DAMNATION Tomorrow, SAGAT Replaces Watase In Ganpro, Matsuno’s 60th Birthday

February 18, 2021

DDT “DAMNATION ILLEGAL ASSEMBLY RETURNS VOL. 3”, 19/02/2021
Shinjuku FACE

1. DAMNATION Super Heavyweight Match: Mad Paulie Vs Hoshitango
2. DAMNATION Vs Fukumen Gundan!: Soma Takao, Yuji Hino & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs SUSHI, Masamune & SAGAT
3. 45 Year Olds Gathering: Shuji Ishikawa & Tanomusaku Toba Vs Toru Owashi & Yasu Urano
4. Special Single Match: Tetsuya Endo Vs Hagane Shinno
5. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Yamato Vs HUB & Yasutaka Oosera

All of the Japanese members of DAMNATION are on the show. Who knows, maybe next time Konosuke Takeshita will be on it too as a member if Daisuke Sasaki gets his way.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2021 WINTER ~LOVERS~”, 20/02/2021
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1A: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
2. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1B: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo
3. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1C: Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
4. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1D: Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Marika Kobashi & Raku
5. Miyu Yamashiya, Maki Itoh, Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Hikari Noa, Sena Shiori, Mirai Maiumi & Suzume

All of the women who received a bye into Round 2 of the tournament are thrown into an 8-Woman Tag here.

GANBARE☆PRO “CLIFFHANGER 2021”, 21/02/2021
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Shota’s Independent Journey: Shota Vs Hyper Brave G-Valion
2. THE HALFEE Vs Sagat Manase: Moeka Haruhi & Shu Sakurai Vs SAGAT & Yuna Manase
3. Ganpro Vs Aka Rangers: Ken Ohka & Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO
4. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Keisuke Ishii, Kouki Iwasaki & HARUKAZE (c) Vs Asuka, Hagane Shinno & Shinichiro Tominaga
5. STOP THE Hidaka! Special Single Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Ikuto Hidaka

Match #2 has been changed thanks to Mizuki Watase’s arm injury. He has been replaced with SAGAT, marking the BASARA wrestler’s debut in Ganbare☆Pro.

BASARA “BASARA 150 ~KINKON ICHIBAN~”, 25/02/2021
Shinjuku FACE

1. Takato Nakano Vs Akiyori Takizawa
2. Fuminori Abe & Masato Kamino Cs Daichi Kazato & Gouma
3. Ryota Nakatsu & SAGAT Vs Tsutomu Oosugi & Banana Senga
4. Isami Kodaka, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi
5. Union MAX Title: Takumi Tsukamoto (c) Vs Yasu Urano

Takumi Tsukamoto went from savvy to bloodthirsty at the last BASARA show. He didn’t fall for the trick handshake from Yasu Urano. Instead Tsukamoto got one up on Urano by choking him with a plastic bag. Look they might be getting rid of lighttubes in deathmatches soon, he’s looking for a replacement and the giant hammer isn’t cutting it.

DDT “APRIL FOOL 2021”, 11/04/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Gorgeous Matsuno Pre-60th Birthday Commemorative Match: Gorgeous Matsuno Vs X

The annual visit to Fukushima to celebrate Gorgeous Matsuno isn’t going ahead this year because of the pandemic. Instead Matsuno will get two matches on DDT shows to make up for it.

DDT “MAX BUMP 2021 TOUR IN NIIGATA”, 18/04/2021
Niigata Bandaishima Multipurpose Plaza

1. Gorgeous Matsuno 60th Birthday Commemorative Match: Gorgeous Matsuno Vs X

The second match is happening right on Matsuno’s 60th birthday.


Akiyama Joins DDT, Max Heart 1st Rounds, Watase Injured, Ueno Can’t Decide

February 15, 2021

Today a press conference was held by CyberFight to give some big news for DDT and NOAH. On the DDT side, Jun Akiyama has signed a one year full time contract with DDT. On the NOAH side, Keiji Muto has signed a two year contract with NOAH. President Sanshiro Takagi said the signings were made because he believes these two treasures will be the driving force behind CyberFight becoming No. 1 in the pro wrestling world. Takagi originally asked Akiyama to join DDT back in January after having conversations with All Japan at the end of last year. Akiyama held off on making a deal because of his knee surgery and asked to wait until after “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” to make a decision. As soon as the main event was done and the show was over, Akiyama accepted Takagi’s offer to become DDT’s head coach. Akiyama knew of the risks involved and wants to put everything he has into DDT. Naomichi Marufuji believes Muto’s starpower is important to help make NOAH become a global company. He also has a strong sense of responsibility towards the company after becoming the GHC Heavyweight Champion. Muto said as long as NOAH has the No. 1 wrestler in the industry, CyberFight needs to become the No. 1 organization as well.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2021 WINTER ~LOVERS~”, 20/02/2021
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1A: Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe Vs Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
2. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1B: Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo
3. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1C: Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki
4. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1D: Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel Vs Marika Kobashi & Raku

The brackets for the “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament are set. The big match to look out for in Round 1 is The Bakuretsu Sisters taking on The Magical Sugar Rabbits. The other major teams starting from the bottom are Daydream and NEO Biishiki-gun.

DDT “THIS IS OUR 9TH NARIMASU PARTY! 2021”, 20/02/2021
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Yusuke Okada Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda & Gota Ihashi Vs Chris Brookes, Yukio Naya & Toui Kojima
3. Young Communication Generation Vs DDT Legend Army!: Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno
4. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie Vs Yuki Iino & Shunma Katsumata
5. DAMNATION Vs Junretsu!: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani
6. Road To NAGOYA! Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yuki Ueno

Mizuki Watase suffered a fractured ulna in his left arm during his match yesterday. He will be out of action for the time being. His scheduled match with Yusuke Okada won’t go ahead and the first two matches have been shuffled around because of the change.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2021 WINTER ~LOVERS~”, 21/02/2021
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 2: Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Winners Of Match 1A
2. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 2: Hikari Noa & Sena Shiori Vs Winners Of Match 1B
3. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 2: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao Vs Winners Of Match 1C
4. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 2: Mirai Maiumi & Suzume Vs Winners Of Match 1D

The bracket cuts off after Round 2. The semi-final matchups will be determined by a lottery.

