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

February 17, 2019

DDT “JUDGEMENT 2019 ~DDT RAISING AN ARMY 22ND ANNIVERSARY~”, 17/02/2019
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
4,177 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Pro Wrestling BASARA Offer Match: Ryuichi Sekine & Daiki Shimomura defeated Takato Nakano & Masato Kamino when Sekine submitted Nakano with the Let’s Combine (6:14).
0. Tokyo Joshi Pro Offer Match: Yuna Manase, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino defeated Natsumi Maki, Hikari Noa & Miu Watanabe when Tenma pinned Noa with the Killswitch (11:49).
1. Shunma Katsumata Return Match: Shunma Katsumata, Yuki Ueno & Space Monkey defeated Antonio Honda, Jason Kincaid & Naomi Yoshimura when Ueno pinned Yoshimura with a Frankensteiner (12:55).
2. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Time Difference Battle Royal: Saki Akai defeated Asuka (c), Super Sasadango Machine, Makoto Oishi, Keisuke Okuda, Kazuki Hirata, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Hoshitango, Gota Ihashi, Yuni, Yasu Urano, El Lindaman, Scorpio X2, Yuka Sakazaki, Mina Shirakawa, Chinsuke Nakamura and Maku Donaruto (20:23).
2a. Makoto Oishi eliminated Yuri with a Hurricanrana Cutback (2:14).
2b. Hoshitango eliminated Gota Ihashi and Tomomitsu Matsunaga with a Body Press (3:28).
2c. Makoto Oishi eliminated Super Sasadango Machine by Ring Out (4:25).
2d. El Lindaman eliminated Hoshitango by Ring Out (5:18).
2e. Everyone eliminated Scorpio X2 by Ring Out (5:25).
2f. Makoto Oishi eliminated Keisuke Okuda by Ring Out (6:40).
2g. Maku Donaruto eliminated Makoto Oishi with the McShake Bomb (10:17).
2h. Yasu Urano eliminated Maku Donaruto and Gorgeous Matsuno by Ring Out (12:00).
2i. Yuka Sakazaki eliminated Mina Shirakawa with the Koromogawa (12:52).
2j. Chinsuke Nakamura eliminated El Lindaman by Ring Out (14:51).
2k. Asuka (c) eliminated Yasu Urano by Ring Out (15:39).
*V? for Asuka.
2l. Asuka (c) eliminated Chinsuke Nakamura with a School Boy (18:82).
*V? for Asuka.
2m. Saki Akai eliminated Yuka Sakazaki by Ring Out (19:03).
2n. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Asuka (c) with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (19:30).
*Kazuki Hirata becomes the 1,349th champion.
2o. Saki Akai eliminated Kazki Hirata (c) with the Quetzalcoatl (20:23).
*Saki Akai becomes the 1,350th champion.
3. Taiho Koki’s Grandson Yukio Naya Ryogoku Kokugikan First Participation!: Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya defeated Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino when Higuchi pinned Iino with the Doctor Bomb (13:09).
4. Special Single Match: T-Hawk defeated Akito with the Night Ride (13:50).
5. Danshoku Dieno Produce Yuru-chara “Pokotan” Debut Match: Keisuke Ishii, Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Danshoku Dieno, Pokotan & KUDO when Ishii pinned Pokotan with the igh Angle Double Arm DDT (11:28).
6. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito when Takao pinned Takagi with the Diving Foot Stomp from the Ladder (19:54).
7. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi and CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka when MAO pinned Takanashi with the Cannonball 450 (13:06).
*V3 for The Moonlight Express.
8. DDT Extreme Title – Souken Holdings Presents – Each Other’s Pride Rules: HARASHIMA defeated Shinya Aoki (c) with the Somato (12:11).
*Shinya Aoki fails in V2. HARASHIMA becomes the 43rd DDT Extreme Champion!
9. Dramatic Dream Match: Naomichi Marufuji defeated Tetsuya Endo with the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion (18:08).
10. KO-D Openweight Title – RAGE Presents: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Daisuke Sasaki (c) with the Cross-Arm German Suplex (32:08).
*Daisuke Sasaki fails in V2. Konosuke Takeshita becomes the 69th KO-D Openweight Champion!

