerned for what their partners do with their anuses. So he is ok with LiLiCo and DDT going ahead with the ceremony.
DDT has a Korakuen show on 21st December to celebrate the launch of Dieno’s new book about his views on pro wrestling. Dieno will have a match against Muscle Sakai on the show. There will also be a match between Yuki Iino and Yumehito Imanari just because Dieno wants to see it happen.
Matsuno gave everyone a news update about his planned kidney transplant operation for his partner Junko Tashiro. It was previously announced that the operation was delayed until next Spring because Tashiro is in stable health and has no need to get a transplant right away. The operation is now scheduled for April but may be delayed again if Tashiro remains in good health. It is inevitable that the transplant will need to happen some day and when it does, Matsuno made a vow to return to the ring after it is completed.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN KORAKUEN HALL”, 18/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada Vs Yuki Ishida
0. Dark Match – 3 Vs 4 Handicap Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari & Koju “Shining Ball” Takeda Vs Akito, Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno
1. Minoru Fujita, MJ Paul & KANON Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku
2. Special 8-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Takeshi Masada
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Joey Janela (4) Vs RSP (4)
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) Vs Naomi Yoshimura (2)
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (5) Vs Yuki Ueno (4)
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Chris Brookes (2) Vs Yuji Hino (7)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (7) Vs Yukio Naya (6)
I’ll dig into the different paths to the final in another post tomorrow but long story short, the A Block is wide open for everyone except Naomi Yoshimura while the B Block is coming down to Kazusada Higuchi, Yuji Hino and Yukio Naya. The matches will be overseen by Kenta Kobashi who will be in attendnace.
Danshoku Dieno is off the show with a fever. The Pheromones match on the pre-show will now be a 3 Vs 4 Handicap match with Akito’s team having the one man advantage.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW AUTUMN TOUR ’22”, 20/11/2022 Shinjuku FACE
1. 3 Way Match: Mizuki Vs Hikari Noa Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. Hyper Misao Vs Pom Harajuku
3. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo
4. Miu Watanabe Vs Kaya Toribami
5. Yuki Aino & Raku Vs Shoko Nakajima & Haruna Neko
6. Yuka Sakazaki & Miyu Yamashita Vs Millie McKenzie & Billie Starkz
Miyu Yamashita has come back to Japan with a new White Belt over her shoulder but her international adventure continues much closer to home. She and Yuka Sakazaki both have foreign opponents at Korakuen Hall next weekend so all four will face off in a big preview tag match. Sakazaki has Billie Starkz to worry about in a first time meeting. Yamashita meanwhile gets right back to business as her global rivalry with Millie McKenzie reaches its third country.
Also back from England is Hyper Misao. Did she bring back anything nice for Pom Harajuku? She’s been on her best behaviour while Misao was abroad.
Maki Itoh is wrestling in America for GCW and JCW this weekend. She’s already in the company so who knows, maybe she shows up somewhere at AEW tonight?
“MASAHIRO TAKANASHI INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE – BOKUTACHI 4 HANJUKU 4 I LOVE YOU! 2022”, 22/11/2022 Shinjuku FACE
0. Dark Match: Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen & Gota Ihashi (w/ Miyako Haru) Vs SAKI & Yasu Urano (w/ KUDO)
1. Mixed Gauntlet Tag Match: Ram Kaichow & Yuko Miyamoto Vs Saki Akai & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Vs Mochi Natsumi & Hoshitango Vs Cherry & Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Chie Koishikawa & Shin Suzuki Vs Choun-Shiryu & Lee Yoneyama Vs Isami Kodaka & Emi Sakura W
2. Mei Suruga Vs MAO
3. Chris Brookes, Drew Parker & Antonio Honda Vs Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao
4. Daisuke Sekimoto Vs Masahiro Takanashi
The dark match has some news surrounding it. Yuna Mizumori is out of action with a knee injury so SAKI will take her place. That’s not all, the UMA Corps creature known as Shinsetsu Gomu Ningen entered the Ebisuko Tavern during the week and attacked KUDO with its long arms! Gota Ihashi didn’t do anything to stop it because hey, he’s teaming with that monster and KUDO is supporting the other side. Screw him.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “ALL RISE ’22”, 27/11/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. EVE Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Millie McKenzie
2. Princess Tag Team Titles: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai (c) Vs Yuki Aino & Raku
3. Princess Of Princess Title: Yuka Sakazaki (c) Vs Billie Starkz
Juria Nagano and Yoshiko Hasegawa will both be on the show.