DDT “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2021”, 23/02/2021
Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall

1. Hiroshi Yamato & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Keigo Nakamura & Toui Kojima
2. Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya Vs Soma Takao & Mad Paulie
3. Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh Vs Antonio Honda & Saki Akai
4. DAMNATION Vs DDT Sauna Club!: Tetsuya Endo & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
5. Special 8-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi, Hideki Okatani & Yusuke Okada Vs CIMA, T-Hawk, El Lindaman & Shigehiro Irie
6. DDT Megatonweight Single Match: Yuji Hino Vs Yuki Iino
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Shota (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita & MAO

A bit grim that Okada replaces the injured Watase when the two aren’t seeing eye to eye lately.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2021”, 28/02/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Yuki Ueno & Yusuke Okada Vs Keigo Nakamura & Toui Kojima
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – 5 Way Match: The Young Bucks Autobiography “Killing The Business” (c) Vs Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Antonio Honda Vs Saki Akai
3. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
4. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
5. Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Chris Brookes
6. DDT Extreme Title: Shunma Katsumata (c) Vs MAO

The feud between ALL OUT and DAMNATION is back to the forefront after Yuki Iino’s return. Iino is looking forward to fighting Yuji Hino like nothing else. Meanwile, Daisuke Sasaki is making it his goal for 2021 to make Konosuke Takeshita join DAMNATION!

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “GENGHIS KHAN KIRISHIMA PRESENTS TJPW PPV SHOW 3 ~12 VS 12 KOUHAKU TAIKO THE☆BATTLE 2021~”, 07/03/2021
OPENREC.tv

1. Team Red Vs Team White

The next Tokyo Joshi Pro PPV will be a team challenge with 12 women on Team Red facing 12 women on Team White. The winning team receives an All You Can Eat voucher for the Genghis Khan Kirishima restaurant which is sponsoring the show. The PPV will not be held in front of an audience but it will be at a venue TJPW has never been to before.

DDT “DAY DREAM BELIEVER 2021”, 14/03/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT UNIVERSAL TITLE: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs X

There are so many people Yuki Ueno wants to defend the DDT UNIVERSAL Title against that he can’t decide who to pick next. He’s on the lookout for somebody to get his attention.

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2021 ~DDT 24TH ANNIVERSARY~”, 28/03/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. KO-D Openweight Title: Jun Akiyama (c) Vs Kazusada Higuchi

There are only two wrestlers who have beaten Akiyama in DDT so far. Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi. Akiyama got his win back from Endo yesterday and he won’t consider himself a deserving KO-D Openweight Champion until he avenges his embarrassing defeat to Higuchi. So that’s the main event of the 24th Anniversary show set.

There has only been one person who has given backlash to Akiyama’s coaching in DDT. Danshoku Dieno doesn’t like the way Akiyama sees pro wrestling which is understandable given how much Dieno has represented DDT in the past. Akiyama welcomes the criticism and invites Dieno to show him his point of view. But he also warns that as head coach he won’t let members of the roster rebel against him just for the sake of it.


DDT “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” Results

February 14, 2021

DDT “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021”, 14/02/2021
Culttz Kawasaki
900 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani defeated Yusuke Okada & Toui Kojima when Watase submitted Kojima with a Crab Hold (8:30).
2. KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles: Shinya Aoki, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi when Hirata pinned Takagi with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (12:49).
*Shinya Aoki, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda become the 3rd KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Champions!
3. Super Joshi War ~Blooming Flowers~: Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi defeated Saori Anou & Miyako Matsumoto when Akai pinned Matsumoto with the Rookie Award (10:52).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Super Delfin, Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh defeated MAO, Keigo Nakamura & Mirai Maiumi when Itoh pinned Nakamura with the Kanikani Flying Big Head (16:07).
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya when HARASHIMA pinned Naya with the Somato (13:34).
6. Yuki Iino Return Match ~ DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino defeated Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino when Iino pinned Paulie with the Spear (20:34).
7. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi by TKO with a Rear Naked Choke Sleeper Hold (17:10).
*V3 for Yuki Ueno.
8. KO-D Openweight Title – Yanekabe Presents: Jun Akiyama defeated Tetsuya Endo (c) with the Modifed Sternness Dust α (31:11).
*Tetsuya Endo fails in V4. Jun Akiyama becomes the 76th KO-D Openweight Champion!

The first “Big Match” show for DDT in 2021 took place in Culttz Kawasaki where fans got to see Jun Akiyama climb back up to the summit and become the new KO-D Openweight Champion! With Kenta Kobashi watching from ringside, Akiyama defeated Tetsuya Endo to avenge the D-Ou Grand Prix loss to him back in November. Endo’s plan was to target Akiyama’s surgically repaired knee to immobilise him. Akiyama had to throw big moves like Piledrivers and different Suplexes to wear down the champion in return. Endo kept kicking out of Exploder Suplexes including one from the top rope. He went high risk with the Shooting Star Press but missed, giving Akiyama the opening to hit his Knee Strikes. Endo kicked out once more this time from the Wrist-Clutch Exploder. It took an open leg Sternness Dust α to finally put Endo down and out to cause the title change.

Kobashi presented Akiyama with the KO-D Title after the match. He wanted to wrap it around his waist but Akiyama refused him. Akiyama said Endo was the best and he was only able to beat him by a small margin today. He doesn’t know if he could do it again, so he is going to borrow this championship for a while. Endo shouted he will get it back and then left. Akiyama then said he cannot wear the title around his waist until he beats the other DDT wrestler he lost against in the Grand Prix. He wants his first defence to be against Kazusada Higuchi! Akiyama then referenced the WRESTLE UNIVERSE servers going down during the main event and joked about using Danshoku Dieno’s anal server to power it back up (that will be explained below).