Konosuke Takeshita has completed his comeback to the top of DDT! He survived the Super Elbow Drop, a Spear through a table, a Canadian Destroyer and several attempts at chair attacks to beat Daisuke Sasaki and become the new KO-D Openweight Champion. Victory was in Takeshita’s sight when he prevented Sasaki from doing an Avalanche Pedigree. Instead it was turned into the Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! But the top turnbuckle was removed earlier in the match so instead of landing on that, Sasaki instead fell even further and took the impact on the ring canvas! Takeshita followed it up with the Fable but Sasaki still tried to get back up. Sasaki was finished off with the Cross-Arm German Suplex, ending his title reign.

When DAMNATION took Sasaki back to the locker room, Takeshita rubbed it in by pointing out how fast Sasaki was leaving after being defeated. It was a year ago when Takeshita last headlined Sumo Hall. Since then he’s suffered injuries and had what he considers some of the most disappointing moments in his career. But with the support of ALL OUT he was confident he would become the KO-D Champion again. He received 2,000,000 yen in prize money today and will use some of that to pay off the bill DAMNATION left at his mother’s restaurant. As champion Takeshita now wants to have more defences take place outside Tokyo so the fans who cannot go to Korakuen Hall will get to see such matches in their own towns. He also wants to defend the title against wrestlers from all over the wrestling scene. That is how he will make the KO-D Title become more valuable.

Tetsuya Endo and Naomichi Marufuji took part in a battle of wills and Thrust Kicks. Marufuji was able to get one step ahead when Endo missed a Shooting Star Press. Endo landed on his feet but Marufuji’s dodge put him in perfect position to hit the Ko-oh knee kick. Endo thought he stunned Marufuji with a Thrust Kick but Marufuji responded with his around the back Thrust Kick then hit another Ko-oh this time to the back of Endo’s head. From there Marufuji hit the Pole Shift Emerald Flowsion to win the match. Marufuji applauded Endo after the match. In the backstage interview, Marufuji joked that the results means Endo has to go to NOAH. But seriously, Marufuji doesn’t understand why Endo isn’t a championship contender right now. Endo was a lot harder on himself and he called himself a loser. His entire career from his debut to teaming with Takeshita to joining DAMNATION was all leading up to this match and he lost.

Pride and the DDT Extreme Title were both on the line when Shinya Aoki and HARASHIMA had a rematch of their October meeting. HARASHIMA was in trouble early thanks to Aoki’s ground game. When a rope break was called for Aoki reaching over while in HARASHIMA’s Cross Armbreaker that was when everyone realised the match was held under normal wrestling moves. Aoki never explained it to anyone beforehand. That was when HARASHIMA got into his groove despite being on defence against Aoki’s submission holds. He countered a Front Neck Lock into a Falcon Arrow only for Aoki to apply a Cross Armbreaker. But when Aoki went for a Back Drop, HARASHIMA countered it into a Piledriver and then hit the Somato to win the title! Aoki was in good spirits after the match despite losing. He gave the new champion a fist bump with a smile.

Super Sasadango Machine entered the ring and congratulated HARASHIMA. He asked for a title match but Hisaya Imabayashi refused to grant it. Sasadango’s PowerPoint presentations are usually longer than his matches so he does not deserve a shot. After hearing this, Sasadango took off his mask and said that Muscle Sakai was now asking for a title match! Sakai successfully promoted a Muscle show in Sumo Hall yesterday and he thinks that is more than enough to earn a championship match. Tetsuya Koda pushed Imabayashi away and granted Sakai’s request. HARASHIMA Vs Sakai for the Extreme Title will take place on 21st March at Korakuen.