DDT/ONLY WE “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN CHIBA”, 03/12/2022 Chiba 2AW Square
1. Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Akito & Hiroshi Yamato
2. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ DAMNATION T.A Vs PERON GRANDES!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Shogun Okamoto Vs Akira Raijin
3. ONLY WE x DDT Special Tag Match ~ Harimao Vs Ω!: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuji Hino & Makoto Oishi
For the last time this year DDT and ONLY WE have a co-promoted show together. Although the ONLY WE stuff has kind of been hijacked by the Ω revival that took place on these shows. The D-Ou Grand Prix will be over at this point but I bet Higuchi and Hino will have unsettled business after their block match ended in a stalemate. Yoshimura wants to put the whole tournament behind him at this point and you can never count out Makoto Oishi in these situations.
Some of the earlier ONLY WE shows had DAMNATION T.A and PERON GRANDES alliance going on but that seems to be out the window now.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2022 IN OSAKA”, 12/11/2022 Osaka Edion Arena #2 320 Fans – No Vacancy
0. Dark Match: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku defeated Shunma Katsumata & Kazuma Sumi when Okada submitted Sumi with a Crab Hold (7:33).
1. MJ Paul & KANON defeated Hideki Okatani & Takeshi Masada when KANON submitted Masada with a Ground X Hold (7:45).
2. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Produce Match: Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno Vs Aja Kong & HARASHIMA ended in a No Contest (10:49).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Yukio Naya (4) defeated Chris Brookes (2) with the Back Drop (5:24).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (3) defeated Joey Janela (4) with a Modified Samson Clutch (11:38).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Tetsuya Endo (5) defeated RSP (4) with the Burning Star Press (10:26).
-. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Shunma Katsumata defeated Keiko Takeshita (c) by Forfeit (7:04 pm). *Shunma Katsumata becomes the 1,554th champion.
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Yuji Hino, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (c) when Hirata pinned Oishi with Miracle One Shot Cradle (15:22). *Ω fails in V1. Naruki Doi, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata become the 48th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – B Block: Kazusada Higuchi (5) defeated MAO (2) with a Rotating Foot Hold (11:41).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 – A Block: Naomi Yoshimura (2) defeated Yuki Ueno (4) with the Osaka Pride (22:57).
Naomi Yoshimura continues his unbeaten streak against his former Nautilus tag partner Yuki Ueno in singles matches. And not a moment too soon because this may kickstart Yoshimura’s recovery in the D-Ou Grand Prix. He blocked both the WR and also Ueno’s new Rolling Guillotine Ace Crusher. A Power Bomb, Lariat and the Osaka Pride only got a nearfall so Yoshimura had to hit the Osaka Pride a second time to earn the win. Yoshimura called this match his scariest one of the tournament but he proved he still a survivor of the D-Ou GP. He still has a chance to top the group as long as he wins his remaining matches. Ueno is frustrated he still cannot beat his generation rival. He believes he is the strongest to carry DDT on his back and will win the D-Ou no matter what.
As the days are counting down, a few of the wrestlers are getting desperate to win in order to remain in the running for the final. MAO is one example, jumping Kazusada Higuchi before the bell to start their match. He tried using the Koppojutsu skills he used to beat Higuchi in last year’s tournament, including the Clothespin. However this time Higuchi was ready for that move and had counters for it. The Brain Claw was also well scouted so Higuchi thought outside the box and pinned MAO with a Rotating Foot Hold. The result shows that MAO is not the only wrestler with tricks up his sleeve, Higuchi has been hiding stuff too. MAO is now unable to reach the final but he will keep fighting just in case the group winner pulls out of the final due to kidney stones or appendicitis. Hey it could happen!
RSP has been counting on his size to smash his way through the A Block. Today he ended up being overpowered by Tetsuya Endo! Agility played a major part as well because Endo flipped his way out of the GTF and then used an Overhead Kick to stun his opponent. The moment of strength came when Endo gave RSP the Torture Rack Bomb! RSP had enough fight left in him to kick out but the Burning Star Press put him away afterward. The performance shows that Endo’s ankle injury isn’t much of a problem anymore. He told the Osaka fans to keep an eye on him because once he wins the Grand Prix, he is going after all of the singles championships in DDT!
