DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~” Preview

February 15, 2019

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

The first pre-show match will begin at around 12:10pm JST/3:10am GMT. The main show begins at 1:00pm JST/4:00am GMT. For America that means the show begins at 11:00pm EST/8:00pm PST on Saturday.

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Hey there. Back again to see what DDT is up to at Sumo Hall this time? Cool. The time between Ryogoku visits has been short for this one. Usually DDT books the venue every six or seven months. “JUDGEMENT 2019” is taking place only four months after “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” so it kind of feels like this weekend has snuck up on me. As I’ve written in a previous blog post I see this period of the entire wrestling scene as the final chapter of this current era. You can thank Kenny and his buddies for some of the reasons why. The landscape is changing, DDT is establishing new relationships around the world and there’s bound to be more surprising twists to come in the future.

But let’s not worry any further about that stuff. Ryogoku is set for a double header weekend from the DDT family. On Saturday the Muscle brand is back from the dead. What it has come back to do exactly I have no idea. Then on Sunday DDT is bringing together a packed card of matches that only they can provide.

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura Vs Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino

One of the big movements happening in BASARA lately is several wrestlers banding together to form the Sento Minzoku unit. Formed by Isami Kodaka and taking inspiration from Dragon Ball Z, each member has grown a monkey’s tail to represent their power. Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura are the two guys from BASARA’s main roster to join Kodaka and Minoru Fujita in the group. Facing them are the two freshest faces on the BASARA roster Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino. Nakano has mostly been improving his skills while staying out of trouble. Kamino joined BASARA in December after DNA closed down. Injuries kept him out of action for almost the entirety of DNA’s run so his jump to BASARA so his career has more or less started all over again.

0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe

Some new girls from Tokyo Joshi Pro get to wrestle in Sumo Hall for the first time. Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma and Natsumi Maki have wrestled there before. Manase and Tenma were there for a Battle Royal during “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2017”. Maki wrestled there for All Japan’s 45th Anniversary show only one week later. Yuki Aino, Hikari Noa and Miu Watanabe however are all wrestling their first Ryogoku match.

Manase has quietly been one of the more protected wrestlers in Tokyo Joshi, regularly winning her matches with the Neck Screw Hold. Nodoka Tenma is weeks away from challenging for the TOKYO Princess Title and has a recent pinfall win over the champion Miyu Yamashita. Aino is there supporting her sister as always. Over on the other side Noa and Watanabe have shown the most progression out of the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) unit. Their recent name and costume changes have allowed them to express their personalities more. Watanabe has added a Laser Beam baseball swing into her chops while Noa has become more enthusiastic in the ring. She took the most out of the opportunity to train with Shinjiro Otani when the Up Up Girls visited the ZERO1 dojo in December. Noa also happens to be wrestling the day before her 21st birthday. Last but certainly not least there is Maki. Her arrival in Tokyo Joshi was surrounded in controversy thanks to a burned bridge with Yumiko Hotta and Actwres girl’Z. But once she started wrestling it became clear that she has moved on. Maki has yet to be pinned or submitted in Tokyo Joshi and she currently finds herself in a feud with Maki Ito over who is cuter. The match hasn’t happened yet but if Hotta is still pissed off with Maki she might spoil the result of that too.

1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey Vs Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura

A right orbital and cheek bone fracture has kept Shunma Katsumata out of action for almost three months. When he went under surgery in December his goal was to come back in February and here he is. While he was gone ALL OUT went out of this world to find a new member. They found one with Space Monkey who has been winning everyone in DDT over with his antics, bananas and all. Yuki Ueno has been stepping his game up as a member of DISASTER BOX. He’s also been scouting one of his opponents here in the hopes of forming a new tag team. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid are already teaming together as Gon Gift so that leaves Naomi Yoshimura. When he unexpectedly returned to DDT in December he was aiming straight for the top and gunning after the championship. In a scary moment right near the end of 2018, Yoshimura took a Pedigree wrong and was left needing medical attention inside the ring. He ended up getting a cervical sprain and made a full recovery, returning to the ring two months later. With his chance at the main event now far away from his reach he is beginning the climb all over again. Maybe Ueno’s idea for them to team up will get him back on track. Or how about Power Bombing him instead? Yoshimura usually likes to do that given their history together.

2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Asuka (c) Vs Super Sasadango Machine Vs Makoto Oishi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Saki Akai Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Hoshitango Vs Gota Ihashi Vs Yuni Vs Yasu Urano Vs El Lindaman Vs Scorpio X2 Vs Yuka Sakazaki Vs Mina Shirakawa Vs Chinsuke Nakamura Vs Maku Donaruto

DDT has spent the last few months searching for fresh blood and obscure talent from across Japan to diversify their roster. Heading the pack is Asuka. No not the one who hasn’t been booked on TV since the Royal Rumble despite being a champion and tapping out the current big star of the company. I mean the one that’s been blazing through the puroresu scene over the last twelve months as “Japan’s First Genderless Wrestler”. When Asuka left WAVE to go freelance, DDT jumped at the chance to bring her back and promote her as a next generation star. Since then Asuka has won the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title and became so attached to it she now calls it her boyfriend. So far the relationship has worked out better than the last one she had in DDT, even though it’s made her a target for jealous eyes down in Roppongi.