The 3 Way Match for the KO-D Tag Team Titles saw The Moonlight Express go against teams representing Shuten-dōji and #STRONGHEARTS. A Michinoku Tornado Driver from the champions got rid of CIMA but Shuten-dōji were there to stop the pin. Yukio Sakaguchi took out Seiki Yoshioka with the God’s Right Knee but he too was put to the side. MAO used a Screw Kick to cut off Masahiro Takanashi’s Takatonic to Mike Bailey. From there the Express kept Takanashi down with the Ultima Weapon and then the Cannonball 450. With a third defence completed, the Express now want to defend the KO-D Tag Titles against foreign teams in countries like Germany and England.

DAMNATION’s only high point on the show came from the Hardcore 6-Man Tag. Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha spoiled the reunion of Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito in the craziest looking match of the night. Yes even crazier than the Battle Royal. This one had Takagi’s entire body painted to look like a Gundam for instance. Plastic boxes were smashed to pieces, Ito brought out a barbed wire baseball bat, Iroha used a Marvelous flag to defend herself, Nagayo’s team applied a trio of Scorpion Deathlocks, Paulie was put through a table and the Dream Go fell to its demise once again. Takao won the match for DAMNATION when he placed chairs on top of Takagi and hit a Double Foot Stomp from the top of a ladder. Takao isn’t satisfied with the win though.

Nagayo told Takao he should be persistent like she is. She also praised Iroha for how painful her kicks felt. Her wish after today is to see Takao carry DDT and Iroha carry Marvelous. Nagayo then held hands with Mad Paulie which sparked Takao to swear he will take over DDT so he can take Paulie back from Nagayo!

There were concerns that the Pokotan costume would not be finished before the show took place. I don’t know how he did it but Danshoku Dieno’s creation was completed and ready to go on the day. Pokotan has hidden feature where it pulls up part of its costume to reveal Danshoku underwear! That means it is able to do the Danshoku Nightmare. It did pretty well in the ring, doing a Flying Cross Body and a Shining Wizard. But it all went to Hell when Keisuke Ishii knocked Pokotan’s head off with the Kneel Kick, revealing it was Makoto Oishi wearing the costume. Ishii then hit the High Angle Double Arm DDT to win for his team.

Hisaya Imabayashi was beside himself after the match. He wanted to see Pokotan, not some forty year old man beneath the costume! Dieno promised there will be a change and somebody more suitable will be used to make Pokotan come to life. Oishi put Pokotan’s head back on and Pokotan told everyone (through Dieno’s voice) he will try his best next time so please support him.

#STRONGHEARTS finally have their win over Akito and it is all thanks to T-Hawk. His Chops were an effective way to break out of Akito’s Figure 4 Leg Lock. When T-Hawk gained control of the match he had Akito beaten with the BT Bomb followed by the Night Ride. Akito offered a handshake after the match but T-Hawk rejected him.

Yukio Naya’s first match in Sumo Hall was a successful one. He was on the winning side with Go Shiozaki & Kazusada Higuchi against Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino in a bout that was filled with big lads Chopping and Lariating each other. Iino took the brunt of the offence at the end. Naya gave him a Choke Slam and Higuchi followed with a Diving Body Press but Iino kicked out. Higuchi then put him away with the Doctor Bomb.

The Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title looked like it was staying with Asuka during the Battle Royal. She eliminated Yasu Urano and Chinsuke Nakamura from the match then made it to the final three with Kazuki Hirata and Saki Akai. Asuka’s momentum was cut short when Hirata pinned her with the Miracle One Shot Cradle to win the title. Asuka got revenge by Choke Slamming Hirata afterwards. Hirata almost escaped with the win when he used the Miracle One Shot Cradle on Saki Akai. But Akai kicked out and gave Hirata her new finisher the Quetzalcoatl to become Iron Man Champion for the 9th time. Other things of note were Yuka Sakazaki hoping to win so she could bring the belt with her to America, Hirata having not one but two group dance spots, Maku Donaruto being… well, Maku Donaruto and Sasadango Machine using his PowerPoint Presentation to reflect on yesterday’s “MUSCLE MANIA” show. Apparently he did a lot of things without getting permission.