The build up to Daisuke Sasaki Vs Joey Janela promised a dirty fight and we got one. They fought outside the ring, attacked each other with chairs and Sasaki even Superplexed Janela out of the ring onto a bunch of ringside attendants! The chair usage went beyond what was acceptable and Yukinori Matsui tried to stop it. The unintentional distraction led to Sasaki giving Janela a Low Blow and then Janela giving a Low Blow back to Sasaki. However Sasaki found an opening to give one more Low Blow and then rolled up Janela in a Samson Clutch for the win. It revives Sasaki’s chances in the tournament but Janela is still in the chase for the final too.
Chris Brookes wasted no time in trying to finish off Yukio Naya by immediately doing the Praying Mantis Bomb to him before their match even began. Naya kicked out of the pin and remained on the defensive while Brookes continued his attack. The table turned when Naya hit a Knee Lift. He later hit a Choke Slam and pinned Brookes with the Back Drop. The win gives Naya a lot of confidence because of how experienced his opponent is. He now sees himself as the eye of the typhoon in the B Block. Brookes was taken aback because he didn’t realise just how strong Naya has become.
Outside of the tournament it was still an eventful show for DDT today. Naruki Doi made his first appearance on a regular DDT show and came out of it as a new champion! He teamed with DISASTER BOX members Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata to beat Ω for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles. It almost didn’t look that way with Ω being a united force. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi used double team moves to great effect and Yuji Hino got rid of Owashi with the Funkin’ BOMB. Oishi gave Hirata the Miracle Ecstasy but Hirata somehow kicked out and used the Miracle One Shot Cradle to get the win out of nowhere. Owashi called the win a once in a hundred year miracle. Hirata corrected him and said it is once in a thousand years. Now that he holds a DDT championship that means he’s going to be here more often. Doi introduced himself to the fans after the match and said DDT was the first promotion to contact him after he turned freelance, so here he is. There are a lot of challengers he would like to face but one is on his mind. He heard there was once a DDT wrestler who looked a lot like him called Daichi Kakimoto…
Aja Kong got to experience the Pheromones madness. Both Sanshiro Takagi and Hisaya Imabayashi were absent from the show so the ring announcer Ken Kato was given the power to call off the match if things went out of control. He’s a big fan of Kong so he was really looking forward to seeing her fight. His dream was ruined by Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino. They used their seesaw attack with the wooden plank on HARASHIMA until Kong attacked them with the steel can. Pheromones got their own back by coming up with ways to stick their rear ends against Kong’s face until Kato called off the match. He also used his jacket to wipe Kong’s face after the match. Dieno & Iino probably needed it more because their backsides were now covered in Kong’s facepaint!
During the show Keiko Takeshita, Konosuke’s mother, came down to the ring and gave everyone an update on what life has been like ever since she became the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion. Every day people attack her to try and become champion but she always fights them off. She also had to defend the belt against a motorbike one time. Shunma Katsumata came down with a bag full of 551 pork buns as a gift for Keiko. He explained he will be wrestling in America this January and wants to go as the Iron Man Champion to increase his popularity. He also really likes Keiko so it would mean a lot if she gave him the title. Keiko was touched by Katsumata’s plea and agreed. With Matsui looking over, the title was officially transferred over from Keiko to Katsumata. Suddenly, Kazuma Sumi rolled over Katsumata with a School Boy. Keiko kicked Matsui to stop the pin count and then gave Sumi the Okanmaker to prevent a title change from happening. She’s not going to let anybody take the title away from Katsumata while she is here!
DDT “ROJO PRO WRESTLING IN SHINGASHI EXCITING FESTIVAL”, 06/11/2022 Saitama Tobu Tojo Line Shingashi Station West Exit ??? Fans
1. Falls Count Anywhere 4 Way Match: Shunma Katsumata defeated HARASHIMA, Makoto Oishi and Nabe Yakan when Katsumata pinned Oishi with the Sauna Trance Splash through a Table (36:01).
A local festival got to witness the chaos of a DDT Falls Count Anywhere match. Comedian and part-time wrestler Nabe Yakan came along for the ride but probably wished he didn’t after HARASHIMA used a Gorilla Press to throw him onto some chairs. A ladder came into play where Makoto Oishi and Shunma Katsumata fought on top of. Oishi Headbutted Katsumata off the ladder onto the same bunch of chairs. Katsumata recovered and placed Oishi on top of a table. He then Splashed him through the table after jumping off the ladder to get the win.