(Sidenote: Most English speaking fans write down ASUKA in all caps to differentiate her from the other Asuka. Out of preference I only do this when the wrestler also spells their name in all caps. Asuka’s name in Japanese is written as 朱崇花 so that’s why I prefer writing it in the lower case).

There is a full field of different faces out to take the title from Asuka. Saki Akai has a new finishing move inspired from her current role in the Fate/Grand Order stage play. The move is called Quetzalcoatl and it is a Twisting Crucifix Bomb similar to Kaji Tomato’s Red Eye finisher. Keisuke Okuda has been settling into DDT by fighting at an outdoor sauna and hate-teaming with Makoto Oishi. Who knows what Super Sasadango Machine will be up to the day after his latest Muscle show takes place. OWE is represented by both El Lindaman and Scorpio X2. Tokyo Joshi are sending in Yuka Sakazaki and Mina Shirakawa. Sakazaki in particular will have a lot of eyes on her after it was announced she will be appearing at All Elite Wrestling soon. Chinsuke Nakamura will no doubt be all up to date on whatever his inspiration is currently doing. And then there’s the rest of the usual low card DDT roster. That’s it. Nobody else. I’m not missing anybody…

… Sigh… Okay there’s one more. You know who I’m talking about. Behold the Twitch chat come to life, the one creation that makes Arby “The Meathead” McDonald look pure and wholesome, he’s ruined seven Valentine’s Days but saved two, it’s Maku Donaruto! This walking cease and desist waiting to happen was found in UDON Pro Wrestling and made an impression on DDT management. However his lewd wrestling style and obscene personality is making DDT a little unsure how often they want to continue booking him after Sumo Hall. A lot? A little? A seven match series with Kazuki Hirata? Here’s his biggest chance to leave an impression on everyone.

3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino

Let’s move on to some history, some legacy that is attached to Sumo Hall. Yukio Naya is only around a year into his wrestling career. He is getting attention because his late grandfather was a legendary sumo wrestler named Taiho Koki. Naya’s grandfather was one of the youngest wrestlers to become a yokozuna and he also earned many accomplishments throughout his distinguished career. Naya has said he is proud to wrestle in the same building where his grandfather achieved much of his success. Teaming with him is DDT’s sumo turned pro Kazusada Higuchi as well as D-Ou Grand Prix finalist Go Shiozaki. Facing them are a trio of big beefy boys! Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi and Yuki Iino are the opposition in a match that I bet will have many, many chops. And probably a Haka dance from Iino too.

4. Special Single Match: Akito Vs T-Hawk

The #STRONGHEARTS love to cause some commotion wherever they go but what do they do when somebody successfully stands up to them? During their feud with ALL OUT, they were able to get pinfall wins over every member except one. The one guy they haven’t been able to beat is Akito. In order to right this wrong T-Hawk is set to face Akito one on one. As the current WRESTLE-1 Champion, T-Hawk feels on top of the world. It would be nice to see Akito pull him down. Akito is confident wrestling on his own and is convinced that T-Hawk hasn’t watched any of his singles matches. Akito has a reason of his own to win other than keeping #STRONGHEARTS at bay again. He is looking into the idea of wrestling in other companies on behalf of DDT. A win over the WRESTLE-1 Champion can open some doors for him.

5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase

You know what’s big these days? Mascots. Put somebody in a big wacky costume, make them do stupid shit, put it online and watch those social media numbers shoot up. Most likely inspired by the popularity of such characters like Chiitan, Nyango Star and you can also include Andreza Giant Panda in that list, Danshoku Dieno now wants a piece of the pie. So he has created his own mascot and went through several names before picking something suitable for everyone. Or at least I assume it’s suitable. It’s probably not but whatever. Anyway the mascot is called Pokotan and it looks like a seal. Dieno himself was planning to be under the costume during the build up to the show. Unfortunately the costume has not been finished as of a week ago. Dieno only has the head ready and he is very upset over it. Will Pokotan be complete in time for his grand reveal?

6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
Around 14 years ago Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito teamed up for a 1,000m Barbed Wire And 100 Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match in Differ Ariake. They’re back together again to fight DAMNATION! Nagayo’s involvement in the show was already announced when the story of her saving a woman from an assault made the news in November so yay good publicity! What’s even more interesting is Nagayo’s protege Takumi Iroha is against her on the DAMNATION side. Since she is the Ikemen Joshi she might be there to take up the handsome looking role in the trio. Then again Mad Paulie is still on the team so that’s probably not the reason. Iroha is thrilled to face her mentor but is a little nervous that it’s in a Hardcore Match.

On a more serious note, Soma Takao is going into this match holding a grudge. For weeks leading into the show, Takagi has been poking Takao and questioning the current state of his career. Years ago Takao had the potential to become one of DDT’s best and yet he has never really attempted to take the torch. Maybe he’s gotten too comfortable being the mid-level guy in DAMNATION. Takagi wants to light a fire under Takao and see if he has any real ambition. Takao acts like he is angry at the world and everything around it. Now is his time to prove it.

7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka

#STRONGHEARTS have a reason for sticking around in DDT despite losing their feud to ALL OUT. After they lost the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles, CIMA and his crew admitted defeat and wanted to head home to the OWE headquarters in Shanghai. OWE told them not to come back until they get revenge on DDT. The best way to do that is to win one of the DDT championships again. This time CIMA is setting his sights on the KO-D Tag Team Titles and he is bringing along one of his newer partners Seiki Yoshioka to get them.