The main show kicked off with the return of Shunma Katsumata. He has a new wild looking appearance that includes facepaint surrounding the part of his orbital area that was injured. He gelled well with his new ALL OUT teammate Space Monkey. He never wrestled with a monkey before. Together they did a Buzzsaw Kick/Tail Whip combo. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid fought back with Bionic Elbows while Naomi Yoshimura took care of Yuki Ueno. He couldn’t hit the Throwaway Power Bomb then got rolled up in a Frankensteiner by Ueno for the surprise three count.

Ueno got Yoshimura’s attention again after the match. He wondered why was Yoshimura ignoring his request to team with him? Ueno asked him one more time. Yoshimura smiled and shook Ueno’s hand. He’s in! He might also be joining DISASTER BOX too because of this. Ueno wants to change his costume to something as bright as Yoshimura’s orange hair.

In the Tokyo Joshi Pro pre-show match, Nodoka Tenma continues to build up momentum for her TOKYO Princess Title Match next week. She won the match for her team by pinning Hikari Noa with the Killswitch.

Sento Minzoku were victorious in the BASARA pre-show match. Ryuichi Sekine made Takato Nakano tap out while Daiki Shimomura wiped out Masato Kamino with a Plancha.

A special 6-Man Tag Match was announced for the 21st March show. Riki Choshu, Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ueno Vs KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Gota Ihashi is the match. It will be the first time Choshu and Ihashi will be in the same ring since their infamous trios match from January 2018 when Choshu straight up said Ihashi should not be a pro wrestler.


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.


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.


Kasai Out Injured, Kikutaro In Healthy, STRONG HEARTS Staying, Space Monkey On The Way

January 7, 2019

DDT “DRAMATIC AKASONAE! 2019”, 13/01/2019
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Toru Owashi, Keisuke Okuda & Tomomitsu Matsunaga Vs Akito, Makoto Oishi & Mizuki Watase
2. Antonio Honda & Jason Kincaid Vs Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Mad Paulie Vs Yuki Iino
4. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Kazuki Hirata Vs Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru)
5. Mike Bailey, MAO & Kota Umeda Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Kazusada Higuchi & Sammy Guevara
6. Naniwa 3 Big Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yuni
7. Tomorrow Is Good! Osaka Specialty Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao Vs HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno

Jun Kasai is out of action with a knee injury, leading to a minor card shuffle for next weekend’s shows.

DDT “DRAMATIC ROKUMONSEN! 2019”, 14/01/2019
Osaka Hirano Community Hall

1. Kota Umda Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. Soma Takao Vs Yuki Ueno
3. New Year’s Special Rumble: Toru Owashi Vs Kazusada Higuchi Vs Keisuke Okuda Vs Antonio Honda Vs Yuni Vs Maku Donaruto (w/ Phoenix Haru) Vs Kikutaro
4. Mike Bailey, MAO & Veda Scott Vs Makoto Oishi, Kazuki Hirata & Mizuki Watase
5. Masahiro Takanashi Vs Sammy Guevara
6. Humanity Is A Game Blooming In The Big Ring Of Naniwa! Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Jason Kincaid
7. DAMNATION Vs ALL OUT!: Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino

Kikutaro has been added to the Rumble.

GANBARE☆WRESTLING “IF…2019”, 26/01/2019
Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall

1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Shuichiro Katsumura (c) Vs Shota

Shuichiro Katsumura and Shota had two singles matches inside the tiny little Ichigaya Nankai Memorial Clinic during 2018. They are tied one a piece so when Katsumura won the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title it wasn’t a difficult decision to pick his first challenger. Their rubber match takes place inside a proper ring this time.

DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2019”, 27/01/2019
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Heisei’s Last Grudge Match Check: Yukio Sakaguchi Vs El Lindaman
2. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – Final Match: Shuji Ishikawa Vs Kota Umeda
3. Special 3 Way Match: MAO Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA
4. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & HARASHIMA Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shinya Aoki

The newest foreign wrestler to debut in DDT is Space Monkey! According to DDT’s write up he is a monkey born in Canada, was sent to a space centre in America for experiments, escaped back to Canada, was captured in the mountains and then sold off to numerous circuses. Monkey eventually ran away, started a pro wrestling career four years ago and somehow successfully pitched the idea to DDT to get booked by them. Monkey already has some notoriety among the Japanese wrestling fanbase. In 2017 he was nominated for Best Foreigner by the Nico Nico Pro Wrestling website.

Kikutaro will also be on the show.

BASARA “BASARA 87 ~FEAST~”, 29/01/2019
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Union MAX Title: Ryota Nakatsu (c) Vs Fuminori Abe

Fuminori Abe thinks that he and Ryota Nakatsu are the two best wrestlers in BASARA right now so naturally they should be fighting for the Union MAX Title.

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

1. Danshoku Dieno Produce OsuMAN Dankon Debut Match: OsuMAN Dankon Vs X
2. Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya Vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Toru Owashi & Yuki Iino
3. Special Hardcore 6-Person Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Chigusa Nagayo & Ryuji Ito Vs Soma Takao, Mad Paulie & Takumi Iroha
4. KO-D Tag Team Titles – 3 Way Match: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka
5. DDT Extreme Title – ??? Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs HARASHIMA
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita

We haven’t seen the last of #STRONGHEARTS in DDT after all. Their home promotion OWE ordered the group to avenge their losses to DDT and not to come back until that mission has been accomplished. CIMA & Seiki Yoshioka have found their way into the KO-D Tag Team Titles match with the Moonlight Express and Shuten-dōji.


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 “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!” Results

December 30, 2018

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,018 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno ended in a Time Limit Draw (10:00).
1. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani when MAO pinned Shimatani with the Cannonball 450 (11:40).
2. Muscle Offer Match ~ M-Ou GRAND PRIX 2018 Total Victory Decision Battle Royal: Antonio Honda defeated Choun-Shiryu with a School Boy (7:10).
Order Of Elimination: Yasu Urano and Makoto Oishi, Pedro Takaishi, Super Sasadango Machine, Choun-Shiryu.
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai defeated Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura when Sakaguchi pinned Hirata with the PK (9:49).
4. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda (w/ Hideki Suzuki) Vs Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai) ended in a No Contest (5:08).
5. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka defeated Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda when CIMA pinned Iino with the Meteora (13:06).
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King defeated Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara by TKO when Sasaki knocked out Yoshimura with the Pedigree (13:02).
7. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Go Shiozaki with the German Suplex (23:07).
*V? for Konosuke Takeshita.

Konosuke Takeshita has booked his ticket for Sumo Hall next February because he is the 2019 D-Ou Grand Prix winner! There was an uncomfortable vibe inside Korakuen Hall before the main event because of what happened to Naomi Yoshimura in the previous match (more on that below). Takeshita encouraged everyone to cheer for Yoshimura while he was on his way to the hospital. When they were done he then told Go Shiozaki not to hesitate fighting him at full force because of what happened earlier. Shiozaki didn’t hold back with his Chops and Lariats, leaving their mark on his opponent. Takeshita kicked out of the Go Flasher and did what he could to combat the Strong Arm Lariat. Takeshita successfully used the Fable then followed with a German Suplex to win the match and the Grand Prix. Since he is also the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion that also means a successful defence but that’s kind of a low priority from the list of accomplishments today. Takeshita now gets a KO-D Openweight Title shot at “JUDGEMENT 2019” on 17th February.