In order to prepare for his DDT UNIVERSAL Title defence, Yuki Ueno went to train Jiu-Jitsu under Shinya Aoki so he could learn how to defend himself from Yukio Sakaguchi’s Sleeper Hold. The game plan he put together was to take out Sakaguchi’s left arm and strike first with counters. That was how he cut off the God’s Right Knee with a Dropkick. Sakaguchi wouldn’t die though even when Ueno gave him the WR. Sakaguchi instead tried to shake it off and go straight for the Sleeper Hold. But Ueno’s training paid off and he reversed the submission, choking out Sakaguchi until the match was stopped. Sakaguchi was woken up by medical staff and still had the power to hand the belt over to the champion. Ueno told him he doesn’t have any unpleasant feelings towards him. He was a little luckier today but little by little he is improving. Ueno then said in a few years time he wants to be as cool and scary as Sakaguchi is.

Yuki Iino made a triumphant return by leading ALL OUT to victory over DAMNATION. He immediately gave a Spear to Yuji Hino at the start of the match. ALL OUT all piled on top of Iino and Mad Paulie which was then broken up by a Diving Elbow from Daisuke Sasaki. A challenge of strength took place between Konosuke Takeshita and Hino when they both did Double German Suplexes to wrestlers on both teams. A ladder was bridged from the ring to the commentary table and Hino threw Shunma Katsumata onto it. Sasaki hit Iino with a chairshot behind the referee’s back but Iino shrugged it off and fought back. He got rid of Sasaki with a Lariat and then dropped Hino with a Back Flip. Paulie came in for a fight but missed the Reverse Splash. He kicked out of the Spear at one so Iino revved up for another Spear and that one got the three count. Iino and Hino had a staredown afterwards to hype up their singles match on 23rd February in Nagoya. Another story coming out of this match was Sasaki’s comments backstage. He said his goal for 2021 is to make Takeshita join DAMNATION! When ALL OUT heard that, Akito said he will make Soma Takao join the Young Communication Generation in return. Takeshita then joked that Mad Paulie will join the DDT Sauna Club.

If there is anything I will give Yukio Naya credit for, it is for getting into shape. He’s making good progress with losing weight in a bid to get into better in-ring condition. He still had a very difficult task today going with Higuchi up to fight against Smile Pissari. Naya came close to victory when he gave HARASHIMA a Back Drop. But it all fell apart when he charged right into a Somato. HARASHIMA got the space he wanted to recover and hit a second Somato for the win. HARASHIMA was happy to team with Yuji Okabayashi again and they may now have a claim to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Titles.

The spirit of 90’s Michinoku Pro was felt throughout the Special 6-Man Tag Match. Super Delfin had a new era Delfin Gundan in the form of Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh going against the Tohoku trio of MAO, Keigo Nakamura & Mirai Maiumi. Itoh entered wearing a Gran Naniwa costume and mimicked the late wrestler’s moveset, doing Naniwa’s Crab Walk on the ropes spot to set up the Flying Big Head finish. Delfin said this match happened a day after an earthquake happened in the Tohoku region, almost a decade after the 2011 earthquake. He hopes it will be safe enough for them to do a rematch over there some day. Brookes said it was a dream come true to team with Delfin because he is a cornerstone of the innovative junior heavyweight style of the 90’s. Itoh said the rope walk is a lot more difficult than it looks.

It turns out Saori Anou was right to complain about having to team with Miyako Matsumoto. They had a few too many miscommunications that caused their tag team to fall apart. Anou got sick of getting knocked around by her own tag partner that she gave Matsumoto a Fisherman Buster and left her out to dry. Maya Yukihi hit Matsumoto with the Jumping Super Kick and Saki Akai finished her off with the Rookie Award. Akai, Yukihi and Anou then did a group pose together and left the ring when Matsumoto tried to join in.

New KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Champions have been crowned! Will we see a proper title reign for once? Hell if I know! But enough about that, it’s time to finally talk about Dieno’s anal server. Kazuki Hirata began dancing unconsciously before the match because he was suffering from withdrawal symptoms after spending some time away from the dance gimmick. When he got to do dance in the ring the enthusiasm was so high that it caused a power outage in the venue. Everyone agreed to use Dieno’s backside as a power supply but the cable was not long enough. The wrestlers agreed to form a human chain from Dieno’s butt to the power source. The plan worked but the power wasn’t enough to bring the electricity back to full surge. Shinya Aoki came up with the solution to do the Hell Gate on Dieno, giving the anal power source the energy Dieno needed to power up the building again. Hirata got to dance and pin Sanshiro Takagi to win the titles.

The new rivalry between Yusuke Okada and Mizuki Watase is heating up. The two got rough with each other during the opener. Watase even made it a point to make Toui Kojima submit to a Crab Hold in front of Okada while Okada was being held back by Hideki Okatani. Watase is looking forward to their singles match because he now has a burning heart that wasn’t there before.


Sakazaki, Itoh And VENY Enter AEW Tournament

February 4, 2021

The big news related to Tokyo Joshi Pro over the last 24 hours has been AEW announcing the field for their upcoming women’s tournament. Half of the brackets will take place in Japan (it was accidentally leaked that Saitama Wrestle Butokan, aka the Ice Ribbon Dojo is being used as the venue and content has already been taped) and two wrestlers from TJPW will be involved. Yuka Sakazaki makes her long awaited return to AEW but the even bigger story is Maki Itoh will be entering too! Those who already know of her reputation are over the moon about this news. Everybody else won’t know what hit them. Asuka will also be taking part, wrestling under the name VENY which she made to become her moniker for wrestling overseas.

GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “GAKEPPUCHI INFINITE TRAIN 2021”, 05/02/2021
Saitama Wrestle Butokan

1. Gake no Fuchi Joshi Vs Pocchari Joshi Full-Scale Competition: Miyako Matsumoto & Chris Brookes Vs Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase

Shota will be the special ring announcer for the show. Ippanjin Munenori Sawa will also be in attendance.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2021 WINTER ~LOVERS~”, 07/02/2021
Kitazawa Town Hall

1. Yuki Aino & Marika Kobashi Vs Hyper Misao & Shin Ultra Shoko
2. Hikari Noa Vs Arisu Endo
3. 3 Way Match: Nodoka Tenma Vs Raku Vs Haruna Neko
4. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Moka Miyamoto Vs Miyu Yamashita, Nao Kakuta & Mahiro Kiryu
5. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku, Maki Itoh & Pom Harajuku Vs Miu Watanabe, Mirai Maiumi, Suzume & Sena Shiori

Shin Ultra Shoko is back from injury. Her broken nose did not break her heart so she was able to make a quick and full recovery.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “POSITIVE CHAIN”, 11/02/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Marika Kobashi & Moka Miyamoto Vs Pom Harajuku & Haruna Neko
2. Yuna Manase, Nao Kakuta & Raku Vs Hikari Noa, Mahiro Kiryu & Sena Shiori
3. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Suzume & Arisu Endo
4. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel
5. Princess Tag Team Titles: Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino (c) Vs Shin Ultra Shoko & Hyper Misao
6. International Princess Title: Yuki Kamifuku (c) Vs Mirai Maiumi
7. Princess Of Princess Title: Rika Tatsumi (c) Vs Miu Watanabe

The contract signing for the three title matches has taken place. Rika Tatsumi made it clear her goal as the Princess Of Princess Title is to defend it for a century. When she teams with Miu Watanabe as Daydream, she thinks of ways to use Watanabe as a weapon against their opponents. So she already has ideas of how to attack Watanabe directly. It is a special match for her but she is not nervous. She has already been champion for a month and has learned to be calm about it. Watanabe thinks she has already grown thanks to wrestling against Tatsumi over the last month.

Mirai Maiumi created her own attaché case to represent her International Princess Title shot. She wants to become the champion to give courage and energy all over Japan. She promises her match will be the Miramare Shock miracle! As champion, Yuki Kamifuku purposely wants to make people feel jealousy. That way everyone will pay attention to her and Tokyo Joshi Pro.

The creation of Shin Ultra Shoka has reminded Hyper Misao of her original intentions when she became a superhero. She wants to create a superhero squad of Tokyo Joshi! There are five colours in the hero squad and two have already been filled. Red and green. That leaves blue, yellow and pink. If the Tokyo Joshingers win the Princess Tag Team Titles then they can add The Bakuretsu Sisters to their squad. Nodoka Tenma wants to be the blue ranger but she would rather still be champion. She also wants Shoko Nakajima to go back to normal so they can team with her as the Tokyo Joshi Special Effects Club again. They would even prefer Misao to join the club rather than they join the Joshingers. Yuki Aino also reminded the challengers that it’s the people that give heroes their powers and they will use that power to defend the belts.

DDT “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021”, 14/02/2021
Culttz Kawasaki

1. Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani Vs Yusuke Okada & Toui Kojima
2. Yuki Iino Return Match ~ DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino
3. Super Joshi War ~Blooming Flowers~: Saki Akai & Maya Yukihi Vs Saori Anou & Miyako Matsumoto
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Super Delfin, Chris Brookes & Maki Itoh Vs MAO, Keigo Nakamura & Mirai Maiumi
5. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
6. KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles: Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi Vs Shinya Aoki, Super Sasadango Machine, Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata
7. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Tetsuya Endo (c) Vs Jun Akiyama

Mizuki Watase has gone into self-isolation after coming into close contact with a person who has the Coronavirus. Watase has since taken a PCR test and received negative results so he is on track to wrestle at “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” as scheduled.


Calm Start To February

February 1, 2021

GANBARE☆PRO “OVER THE TOP 2021”, 07/02/2021
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Ganjo Special Single Match: Yuna Manase Vs Asuka
2. Seiseki Sakuragaoka Vs Taiwan Full Scale Battle: Yumehito Imanari Vs Rekka
3. GWC 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Katsuzaki Shunosuke, Moehiko Harumisawa & Shu Sakurai (c) Vs Keisuke Ishii, Kouki Iwasaki & HARUKAZE
4. Ganpro Vs Aka Rangers Full-Scale Battle: Ken Ohka & Shota Vs Takashi Sasaki & GENTARO
5. The Strongest Amateur Vs The Strongest Outside Enemy: Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Ikuto Hidaka

Rekka appeared in BASARA last week and is now showing up in Ganbare☆Pro. It’s good to see him in this corner of the wrestling scene again after he left DDT three years ago.

Asuka returns from injury.

DDT “THIS IS OUR 9TH NARIMASU PARTY! 2021”, 20/02/2021
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Toru Owashi, Yukio Naya & Toui Kojima Vs Chris Brookes, Antonio Honda & Keigo Nakamuta
2. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie Vs Yuki Iino & Shunma Katsumata
3. Young Communication Generation Vs DDT Legend Army!: Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno
4. Mizuki Watase Vs Yusuke Okada
5. DAMNATION Vs Junretsu!: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani
6. Road To NAGOYA! Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Yukio Sakaguchi & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Konosuke Takeshita, MAO & Yuki Ueno

The schedule for the next fortnight is a little light but it’s all preparing for two big shows DDT are having this month. There is “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” on 14th February and this will be the first DDT show happening after it (not counting the DAMNATION show on the 19th).

DDT “DDT DOESN’T KNOW GUNMA YET 2021”, 21/02/2021
Gunma YAMADA Green Dome Maebashi Sub-Event Area

1. Daisuke Sasaki Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. Yukio Sakaguchi & Yukio Naya Vs Shunma Katsumata & MAO
3. Yuki Ueno & Yusuke Okada Vs Chris Brookes & Toui Kojima
4. DDT Variety Group Sangokushi!: Kazuki Hirata Vs Danshoku Dieno Vs Toru Owashi
5. The Mountain Of Akagi Is Only Here Tonight! Maebashi Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino Vs HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Antonio Honda
6. Junretsu Vs ALL OUT!: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino

The other big show is “FRIENDSHIP, EFFORT, VICTORY IN NAGOYA 2021” on the 23rd, which is two days after this.

Interesting to see the relationship tree Yusuke Okada is quickly forming. On one side he is butting heads with Mizuki Watase over their connections to Jun Akiyama. Then over on the other he won over Yuki Ueno’s respect and there’s potential for a regular tag team there. That’s if there isn’t a dangerous sense of competition between them that could get in the way.