They aren’t the only ones who want the belts. Shuten-dōji challenged for the belts before #STRONGHEARTS did. The solution was to give both of them a shot in a 3 Way Match. Yukio Sakaguchi doesn’t care as long as he fights somebody strong (and El Lindaman provoking him with spitting and insults only resulted in Sakaguchi kicking him half to death). Masahiro Takanashi is interested though since he’s been able to cross paths with CIMA again. The two are linked through the Toryumon system but split off into two completely different paths. Takanashi wants to show CIMA that his unpolished way of wrestling is just as effective as CIMA’s state of the art abilities.

The scenario leaves the champions looking like a third wheel. But maybe that gives The Moonlight Express the advantage. MAO & Mike Bailey are currently ruling the tag team divisions in DDT and K-DOJO, holding both the KO-D Tag Titles and STRONGEST-K TAG Titles. MAO is as comfortable as ever in chaotic situations and Bailey always looks happy to go along for the ride, the crazier the better. MAO also feels the need to beat Shuten-dōji because they have beaten him so many times back when he was a part of NωA. He wants to move on from that part of his life but can’t if Shuten-dōji beats him again. The 3 Way stipulation being used is only one fall so a title change can happen without the Express being directly involved.

8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA

The rematch for the DDT Extreme Title sees HARASHIMA trying to win the belt back from Shinya Aoki. During his brief time in DDT, Aoki has defended the title in a Boxing Glove match and also got challenged into a fight at an outdoor sauna. This is what bad financial decisions can do to some people. But at least Aoki still has his pride. HARASHIMA has pride too so the two of them agreed to let their prides bring the best out of both of them. So that’s it. Nothing complicated, just a battle to see who is the best. Unless DDT decides to pipe in the Pride FC music during the match as a joke there isn’t much else that needs explaining. Well there is that one thing where HARASHIMA isn’t entirely sure what the exact ruleset for the match is. Aoki just keeps talking about pride and he hasn’t been the best at understanding the general pro wrestling rules. Is there even a three count?

9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji Vs Tetsuya Endo

Here we go! DDT usually has a dream match saved for Sumo Hall and they picked a good one this time round. Naomichi Marufuji returns to DDT and Tetsuya Endo is there waiting for him. You’d think Endo would see this as an opportunity to make a huge statement to the wrestling world but he’s a little distracted by his diet. No matter where he is or what he is doing Endo has been eating his handmade meals and drinking his protein shakes on a very strict timetable. This has interrupted several press conferences that were meant to promote this match. Marufuji doesn’t mind. There’s no bad blood between the two and Marufuji is looking forward to discovering Endo’s current potential. The match is also happening so soon after Marufuji’s return from injury so he gets to figure out what his own condition is like. We should get a nice, clean and competitive match out of this right. I mean it’s Marufuji in a DDT dream match. Nothing has ever gone wrong in a situation like that before. Right, Kenny?

10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

After vanquishing Dieno at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” in October, Daisuke Sasaki is headlining Sumo Hall for the second time in a row. This time he is going in as the KO-D Openweight Champion rather than the challenger. That role goes to Konosuke Takeshita for winning the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix. In the build up to the match something strange happened. Sasaki started acting friendly, wrestled clean and prohibited the other DAMNATION wrestlers from cheating. He even shook his opponent’s hand after matches. Takeshita wasn’t convinced by this new attitude at first but Sasaki behaved for long enough that Takeshita eventually bought into it. Of course it was at this point when Sasaki could not resist temptation any longer and went back to his usual dirty tactics.

That’s not all. While they wrestled their matches, some of the other DAMNATION members went to the restaurant owned by Takeshita’s mother Keiko. She was happy to serve them until they dined and dashed! That right there was the boiling point that turns Sasaki Vs Takeshita into a blood feud. Over the last few days Sasaki and Takeshita have gotten into fights wherever they find each other. Sasaki attacked Takeshita outside Sumo Hall during an interview and with a Hurricanrana threw Takeshita down a stairway. Takeshita got revenge on another night when he attacked Sasaki at a bar and gave him a Brainbuster onto a sofa. Things escalated even further when Sasaki vandalised Takeshita’s car with anime decals and then gave Takeshita a Pedigree onto the car roof! The match hasn’t even happened yet and both men are already trying to end each other’s careers before they even get to Sunday! Sasaki has said that he will not allow Takeshita win the KO-D title, otherwise DDT will be sent to the dark ages.


MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER” Preview

February 15, 2019

MUSCLE “MUSCLE MANIA 2019 IN RYOGOKU ~ OUR SECOND CAREER”, 16/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Pedro Takaishi Retirement Match: Pedro Takaishi Vs X

Wrestlers advertised to appear include Muscle Sakai, Danshoku Dieno, Antonio Honda, Pedro Takaishi, Choun-Shiryu, Yasu Urano, Makoto Oishi, Ken Ohka, Norikazu Fujioka, Amon Tsurumi and Andreza Giant Panda. Over on Twitter Akito has talked about wanting to be on the show. Sasadango publicly said he is welcome to come over as long as he keeps it a secret so he does not spoil the surprise…

Other guests include comedian Ryota Yamasato, actor Kurochan, pop band Junretsu and rapper Utamaru.