After the match Takeshita said he never imagined he would ever wrestle against Shiozaki. But today near the end of Heisei era, Takeshita got to fight a member of the strongest class of pro wrestlers. He has never felt such pain or suffering before but he wants to go through it again. Takeshita’s pecs will always be ready to take Shiozaki’s Chops. The show ended with the people who made the most impact in DDT this year talking about their summaries of 2018. MAO said he did a lot of weird things this year and wants to do more next year. Meiko Satomura talked about winning the KO-D Title. HARASHIMA said 2018 was a good year because he is still smiling at the end of it. Takeshita gave the last word. He promises to bring fun and exciting pro wrestling with all of DDT in 2019!

The semi-main event was stopped after Naomi Yoshimura spiked his head against the canvas from Daisuke Sasaki’s Pedigree. Yoshimura was knocked out from the move and Yukinori Matsui called off the match so he could get stretchered out. Sasaki got on the microphone, called Yoshimura a waste of scrap that should be sent back home and left the ring. Hisaya Imabayashi later gave everyone the update that Yoshimura could move his legs and was regaining his grip strength. Hours after the show was over it was announced that Yoshimura was diagnosed with a cervical sprain. There is no timetable yet for his return. The KO-D Title match scheduled for 3rd January has been cancelled and will be replaced with a DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION 10-Man Tag Match. Sasaki is annoyed because he was thought he now had free time to take a vacation to Hawaii.

#STRONGHEARTS have the upper hand over ALL OUT with today’s win. Yuki Iino was cut off by El Lindaman’s German Suplex. That allowed CIMA to hit the Schwein and the Meteora for the three count. Outside the ring Kota Umeda and Seiki Yoshioka had a face off after the match. CIMA noticed this and said that the difference between Umeda and Yoshioka is the same as the difference between Shunjuku and Ikebukuro. CIMA talked about the upcoming KO-D 6-Man Tag Titles defence on 3rd January. He has now beaten Takeshita and Iino. All that’s left for him to beat is Akito! Although he thinks T-Hawk can do that for him. Or maybe Duan Yingnan can leave his mark in DDT history by beating Takeshita?

When #STRONGHEARTS left the ring one by one, El Lindaman was the last to move until he was suddenly attacked by Nobuhiro Shimatani! They faced off then stood back to back in a height measuring contest. Both men declared themselves the winner.

Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda brought along Hideki Suzuki to be their cornerman to even the odds against Keisuke Ishii & Tanomusaku Toba with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai by their side. This led to chaos when Okuda provoked Sakurai leading to a fight with his own partner Aoki! Okuda, Aoki and Suzuki fought each other among the audience until they found their way back into the ring. Things calmed down and Hisaya Imabayashi asked Aoki to pick the stipulation for his DDT Extreme Title match against Toba on 3rd January. Aoki told Okuda to pick for him and another fight broke out. When that brawl ended Aoki told Toba that they will have a Boxing Gloves Match!

It was an exciting day for Kazuki Hirata because he had a brand new pair of Hirata Go! glasses to show off to everyone. Yukio Sakaguchi didn’t care and tried to break the glasses by placing them on a chair and asking the other wrestlers to sit on it. They survived Saki Akai sitting on them but were crushed underneath Gota Ihashi. Hirata was devastated because if the glasses break then so too does his music. Hirata broke down into tears until Toru Owashi & Meiko Satomura put on their own pairs of glasses and sang “TOKYO GO” to him. Hirata danced along to it until Sakaguchi kicked him to oblivion. Sakaguchi then placed a fresh pair of glasses on Hirata’s body and imitated a line from the Hazuki Glasses commercial.