Broken Nose For Shoko, Gold Karen, Watase Challenges Okada, Young Bucks Book Title Defence

January 29, 2021

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW PPV SHOW 2 ~STARTING POINT~”, 30/01/2021
TwinBox AKIHABARA

1. Miyu Yamashita Vs Arisu Endo
2. Hyper Misao (w/ Shin Ultra Shoko) Vs Sena Shiori
3. Yamato Nadeshiko Challenges The Charisma Of A New Era!: Maki Itoh Vs Moka Miyamoto
4. Majirabi Warning For Live Music Venues!: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu
5. Paripi Vs Gal Single Match: Yuki Kamifuku Vs Marika Kobashi
6. Bakuretsu Neko-chan Vs Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling): Nodoka Tenma, Yuki Aino & Haruna Neko Vs Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa & Raku
7. The Past, Present & Future Of Tokyo Joshi Pro Cross On The Mat!: Rika Tatsumi & Suzume Vs Miyu Yamashita & Mirai Maiumi

Shin Ultra Shoko broke her nose during practice this week and is out of action until 7th February. The original opening match of the Tokyo Joshingers Vs Sena Shiori & Arisu Endo has been cancelled. Instead Misao faces Shiori and Miyu Yamashita will work double duty by doing both the opener against Endo and the main event.

TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2021 WINTER ~LOVERS~”, 31/01/2021
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Nodoka Tenma Vs Hyper Misao (w/ Shin Ultra Shoko)
2. Yuki Kamifuku, Suzume & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Moka Miyamoto
3. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Nao Kakuta & Haruna Neko
4. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki Vs Mirai Maiumi & Sena Shiori
5. Rika Tatsumi, Hikari Noa & Marika Kobashi Vs Miu Watanabe, Mahiro Kiryu & Pom Harajuku

It’s a doubleshot weekend for Tokyo Joshi Pro.

DDT “NEW YEAR DRAMATIC ITABA SERIES 2021”, 31/01/2021
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda Vs Keigo Nakamura
2. Yuji Hino, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Chris Brookes, Yusuke Okada & Toui Kojima
3. Young Communication Generation Vs DDT Legend Army!: Akito & Kazuki Hirata Vs HARASHIMA & Danshoku Dieno
4. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Yuki Ueno & Shunma Katsumata
5. Yukio Sakaguchi & Mizuki Watase Vs Konosuke Takeshita & MAO
6. DAMNATION VS Junretsu!: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Hideki Okatani

Jun Akiyama is back in the ring for his one and only preview match against Tetsuya Endo before “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021”.

GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “GAKEPPUCHI INFINITE TRAIN 2021”, 05/02/2021
Saitama Wrestle Butokan

1. Gake no Fuchi Joshi Vs Pocchari Joshi Full-Scale Competition: Miyako Matsumoto & Chris Brookes Vs Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase

The search for trainees over in Gake no Fuchi Joshi has struck some gold. Singer and voice actor Gold Karen will take part in a public “protest” as part of her audition to join the brand. Karen is from Okinawa, her birthday is on 12th March and she is 150cm tall. She has a college background in music.

DDT “THIS IS OUR 9TH NARIMASU PARTY! 2021”, 20/02/2021
Tokyo Narimasu Act Hall

1. Mizuki Watase Vs Yusuke Okada

After Junretsu lost their match yesterday. Mizuki Watase made his feelings clear backstage that Yusuke Okada is not deserving of a spot in DDT. He was excited to see him enter DDT at first but believes he quickly settled into a safe position under Akiyama’s coaching instead of making a name for himself. Okada explains that DDT made him team with Junretsu while Akiyama is recovering but Watase thinks that excuse is not good enough. They will settle their differences in a singles match.

DDT “INTO THE FIGHT 2021”, 28/02/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: The Young Bucks Autobiography “Killing The Business” (c) Vs X

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title was sent back to Japan after a five month stay in the United States. It ended up in AEW where a copy of The Young Bucks autobiography became the most recent champion (my quick review: decent book, needed crazy road stories to make it a must read). The book was shipped over to Japan along with the title belt so DDT did the logical thing and booked it for a title defence next month. Match type and opponent(s) are yet to be determined.


Video – Yusuke Okada’s DDT Debut

January 14, 2021

DDT “GO TO DDT! VOL. 1”, 09/01/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
484 Fans

DAMNATION Vs Junretsu!: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yusuke Okada


DDT “ISN’T IT DRAMATIC! 2021” Results

January 11, 2021

DDT “ISN’T IT DRAMATIC! 2021”, 11/01/2021
Nagoya City Biwajima Sports Center
109 Fans

1. Hiroaki Ura defeated Toi Kojima with the Fisherman Suplex (6:11).
2. Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata defeated Mizuki Watase & Hideki Okatani when Hirata pinned Okatani with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (8:40).
3. Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Yuki Ueno & Keigo Nakamura when Sakaguchi submitted Nakamura with the Sleeper Hold (12:09).
4. Young Communication Generation Vs DDT Legend Army! – Storage Cavity Sealing Rule: Akito & Shota Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno ended in a No Contest (8:16).
5. Makoto Oishi & Yusuke Okada defeated Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda when Okada pinned Honda with the Fisherman Buster (12:04).
6. Nagoya Specialty! Doerya Tag Match: Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino defeated HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya when Hino pinned Naya with the Fucking BOMB (14:11).
7. DAMNATION Vs DDT Sauna Club!: Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao defeated Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & MAO when Endo pinned Katsumata with the Torture Rack Bomb (17:13).

The absence of Jun Akiyama disappoints Tetsuya Endo. He asked where he was and thinks Akiyama will be back at the shows in Hakata next week. He will wait for him there so they can settle their differences before “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” even takes place. Daisuke Sasaki said he knows the location of the hospital Akiyama is in.

HARASHIMA believes the good parts of Yukio Naya are starting to come out more and more. He found out Naya is one of his opponents at “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” so he is looking forward to fighting a stronger version of him. Naya promised to do his best against HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi. He will be teaming with Kazusada Higuchi in that match.

Yusuke Okada says he wants to absorb DDT’s style of pro wrestling. He is quickly proving it by studying Antonio Honda and knowing how to fight against Gongitsune. Whenever Honda tried to tell his joke, Okada ignored him and forced a confused Honda to continue wrestling instead. Honda got his trick to work though when he talked to Okada about their favorite Kamen Riders. He made an innuendo out of Takeshi Hongo’s name then poked everyone in the eyes with Gongitsune. Okada still had Honda scouted and blocked the Diving Fist Drop before winning his first DDT match with the Fisherman Buster. Chris Brookes wasn’t pleased with Honda’s antics. Makoto Oishi confirmed to Okada that he is beginning to understand DDT’s wrestling.