Here’s my preview: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Heck if I know what’s going to happen! Muscle shows in the past have been held under many sorts of formats. It might be a wrestling card, it might be a talk show, it might be a talent contest, it might be a school exam, it might be a tag team tournament gone horribly off the rails, it might be the first NXT Japan TakeOver in disguise, it might be anything. What I can say for sure is it will be ridiculous. Also don’t be surprised if a big name or two makes a cameo appearance somewhere. In the past such famous wrestlers as Masahiro Chono, Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Atsushi Onita, Shinjiro Otani, The Great Sasuke and a lot of the Big Japan roster among others have joined in the fun in one way or another.


DDT “WRESTLING OKEHAZAMA 2019” Results

February 3, 2019

DDT “WRESTLING OKEHAZAMA 2019”, 03/02/2019
Nagoya City Mid-Sports Center
226 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Kota Umeda defeated Mizuki Watase with the PK (10:25).
2. 3 Way Match: Tetsuya Endo defeated Naomi Yoshimura and Kazuki Hirata when Endo pinned Hirata with the Swandive Firebird Splash (6:22).
3. Keisuke Okuda & Makoto Oishi defeated Toru Owashi & Antonio Honda when Oishi pinned Honda with a Cradle (9:57).
4. MAO & Jason Kincaid defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi when MAO pinned Takanashi with a Jackknife Pin (12:38).
5. DISASTER BOX Vs Ganbare☆Wrestling: Keisuke Ishii & Kouki Iwasaki defeated HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno when Ishii pinned Ueno with the High Angle Double Arm DDT (12:13).
6. Nagoya Specialty! Where Are You Single Match: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Yuki Iino with the Doctor Bomb (13:37).
7. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Space Monkey defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie when Akito submitted Paulie with the Perfect Figure Four Leg Lock (19:38).

Remember yesterday when Daisuke Sasaki made a promise to Konosuke Takeshita that he would fight clean and never cheat again? Well believe it or not so far he is sticking to his word. When a ref bump happened in the main event, Tetsuya Endo threw a chair into the ring for Sasaki to use. Sasaki however got rid of it. Soma Takao brought the chair back in but Sasaki again threw it out. After the match Takeshita praised Sasaki for turning over a new leaf. Sasaki said he has now learned how to have fun in wrestling and today’s match made him feel good. The two then shook hands again.

Since the show was in Akito’s hometown of Nagoya, he decided to say some words about his upcoming match with T-Hawk. He calls it a match between champions of two different organisations. Akito hopes to wrestle in various places throughout 2019.

Kazusada Higuchi was hurt by Yuki Iino’s Spear but toughed it out to beat the ALL OUT wrestler. Iino is strong but Higuchi is more driven.

The visiting Ganbare☆Wrestling team were victorious over DISASTER BOX. For Keisuke Ishii and Kouki Iwasaki it was the first time in a while since they’ve wrestled in DDT. They were accompanied by Yumehito Imanari who was waving the Ganpro flag for their entrance. Today’s win removes some of the disappointment the team has from earlier in the week when they challenged for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles in NOAH and lost.

MAO continues to squeak by Shuten-dōji wrestlers. Yesterday he pinned Yukio Sakaguchi with a Cradle, today he pinned Masahiro Takanashi with a Jackknife. MAO still has a headache from the High Kick Sakaguchi gave him yesterday.

Makoto Oishi and Keisuke Okuda have an unusual double team move where Oishi sits in front of his opponent, Okuda charges in to do a Penalty Kick and Oishi moves out of the way so the opponent gets hit instead. Today Oishi and one of his opponents Antonio Honda were in opposite positions and Okuda ended up hitting the Penalty Kick on his own partner. However Oishi was able to fluke cradle Honda into a Gedo Clutch style pin to win the match.


DDT “DRAMATIC AKASONAE! 2019” Results

January 13, 2019

DDT “DRAMATIC AKASONAE! 2019”, 13/01/2019
Osaka Hirano Community Hall
302 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid defeated Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Kincaid pinned Shimatani with the Philosopher’s Stomp (10:10).
2. Toru Owashi, Makoto Oishi & Keisuke Okuda defeated Akito, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Mizuki Watase when Okuda pinned Watase with the PK (13:10).
3. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Mad Paulie defeated Yuki Iino with the Reverse Splash (8:37).
4. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru) defeated Kazuki Hirata with the Swanton Bomb (10:31).
5. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuni ended in a Double Countout (3:51).
5a. Rematch: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Yuni with a Hurricanrana Cutback (8:56).
6. Masahiro Takanashi & Sammy Guevara defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda when Guevara pinned Umeda with a Running Knee to the back of the head (12:07).
7. Tomorrow Is Good! Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao defeated HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno when Sasaki submitted Ueno with the Cross Facelock (18:57).
8. Special Single Match: MAO defeated Mike Bailey with a Jackknife Pin (15:30).

Last minute changes were made to the card because MAO & Mike Bailey were stuck on a bullet train after wrestling for K-DOJO in Korakuen Hall earlier in the day. The big change was the new main event being a singles match between both members of The Moonlight Express! The two were evenly matched as they fought and tried to force the other to loudly apologise for their lateness. Bailey hit the Green Tea Plunge but only got a nearfall. MAO hit the Screw High Kick then rolled over Bailey with a Jackknife to get the win. After the match both of them apologised to the fans and explained that after they successfully defended the STRONGEST-K TAG Titles in Korakuen, they immediately went to go get the bullet train. However during the journey they realised they got on the longer train route from Tokyo to Osaka. They tried to figure out how they could still make the show in time. When they couldn’t find an answer MAO phoned Yukinori Matsui to send the message they would be late.