The D-Ou Grand Prix wasn’t the only big event on the show today. The return of Muscle to promote the sub-brand’s Sumo Hall show on 16th February led to a Battle Royal to determine who gets to be in the main event. The goal of the match is for a wrestler to phone the opponent they wish to face while pinning another wrestler. The winner would get that match as well as up to 1,000,000 yen to book that wrestler and 30% of that to be taken in as a booking fee. Antonio Honda wanted to book his father Tetsu Watanabe, Choun-Shiryu wanted to book Jackie Chan “of the Hong Kong International Police Department”, Pedro Takaishi wanted to book Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Yasu Urano wanted to book the comedian Kuro-chan. We didn’t hear who Makoto Oishi wanted because when he said he was going to book someone from K-DOJO he was cut off by the return of Amon Tsurumi! Tsurumi said he’s been gone for so long because he was busy producing movies. While doing this he discovered that ultra low budget movies can make good profits due to word of mouth. That means you don’t need to blow out your budget getting a big name in order to create a big success. He cancelled the Battle Royal and announced the start of the M-Ou Grand Prix round robin tournament! Urano complained that they don’t have time to do that. Everyone agreed on doing a normal Battle Royal after Tsurumi poked everyone in the eyes. Honda ended up winning the match. His prize was a briefcase representing his right to main event the Muscle show in February. Honda noticed it was heavy so he opened it up. Inside was a pile of unsold tickets for the show! Tsurumi said because Honda is main eventing the show it is now his responsibility to sell the remaining tickets. Only 780 tickets have been sold so far!

The Moonlight Express now have the perfect momentum for their Double Titles match on 5th January. They along with HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi were victorious over DAMNATION in the opener. The Express want to be the best tag team of 2019 so they are already planning appearances inside and outside of DDT. They will be at Fight Club: PRO’s Japan debut on 7th January and also K-DOJO’s next Korakuen show on the 13th no matter the result of the Double Titles match.

Ten minutes wasn’t enough to determine a winner between Yuki Ueno and Mizuki Watase in the pre-show bout.

The big summer show in Ota Ward Gymnasium on 15th July will be called “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. DDT is asking fans to choose the Twitter hashtag for the show. The options are either #PeterPanDDT, #DDTPeterPan, #DDTWPP or #WrestlePeterPan.

Shuten-dōji’s self-produced show that they won from the Dramatic Election will be held in Shinjuku FACE on 17th April. They will bring in a lot of wrestlers associated with the unit and promise to deliver a ridiculous show. KUDO wasn’t there for the announcement so Shota took his place dressed just like Masahiro Takanashi. It was enough to make Sakaguchi laugh.

Shunma Katsumata is planning to return from his orbital injury this February. He had successful eye surgery on 11th December.

Jason “The Gift” Kincaid returns to DDT on 13th January. Space Monkey makes his debut on the 27th.


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.


DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN SHINJUKU” Results

November 30, 2018

DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN SHINJUKU”, 30/11/2018
Shinjuku FACE
342 Fans – No Vacancy

0. Scramble Bunkhouse Musical Match: Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata when Umeda pinned Hirata with a PK (8:25).
1. Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuki Ueno when Endo pinned Ueno with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (6:38).
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Masahiro Takanashi (2) defeated Soma Takao (0) with an Official Endless Waltz Cutoff (8:33).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Puma King (2) defeated Daisuke Sasaki (0) with the Puma Kingdom (13:34).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Shinya Aoki (2) defeated Sammy Guevara (0) with a Reverse Cross Armbreaker (3:52).
5. Akito, Yuki Iino, Makoto Oishi, Antonio Honda & Gorgeous Matsuno defeated CIMA, El Lindaman, Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel when Akito submitted Lindaman with the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock (13:00).
6. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Mike Bailey (2) defeated Konosuke Takeshita (c) (0) with the Flamingo Driver (16:56)
*Mike Bailey becomes the 1,338th champion.
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Go Shiozaki (2) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (0) with the Strong Arm Lariat (16:05).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: MAO (2) defeated HARASHIMA (0) with a Jackknife Pin (16:20).