Strap yourselves in folks, Match #4 was weird. Shota hadn’t recovered from the Street Fight he wrestled in yesterday and was worried he wouldn’t last in the ring today. Akito assured him their match against Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno would only be a test of mental strength and patience. He came up with a match where everyone wore “Super Mouth Cannons” over their faces that made loud honk noises if they breathe too hard. Both teams started with 10 points and would lose a point if the mouth cannon made a noise. This was meant to teach the wrestlers not to over exert themselves. But Yukinori Matsui got knocked down and everyone started a brawling, filling the room with honks. When Matsui got back up he called off the match for being too noisy. The two sides argued over their upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match afterwards but they still wore the mouth cannons so it was just more honking. Shota enjoyed being in a crazy DDT match but Dieno promised the fun and games are done. When the title match happens on 23rd February it will be simple professional wrestling!

Yukio Sakaguchi warned Yuki Ueno he is going to strangle everyone Ueno teams with until their DDT UNIVERSAL Title match in February. Ueno made fun of Sakaguchi by asking if he wanted to take a picture with the belt again because he won today. Sakaguchi told Ueno to be careful because he can attack him from behind again like he did at Korakuen Hall.

Today in Japan is the Coming Of Age Day, a holiday that celebrates the young people who reach adulthood at the age of 20 years old. For Hideki Okatani that means he is no longer has to be treated like a young boy at ringside by the other wrestlers. Eager to show off his new responsibilities, Okatani begged for Mizuki Watase to tag him in show no fear against Toru Owashi. This made Kazuki Hirata call on Owashi to tag him in too but he was ignored. When Hirata was finally tagged in he kicked out of the Northern Lights Suplex and pinned Okatani with the Miracle One Shot Cradle.


DDT “GO TO DDT! VOL. 1” Results

January 9, 2021

DDT “GO TO DDT! VOL. 1”, 09/01/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
484 Fans

0. Under Match: Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hideki Okatani defeated Keigo Nakamura & Toui Kojima when Okatani pinned Kojima with the Northern Lights Suplex (6:50).
1. Written By Hajime Takahashi & Masaki Inoue “Does Momotaro’s Kibidango Recognize As An Expense?” Infomercial Match: Akito, Kazuki Hirata, Antonio Honda & Super Sasadango Machine (3D Avatar) defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Danshoku Dieno, Toru Owashi & Saki Akai when Hirata pinned Takagi with a School Boy (?:??).
2. Mad Paulie & Yuji Hino defeated Chris Brookes & Shunma Katsumura when Hino pinned Katsumura with the Fucking BOMB (8:18).
3. Konosuke Takeshita & MAO defeated HARASHIMA & Yukio Naya when MAO pinned Naya with the Cannonball 450 (10:02).
4. DAMNATION Vs Junretsu!: Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yusuke Okada defeated Tetsuya Endo, Daisuke Sasaki & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Oishi submitted Shimatani with the Fujiyama Knee Lock (12:14).
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi (c) defeated CIMA & Soma Takao by TKO when Sakaguchi choked out Takao with the Sleeper Hold (16:26).
*V1 for Eruption.
6. DDT UNIVERSAL Title: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated Shota with the WR (16:53).
*V2 for Yuki Ueno.

DDT’s second visit to Korakuen Hall this year was headlined with a DDT UNIVERSAL Title defence. Yuki Ueno got a measure of revenge when he pinned Shota in a 6-Man Tag last week and firmly got the rest of it by beating him again today. Shota was over reliant on the Gannosuke Clutch and when that couldn’t get him a win he tried cheating instead. He used ropes for leverage on pins and gave Ueno a Low Blow when the referee was knocked away. But Shota went back to the Gannosuke Clutch which Ueno had figured out by then. Ueno avoided the move, stunned Shota with a Dropkick and pinned him with the WR for the successful title defence.

Ueno wanted to give Shota microphone time after the match but he declined and left the ring. Ueno joked that he would have to talk by himself for five minutes, then said he learned so much from Shota over the 5 years he’s known him. He was happy to face Shota in his first match of 2021 and he is both the most annoying and most entertaining opponent. Hisaya Imabayashi asked Ueno who he would like to defend the UNIVERSAL Title against next. Ueno said Yukio Sakaguchi! He learned a lot from Sakaguchi last year such as what it’s like to get choked out and why you always see worried faces above you when you regain consciousness. Sakaguchi accepted the match and asked to look at the title belt. When he held it he posed with it and told Ueno that is where the title should be. He handed it back to Ueno but warned nominating him was the biggest mistake he could make. Imabayashi decided the title match will happen at “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” on 14th February.

In the backstage interviews, Sakaguchi said there are no grand slam champions in DDT since the creation of the UNIVERSAL Title. He is aiming to be the first new grand slam champion in DDT and to do that he has to go after both the UNIVERSAL Title and the DDT Extreme Title. When Ueno did his interview, Sakaguchi snuck up behind him and choked him out with the Sleeper Hold.

Sakaguchi still holds the KO-D Tag Team Titles with Kazusada Higuchi. The Eruption pair held on against a CimaSoma team with a lot of momentum behind them. CIMA & Soma Takao wore the same matching outfits from “ULTIMATE PARTY 2020” and had the same effort of teamwork from back then. There was also high risk like CIMA using the Meteora to break up Sakaguchi’s Sleeper Hold on Takao. However Sakaguchi clasped the Sleeper Hold back onto Takao and CIMA couldn’t rescue him again. Takao went motionless and the match was stopped, making Eruption the winners.

Shunma Katsumata, Konosuke Takeshita & MAO from the DDT Sauna Club approached Eruption after the match. Katsumata challenged them to put the KO-D Tag Titles on the line against all three of them. Sakaguchi called him stupid and Imabayashi told them it can’t happen that way. Takeshita & MAO tried to leave but Katsumata then said those two could face Eruption instead. Sakaguchi knocked out Katsumata with an Elbow Strike and accepted the challenge. Kazusada Higuchi & Sakaguchi Vs Takeshita & MAO for the titles will happen at the 23rd February Nagoya show and it will be the main event!