Soma Takao gave Yuki Ueno a Low Blow to set up the finish to Match #7. Daisuke Sasaki provoked Ueno into a confrontation after the match and Takao gave Ueno another Low Blow.

Some bullying took place at the start of the show when Yuni was supposed to give the opening speech. Konosuke Takeshita interrupted the speech and attacked his opponent! When the match happened later on Takeshita underestimated Yuni so much that they took the match outside the ring and Takeshita somehow got thrown into the ringside chairs. The match ended in a double countout. Takeshita wanted no more and began to leave when Yuki demanded a restart. This time Yuni threw everything at him. There was an Asai Moonsault, the 2nd Rope Sky Twister Press and even the Kamigoye. Takeshita was able to kick out of them though and narrowly scored the win when he cut off Yuni’s Hurricanrana and pressed him down for the pin. Takeshita praised Yuni for the match and promised a rematch in 13 years time when Yuni is the age Takeshita is now. Yuni promised to train a lot so he can become stronger than Takeshita!

The debuting Maku Donaruto impressed some and bothered others with his performance against Kazuki Hirata. His lewd movements reminded Hirata of Danshoku Dieno. With Phoenix Haru helping out from outside the ring, Donaruto was able to Moonsault onto Hirata. The Hirata GO! glasses weren’t enough to stop him and he pinned Hirata with a Swanton Bomb.

Keisuke Okuda complained about having to team up with Makoto Oishi again. At least Oishi was nice enough to promote Okuda’s homecoming show in Mie on 10th February. Okuda was pleased with that until he found out Oishi would be there.

The team of Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid are now going by the name Gon Gift. Honda credited their win today by recently seeing Creed 2 in the cinema. Creed 2 taught him to always crawl no matter how low he falls. He promises to carry the Russian boxing world forward into the future! Kincaid hasn’t seen either Creed movie yet.

Naomi Yoshimura came out to tell everyone he is feeling quite well now. After he has his return match on 2nd February he promises to wrestle in Osaka again when DDT returns later in the year.


DDT “HANDMADE IN JAPAN FESTIVAL WINTER (2019)” Results

January 12, 2019

DDT “HANDMADE IN JAPAN FESTIVAL WINTER (2019)”, 12/01/2019
Tokyo Big Sight West Hall Music & Play Area
??? Fans

1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Yuki Iino and MAO & Mizuki Watase when pinned Watase with a Diving Body Press from the Ladder onto the Dream Go Wreckage (27:55).

For DDT’s return to the Handmade In Japan Fes in 2019, Sanshiro Takagi prepared something new and special for the occasion. He constructed the Dream Go, a giant figure made out of plastic cases to be used as a secret weapon at February’s Sumo Hall show. However it is only 80% complete and Takagi wanted to use today’s match at the festival to search for the remaining parts he needs. Unfortunately the Dream Go collapsed and broke apart into pieces when the crew tried to lift it off the stage.

When the match began, MAO & Mizuki Watase attacked Iino with a skateboard and mostly target his ass. Watase also encouraged some kids in the crowd to step forth and chop Iino in the ass. The match moved into the market where the wrestlers bumped into Makoto Oishi and Misaki Ohata. The couple were there as customers but Oishi joined in the fun of attacking wrestlers with skateboard while Ohata watched with a confused look on her face. The wrestlers then trapped each other in a line of Headscissors that Iino flipped over into a massive Crab Hold. Takagi escaped and purchased some items from the market stalls. MAO got angry when he found out Takagi was passing the bill on to DDT instead of paying for them with his own money. The wrestlers then went beer tasting. Takagi bought a bottle so he could hit MAO with it. Watase ended up getting drunk enough to yell at everyone for attention. That stopped when Iino tackled him from behind. MAO found a large sphere to do a Moonsault off of. Everyone went down except for Takagi who went missing.

Takagi was found back at the stage repairing the Dream Go. He placed Watase on a table below then with Iino threw the Dream Go at Watase! Watase rolled out of the way and the Dream Go hit the table and broke into pieces again. Iino Speared MAO and Kota Umeda into the remains. Watase was thrown onto the table again and had the cases placed on top of him. Kazusada Higuchi climbed the ladder and hit a Diving Body Press on Watase, crushing him through the table and beneath the Dream Go! Higuchi pinned Watase to win the match for himself and Umeda.

After the match Higuchi found out that the Handmade In Japan Fes is held twice a year with the second one taking place in the summer. He asked the event organiser if DDT can come back for it. The organiser said he will consider it.


Video – Oishi/Hirata Vs Honda/Scott

January 8, 2019

DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018”, 23/12/2018
Tochigi Koyama City Cultural Center
145 Fans

Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & Veda Scott


DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019” Results

January 5, 2019

DDT “SHIMO-KITAZAWA FIGHTING THEATER 2019”, 05/01/2019
Kitazawa Town Hall
210 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Akito & Kota Umeda defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Akito submitted Hirata with the Scorpion Lock (8:44).
2. 3 Way Match: Sammy Guevara defeated Antonio Honda and Gota Ihashi when Guevara pinned Ihashi with the Shooting Star Press (7:42).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Sakaguchi pinned Shimatani with the God’s Right Knee (9:33).
4. CIMA, El Lindaman, Duan Yingnan & Seiki Yoshioka defeated HARASHIMA, Yuki Ueno, Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase when Yoshioka pinned Watase with the SK (15:19).
5. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki & Mad Paulie defeated Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Iino when Sasaki submitted Iino with the Cross Facelock (14:48).
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles & STRONGEST-K TAG Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (K/c) defeated Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi (S/c) when MAO pinned Oishi after the Michinoku Tornado Driver (23:41).
*V2 for The Moonlight Express. Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi fail in V2. The Moonlight Express becomes the 40th STRONGEST-K TAG Champions!

The Moonlight Express are now double tag team champions! Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi set MAO up for the Cactus Flower in the corner but Mike Bailey crushed them from above with the Ultima Weapon. From there Bailey & MAO kept Asahi aside and pinned Oishi with the Michinoku Tornado Driver. MAO said Oishi & Asahi are two wrestlers he admires so he is pleased to have beaten them for the STRONGEST-K TAG Titles.

When the former champions left the ring, Shuten-dōji came out to challenge the Express. Masahiro Takanashi said it is only fair for a team from the same generation as Oishi & Asahi be the one to beat the Express for the belts. Tetsuya Koda decided to book the Express Vs Takanashi & Yukio Sakaguchi for just the KO-D Tag Team Titles at Sumo Hall on 17th February when suddenly #STRONGHEARTS came out! CIMA wants his group to be in the title match to make it more exciting. Hisaya Imabayashi offered to make it a 3 Way Match and CIMA agreed to take part with Seiki Yoshioka on his team. Sakaguchi asked Yoshioka who he is and if he is strong? Sakaguchi will fight him anytime. El Lindaman then stepped in to make fun of Sakaguchi’s blonde hair. The only wrestlers who have proper blonde hair are El Lindaman and Stan Hansen! Sakaguchi attacked Lindaman and the two were pulled apart. Sakaguchi then challenged Lindaman to a match on 27th January.

Daisuke Sasaki is all set on facing Konosuke Takeshita next month. Takeshita is on a roll after winning the D-Ou Grand Prix and pinning CIMA. But Sasaki is always on a roll 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! Sasaki wants to feel excitement for the next month so he wants Takeshita to have some fun with him.

So yeah, #STRONGHEARTS are sticking around in DDT after all. The unit appeared before Match #4 could begin. CIMA explained that they were going to leave DDT but he received a message from the OWE office in Shanghai telling them not to come back until they defeat DDT! So CIMA gathered everyone together to crash this show. #STRONGHEARTS challenged the participants of the match they interrupted to an 8-Man Tag Match. T-Hawk decided to not to take part because he had already wrestled earlier in the day, winning the WRESTLE-1 Championship over at Korakuen Hall. Team DDT accepted but ended up losing the battle.

Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki was announced for 27th January.


DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019” Results

January 3, 2019

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike (8:12).
2. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango when Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee (7:49).
3. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Gorgeous Matsuno defeated Kuishinbo Kamen with the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow (16:57).
Order Of Elimination: Sanshiro Takagi, Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed), Atsushi Maruyama, Makoto Oishi, Hen China and Kuishinbo Kamen.
4. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto defeated Kota Umeda with the Shining Wizard (11:50).
5. New Year! 3 Way Tag Ladder Match: MAO & Jun Kasai defeated Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda and Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase when MAO grabbed the Otoshidama (12:33).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION! ~ Lucha Libre Rules: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King when HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato (15:13).
7. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) defeated Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) by TKO with a Left Hook (R3 1:14).
*V1 for Shinya Aoki.
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) when Takeshita pinned CIMA with the Fable (19:18).
*#STRONGHEARTS fails in V1. ALL OUT becomes the 37th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!

ALL OUT kicks off 2019 by winning the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from #STRONGHEARTS! The invading force led by CIMA has been a thorn in ALL OUT’s side for over three months. Today ALL OUT got their absolute victory over them. CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan were a handful at first and Akito took the brunt of the champion team’s offence. That was until Yuki Iino used his power to clear the ring, leading to CIMA facing off with Konosuke Takeshita once more. CIMA hit the Thrust Kick only for Takeshita to shake it off and Lariat him. Takeshita avoided the Schwein and stuck CIMA with his knee. Then the finish happened. Takeshita used the very move he was inspired to create after losing to CIMA at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Takeshita hit the Fable and pinned CIMA to win the titles for ALL OUT!

After the match Takeshita said that after he wins the KO-D Openweight Title he can take the challenge to defend it against CIMA, T-Hawk and Yingnan. CIMA mentioned that he’s been wrestling for the same number of years that Takeshita’s been alive. He accepts defeat for the entire unit today, not just in the main event but also from the opening match. #STRONGHEARTS are going to go have a meeting to figure out where to shake things up next in 2019. CIMA said his goodbyes and it seems that for now #STRONGHEARTS’s time with DDT has come to an end.

The show ended with the confirmed matches for “JUDGEMENT 2019” at Sumo Hall on 17th February. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Title is the main event. Also Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito will face Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha in a Hardcore Match! Sasaki and Takeshita faced off in the ring to close out the show.