The #DAMNHEARTS group received major news when CimaSoma got back to the locker room. Daisuke Sasaki had apparently talked to #STRONGHEARTS before the match and agreed if CimaSoma didn’t win the tag titles then the business alliance will be dissolved. #DAMNHEARTS is splitting up! Takao said he heard nothing about this and CIMA doesn’t remember making this decision although he agreed it has been a while since DAMNATION and #STRONGHEARTS worked together. Sasaki promised both sides will do something together again when the pandemic is over.

With Jun Akiyama out of action for the rest of this month, the newcomer Yusuke Okada took his place and wasted no time in getting to wrestle Tetsuya Endo. There was still Junretsu representation in the match with Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase involved. Oishi overcame danger when he kicked out of a Standing Moonsault from Endo followed by a Standing Shooting Star Press from Nobuhiro Shimatani. Oishi pulled Shimatani to the mat and made him tap to the Fujiyama Knee Lock. Endo grabbed the microphone out of Oishi’s hands and said he is going to crush Akiyama on 14th February. As he was leaving, Oishi responded that he might crush Endo before Endo gets to face Akiyama! Backstage Sasaki revealed what he learned during his time off with injury. Pro wrestling is about love and romance, just like the movie Titanic. What’s missing in the ring right now is romance. He found it and will show it to everyone soon.

MAO dusted off the Cannonball 450 to win DDT Sauna Club’s tag match. First he got rid of HARASHIMA with a Plancha, then Takeshita took care of Yukio Naya with a Vertical Drop Brainbuster to set up the 450 finish.

 

Katsumata is an eager fellow but it got him into a lot of painful situations today. He tried jumping Yuji Hino & Mad Paulie at the start of their tag match but did so without Chris Brookes joining him. Brookes instead stayed in the corner and did “NeppoWER!!” chants with no other intention of fighting the heavyweight opponents. Hino caught Katsumata in mid-air and Brookes did a Missile Dropkick to them to get his partner a nearfall. There were blocks for both the ¡Hasta la vista! and Fucking BOMB but Hino ended up winning out in the end.

 

Heavy snow in Niigata prevented Super Sasadango Machine from travelling to Tokyo for today’s show. He was replaced by a “3D Avatar” of himself. In other words it was Keigo Nakamura in a Sasadango mask. Sasadango also provided a PowerPoint presentation on Zoom before the opening match explaining the importance of filing tax returns. His example was getting the wrestlers in his match to all wrestle in their own expensive clothing because they can treat it as tax deductible ring gear. This made a few people like Saki Akai uncomfortable because they did not want their personal belongings used in the match. She was proven right when Kazuki Hirata tried to steal her handbag and it got knocked out of the ring. Toru Owashi revealed he was wearing the O-40 Title underneath his hoodie. Danshoku Dieno pulled off Akito’s rare sneakers and shoved one of them into Akito’s mouth. He then threw them away causing Akito to chase after them. Sanshiro Takagi wore a watch that costs 1.1 million yen and used it to stop Antonio Honda’s Gongitsune joke. Hirata took the watch, grabbed a chair and tried to smash it. Takagi took the chair swung it at Hirata but missed and smashed the watch instead! He was in so much shock that Hirata easily pinned Takagi with a School Boy.

Nakamura was also in the pre-show match. He and Toi Kojima lost to Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hideki Okatani. The match came down to Kojima and Okatani. A Running Neckbreaker was used to set up the Northern Lights Suplex for Okatani to win.


DDT “NEW YEAR’S DAY GIFT SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 3,000 YEN SPECIAL BOX OFFICE!! 2021” Results

January 3, 2021

DDT “NEW YEAR’S DAY GIFT SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 3,000 YEN SPECIAL BOX OFFICE!! 2021”, 03/01/2021
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
713 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Keigo Nakamura defeated Hideki Okatani with a Cradle (7:42).
2. Antonio Honda 43rd Birthday & 16th Anniversary Debut Match: Antonio Honda defeated Choun-Shiryu with the Diving Fist Drop (9:14).
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Gota Ihashi defeated Toru Owashi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Toui Kojima when Sakaguchi pinned Kojima with the PK (9:37).
4. Mad Paulie, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya when Paulie pinned Watase with the Reverse Splash (12:19).
5. 1 Vs 3 Handicap Match: Shinya Aoki, Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine defeated Sanshiro Takagi when Aoki pinned Takagi with a Jackknife Pin (10:00).
6. Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno defeated Akito, Kazuki Hirata, Shota & Keisuke Ishii when Ueno pinned Shota with the BME (14:34).
7. Tetsuya Endo, Soma Takao & Yuji Hino (w/ Daisuke Sasaki) defeated HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Chris Brookes when Endo pinned Brookes with the Shooting Star Press (17:18).

The first DDT show of 2021 was almost entirely a surprise card. The audience only knew what the matches were once they were ready to begin. For the main event HARASHIMA, Kazusada Higuchi & Chris Brookes joined forces to fight DAMNATION. While all of DAMNATION were at ringside, Daisuke Sasaki got directly involved by grabbing Brookes by the leg. Yuji Hino brought it to both HARASHIMA & Higuchi. Soma Takao overheard Higuchi insult CIMA which spurred him on to fight through the Brain Claw. Tetsuya Endo got the win in the end by hitting Brookes with Tetsuya In The Sky, the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb and finally the Shooting Star Press. Endo looked over to Jun Akiyama at the commentary table while the pin was counted.

Shouting was heard over by the entrance after the match. It was Yuki Iino calling for Hino’s attention while the rest of ALL OUT tried to hold him back. Iino pushed his teammates back, entered the ring and demanded to face Hino in an arm wrestling contest on the canvas. Hino was confused but he accepted the challenge and won. Iino got mad over losing and had to be held back again while Konosuke Takeshita introduced him to Hino. He then explained that Iino’s return match from injury will be at “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” on 14th February when ALL OUT takes on DAMNATION. He then suggested that Iino and Hino have a singles match at the next big event after that. Hisaya Imabayashi agreed to book Iino Vs Hino in Nagoya on 23rd February. ALL OUT dragged Iino away while Endo took the microphone and warned Akiyama that he is always ready. Endo closed out the show by saying this year he is aiming for more than just the Tokyo Sports MVP Award. He wants to make scandalous news stories with glamourous women in the tabloids too!