A round system was added to the DDT Extreme Title match by Tanomusaku Toba’s request. The match could have lasted for 15 rounds of three minutes each but Shinya Aoki only needed three to knock Toba out. Apparently Hayato “Mach” Sakurai knew all of Aoki’s weak points but Toba was unable to hear his instructions during the match. HARASHIMA approached Aoki after the match to ask for a title rematch. Aoki agreed and it was decided it will take place at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. Aoki said he and HARASHIMA will show a strong side of DDT that only those two can do.

Puma King and Toru Owashi both asked for the 10-Man Tag Match between DAMNATION and DISASTER BOX to be held under Lucha Libre rules. All hell broke loose in the ring until HARASHIMA pinned King with the Somato. Sasaki wore a Shuji Ishikawa shirt for the match and placed it in the middle of the ring when it was over. He invited Ishikawa down to the ring to give everyone the sad news. Since Ishikawa has now signed a contract with All Japan, Sasaki thinks that means he will also be leaving DAMNATION. Tetsuya Endo was asked to give his favourite memories with Ishikawa but he didn’t have any. Ishikawa walked away from the ring so upset that Mad Paulie followed to console him. Sasaki switched the subject to Puma King having his last match in DDT today. It is now time for DAMNATION to rebuild. Suddenly “Matsuken Samba” played and Paulie came out dancing. Ishikawa came back out wearing a DAMNATION shirt singing about how “Shu-chan” won’t quit DAMNATION! Sasaki hit him over the head with a microphone to make him stop. If Ishikawa isn’t quitting then that means “DAMNATION, Forever!”

The new year tradition of otoshidama (an envelope filled with gift money) hung above Korakuen Hall for the 3 Way Tag Ladder match. MAO gave Jun Kasai some bananas to get on his good side but Kasai rejected them because he is tired of eating them. Kasai put Kazusada Higuchi through a table with a Flying Body Press (doesn’t count as the Pearl Harbour Splash because he wasn’t wearing his goggles). MAO used the bananas to lure Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda into a ladder trap at the corner, incapacitating them. Mizuki Watase was knocked off the ladder onto a plastic box that Kasai placed below him. That allowed MAO to grab the otoshidama and win the match. MAO opened it up to see how much was inside and found only a single 500 yen coin. However, Hisaya Imabayashi then told MAO he could also make one wish. MAO asked for a Round One entertainment centre to be built in Aoyama. He was only joking. Instead MAO wishes to create his own kind of hardcore wrestling in DDT. MAO asked Kasai to help him. Kasai will but only on a bigger stage because DDT is too cheap to give them proper prize money. Kasai then kicked MAO and ran off with the 500 yen.

Kota Umeda continues to be winless in his trial series. Match 6 of 7 was against Daichi Hashimoto in a match dominated by kicks. Hashimoto did the deal with a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. The Shining Wizard afterwards ended the match. Hashimoto said he had a lot of fun doing the the kicking duel with Umeda. With one match left in Umeda’s trial he found out who his opponent will be on 27th January. It’s Shuji Ishikawa! Umeda approached him for a handshake but instead slapped Ishikawa across the face. Ishikawa returned a slap of his own and left the ring.

DDT’s search for the next breakout comedy wrestler took place with Sanshiro Takagi and Makoto Oishi holding a Battle Royal. Hen China was the first entrant but he spent most of his time attaching glow sticks to the ring ropes death match style. Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) outwrestled Oishi with his dazzlingly flabby Tiger Mask style. Gorgeous Matsuno’s singing entrance was cut off by Kuishinbo Kamen reading his children’s picture book to the audience. The final entrant Atsushi Maruyama was annoyed that DDT booked him in this match instead of something major. Matsuno used Rocket Punches to eliminate the field until it was down to him and Kamen. The rest of the wrestlers stuck around to do comedy spots. They kept encouraging Matsuno to do the Gorgeous Superstar Elbow to Kamen over and over to make it look cool. It made Matsuno so tired that he had to crawl really slowly to cover Kamen. He still got the three count and everyone piled on top of him to celebrate his win.

Shuten-dōji were victorious over their ragtag collection of opponents in the 8-Man Tag Match. Yukio Sakaguchi pinned Hoshitango with the God’s Right Knee.

The other #STRONGHEARTS defeat today came at the hands of Nobuhiro Shimatani of all people! He pinned El Lindaman with the Reverse Strike crucifix slam. Lindaman played a good sport after the match until he gave Shimatani a Low Blow and left the ring. That won’t upset Shimatani though. He’s starting off the year with a win. Everything’s coming up Nobu!

The show began with news that DDT has formed a partnership with the English promotion Fight Club: PRO. FCP co-owner Martin Zaki joined Takagi, MAO and Mike Bailey in the ring for the announcement. Takagi wants DDT to appeal across the world in 2019 so he’s joining in with the Japanese scene’s growing ventures to the UK. Both companies will be sending wrestlers back and forth to each other throughout the year. Zaki says this is a big opportunity to bring talent rich in personality, both male and female, over to the UK. It also gives British wrestlers the opportunity to learn both the spiritual and physical elements of pro wrestling in Japan. Maybe even a new style combining British and Japanese wrestling philosophies can be discovered through this.

Yukio Naya from Real Japan will compete at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. He is the grandson of the legendary sumo wrestler Taiho Koki. Naya has only been wrestling for over a year and says he will be honored to wrestle in Sumo Hall.