Another 8-Man Tag pitted the two new units that have unexpectedly taken over DDT in the last few months. All four members of the DDT Sauna Club came out first, followed by the Young Communication Generation. The latter team then surprised everyone by bringing out Keisuke Ishii! Akito warned him about the Sauna Club’s “Heat Wave WER!!” pose but he didn’t understand it. Kazuki Hirata did a Plancha to the outside while Ishii did his work. The Sauna Club isolated Shota and piled on the top rope moves to him. Shunma Katsumata, MAO & Yuki Ueno hit Diving Body Presses one after the other but Ueno’s pin was broken up. Shota caught Ueno in the Gannosuke Clutch but MAO was there to break that pin up. Ueno got to recover and beat Shota with the BME. Backstage Ishii said it was the first time in a long while he wrestled in DDT (not counting BOYZ) and he would like to appear more in 2021 to be with his friends in Young Communication again. Shota wants to make it a year where Ganbare☆Pro doesn’t lose to DDT. Meanwhile Katsumata wants to make 2021 the year of the Sauna Club!

One of the matches was supposed to be Sanshiro Takagi & Danshoku Dieno Vs Shinya Aoki & Super Sasadango Machine. But backstage before the match Dieno, Aoki & Sasadango were all complaining about Takagi’s tweets including one that where Takagi was showing off his calves. The three of them instead decided to gang up on Takagi in a Handicap Match and purposely target his calf. Aoki put him in a Jail Hold while Dieno & Sasadango brought out a bag containing some of Takagi’s personal belongings. Sasadango found Takagi’s wallet, pulled out 29,000 yen in cash and raffled it off to three fans in the audience. Dieno eventually thought things went overboard and he felt sorry for Takagi. It is thanks to Takagi that they get to wrestle this year so the best New Year’s gift is to give Takagi his first win of 2021. Sasadango agreed and with Dieno they both attacked Aoki. Dieno is still recovering from the fire extinguisher attack to his rear but Takagi forced to go into the Hell Gate position. That lost him Sasadango’s support and Takagi was thrown face first into the Hell Gate. Aoki kicked Takagi in the calf, Sasadango did the Vertical Drop Lehmann Shock and Aoki pinned him with a Jackknife. Backstage Sasadango offered to be on Aoki’s team at “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021” because they should be fighting for a better goal than satisfying Takagi’s desires. They like Takagi but will not be used by him anymore!

As Takagi was leaving the ring after his match, he was suddenly approached at ringside by Yusuke Okada! The former All Japan wrestler introduced himself to the audience and told them he wants to experience a new world of pro wrestling now that he became freelance. He asked Takagi if he could have a match in DDT. Takagi questioned his interest in DDT after seeing the match that just happened. He then passed the request over to Imabayashi, who wasn’t expecting that. Imabayashi told Okada he will book him on next week’s Korakuen Hall show on 9th January.

DAMNATION’s good run begun earlier in the show when Mad Paulie, Nobuhiro Shimatani & Hiroshi Yamato beat Makoto Oishi, Mizuki Watase & Yukio Naya. Paulie threw Yamato onto Watase with an X-Style Iconoclasm. Shimatani then hopped onto Paulie’s back and they jumped on top of Watase for a nearfall when Oishi & Naya broke it up. Paulie then hit Watase with a Lariat and won with the Reverse Splash.

Gota Ihashi didn’t get to wrestle in Korakuen Hall last year so he wanted to make up for lost time. This year he wants to join a unit and rampage all over DDT. There is only one unit he wants to join and that’s Eruption! He came out with his own custom entrance video wearing an Eruption coat made out of posters. He even drew his own version of the Eruption logo calling it Ihaption. Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai were bemused over this but it kind of worked out in the end. Akai gave Toru Owashi a Brainbuster and Ihashi went toe to toe with Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Eruption(?) then focused their attacks on Toui Kojima. Ihashi almost lost the match when he missed the Moonsault. Akai kicked Ihashi out of frustration and Sakaguchi tagged himself in to finish Kojima off. Sakaguchi & Akai had enough of Ihashi and walked off on him backstage. However he believes he can continue teaming with Eruption and together they can all go after the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles.

Antonio Honda’s big day was almost ruined when he tripped on the ropes and hurt his knee. Choun-Shiryu knew what was coming and attacked Honda before he could tell his latest Gongitsune joke. Honda lived up to the big occasion though and hit a Topé Suicida and the Tenzan Tombstone Driver on route to victory.

The first DDT match of 2021 was Keigo Nakamura’s first ever singles victory! He defeated his generation rival Hideki Okatani by cradling his way out of the Double Arm Suplex. Nakamura currently has a 1-3 record against Okatani so he wants to reverse the numbers this year.

Some more matches were booked for “KAWASAKI STRONG 2021”. Akai will be teaming with Maya Yukihi from Ice Ribbon to take on Saori Anou & Miyako Matsumoto. Yukihi said she discovered DDT more than 10 years ago so she is deeply moved to be wrestling a match for them. She thought she was going to fight against Akai but Imabayashi corrected her. Akai always wanted to team with her because she is beautiful and strong. She is also excited to face Anou again. When Imabayashi asked Akai & Yukihi about Matsumoto, they both declined to answer. They were asked again backstage and Yukihi finally had something to say. “In terms of strength, beauty and glamour, Miyako-san will never the best.”

The New Year’s Shuffle Tag Tournament winners Smile Pissari will team again at the Culttz Kawasaki show. HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi will face a team yet to be determined.

Takagi will return to the battlefield for his next DDT Extreme Title defence. He takes on Nabe Yakan from Best Body Pro Wrestling on 10th January. The match was made when earlier in the day Yakan led a bunch of soldiers armed with air guns into the locker room to steal the Extreme Title belt.