Danshoku Dieno’s newest creation OsuMAN Dankon is debuting at “JUDGEMENT 2019”. I don’t know what it is. I don’t think I want to know what it is.

In Tokyo Joshi Pro news Natsumi Maki appeared on this show to confirm her debut with TJPW on tomorrow’s Korakuen show.


TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP UP GIRLS (PRO WRESTLING) PRO WRESTLING WOMEN’S FESTIVAL” Results

December 31, 2018

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP UP GIRLS (PRO WRESTLING) PRO WRESTLING WOMEN’S FESTIVAL”, 31/12/2018
Tokyo Shibuya GARRET
??? Fans

1. Makoto Oishi & Hyper Misao defeated Pipipipi Pinano & Raku when Oishi pinned Raku with an Inside Cradle (?:??).
2. Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima defeated Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe when Yamashita pinned Noa with a Backspin Kick (?:??).

The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) took the next step in their pro wrestling careers by getting new ring names and new looks to go with them. Their reintroduction event in Shibuya GARRET began with the unit in their old costumes performing their “Upper Kick!” song with rock and rap variations mixed into the performance. When that was done it was on to the mat wrestling matches.

First up was Hinano & Raku against the Up Up Girls (Fake) duo of Makoto Oishi & Hyper Misao. Hinano is now called Pinano Pipipipi and she wears a multicoloured outfit with tassels. She is aware that her new name is a lot more sillier than the others. Pinano also has a new move called the Pipipipi Punch. Raku is keeping her name but it is now written in hiragana (らく) when before it was written in katakana (ラク). She’s also keeping the colour yellow for her new costume and still uses the Good Night Express. Unfortunately Oishi blocked Raku’s Brainstorm Chop, spat at her as a distraction and rolled her into a Cradle for the three count. Oishi wanted to attack his opponents after the match but Misao stood in his way to defend them. Misao told Pinano & Raku that their new costumes are cool then asked them to continue shining as wrestling idols. She’d like them to be ready for the next time the two rival groups face each other.

The other match was Hikari & Miu against Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima. Hikari is now Hikari Noa and Miu is now Miu Watanabe. They launched a surprise attack on their opponents to begin the match but the tables quickly turned against them. Noa’s power came into play and along with Watanabe they put Nakajima & Yamashita in a Canadian Backbreaker and a Cobra Twist respectfully. Noa then stood on a chair to give Yamashita a Missile Kick. Yamashita recovered though and pinned Noa with a Backspin Kick.

The show ended with the Up Up Girls performing “Upper Kick!” again and then debuting their new song “Upper Chop!”


DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018” Results

December 23, 2018

DDT “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018”, 23/12/2018
Tochigi Koyama City Cultural Center
145 Fans

1. Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase with the Perfect Driver (10:31).
2. 3 Way Match: Masahiro Takanashi defeated Mad Paulie and Gota Ihashi when Takanashi pinned Ihashi with an Oklahoma Roll (7:25).
3. Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Antonio Honda & Veda Scott when Oishi pinned Honda with the Nekodora (11:12).
4. Mike Bailey & MAO defeated Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Bailey pinned Shimatani after the Michinoku Tornado Driver (13:45).
5. Koyama Specialty! Lucky Town Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda when Sasaki submitted Umeda with the Cross Facelock (15:30).
6. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno when Takeshita pinned Ueno with the Fable (21:15).

Konosuke Takeshita promoted both the D-Ou Grand Prix final on 30th December and ALL OUT challenging for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles on 3rd January. For the Grand Prix, Takeshita wants to be Go Shiozaki on behalf of DDT. For the 6-Man Tag Titles match, it will be a win for ALL OUT no matter if it’s Takeshita, Akito or Yuki Iino that scores the pin.

Danshoku Dieno & Naomi Yoshimura came out to taunt Daisuke Sasaki after Match #5. They brought out dumplings to eat and jokingly asked if Sasaki wanted some. Sasaki then dove out of the ring onto Yoshimura and the two began fighting. Sasaki brought a chair into the ring but Yoshimura hit him with a Lariat. When Yoshimura picked up the chair, Sasaki Dropkicked it into his face. Sasaki then smashed the chair over Yoshimura’s head and left him laying among the remains of dumplings around the ring.

A story between Makoto Oishi, Shiori Asahi and the Moonlight Express was brewing over the weekend. Mike Bailey & MAO approached the other two at a K-DOJO show yesterday asking for a STRONGEST-K TAG Title shot. Oishi & Asahi would only accept the challenge if the KO-D Tag Team Titles were also put on the line to make it a Double Title match! Both teams agreed on the stipulation and it will take place in DDT on 5th January. Today Oishi approached them after their mask to give an answer. He said he was disappointed that they did not bring their own belts to the show that day because today Oishi pulled up his hoodie to show that he was wearing his STRONGEST-K TAG belt underneath. Oishi and MAO were about to shake hands for a fair fight when Oishi spat in his face. He physically manipulated MAO into putting Bailey into a Reverse Indian Deathlock then gave MAO a Russian Leg Sweep, hurting both of the Express. Oishi then posed with his tag belt along with one of the KO-D Tag belts.

Antonio Honda now has a homemade Gongitsune sock puppet. Veda Scott made it for him. He and Makoto Oishi ended up fighting over Scott’s giant cat head.