A Block

1. MAO (2)
-. Go Shiozaki (2)
-. Puma King (2)
4. Akito (0)
-. HARASHIMA (0)
-. Kazusada Higuchi (0)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (0)

B Block

1. Mike Bailey (2)
-. Shinya Aoki (2)
-. Masahiro Takanashi (2)
4. Tetsuya Endo (0)
-. Konosuke Takeshita (0)
-. Sammy Guevara (0)
-. Soma Takao (0)

The second D-Ou Grand Prix kicked off with a packed show where the Moonlight Express both earned significant victories over DDT’s most accomplished wrestlers. MAO swept away from HARASHIMA’s Somato, allowing MAO to hit HARASHIMA with a Screw High Kick and then roll him up in a Jackknife to get the surprise three count. HARASHIMA lowered his head to MAO after the match to accept the result. MAO said that his momentum and hot passion will not be stopped. He will win the A Block, Mike Bailey will win the B Block and together these two idiots will put on a foolish final!

Go Shiozaki immediately made his mark in the tournament by turning Kazusada Higuchi’s chest raw with Chops. This was a rematch from their NOAH Global League match from earlier this month and the result was the same. Shiozaki knows just how powerful Higuchi is and he is relieved to get this match over with first in the Grand Prix. Higuchi is disappointed that he wasn’t able to use the lessons learned from their first match to get a different result today. The match was closer this time but he still suffered a complete defeat to Shiozaki twice now.

Speedball joined MAO in the victory circle by beating his former teammate Konosuke Takeshita, winning the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title in the process. Bailey figured he had to do something new to beat Takeshita and boy did he find it. After a Tornado Whirlwind Kick in the corner, Bailey lifted Takeshita onto the turnbuckle and placed him knees first onto his shoulder. Bailey then walked into the centre of the ring and flipped Takeshita down into a driver to get the three count. The move is called the Flamingo Driver and Bailey knew he could win with the move because of how much damage it inflicts on the opponent. Backstage Bailey said the result wasn’t luck. He is a man with brains, skills and worldwide experience. Now he’s a double champion too.

Who would have guessed that STRONG HEARTS would meet their match in the form of Gorgeous Matsuno? Sure, sure, Akito was the one to make El Lindaman submit while Yuki Iino cleaned house, giving ALL OUT some momentum against the outsiders. But CIMA just couldn’t figure Matsuno out even with Matsuno wrestling with a back injury. Antonio Honda threw everyone off even more by telling his Gongitsune joke in English. Iino Speared CIMA while Akito trapped Lindaman in the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock to win the match. CIMA made the excuse that he didn’t take the match seriously then brought up how nobody in DDT challenged STRONG HEARTS at the last Korakuen Hall show to a KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles match. Afterwards he was told by Lindaman to look up Akito on the internet. There he found out that Akito is owed a title match by DDT for finishing second in this year’s Dramatic General Election. CIMA wants Akito to use that shot against STRONG HEARTS and to also include Konosuke Takeshita on the team. Akito accepted but added that Yuki Iino will also be on the team because Shunma Katsumata is injured. CIMA doesn’t care about Katsumata. Takeshita is who he wants to fight again. Tetsuya Koda confirmed the match will take place on 30th December. Hisaya Imabayashi cut in and told Koda that Takeshita and Akito can’t be booked for that date yet because one or both of them might be in the Grand Prix final that day. Imabayashi asked CIMA when T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan can next be available for DDT. CIMA said 3rd January. That’s the date of the match then. With that over with, CIMA moved the spotlight over to The Rascalz because the 30th December will be their last match in DDT for this tour. The crowd responded favourably when CIMA asked if they would like to see The Rascalz come back next year.

Back to the Grand Prix and the most unusual pairing in the tournament provided the most unusual match. Sammy Guevara constantly taunted Shinya Aoki by kicking him off the apron and insulting him over the microphone. When he gave Aoki the middle finger, Aoki grabbed his arm and made him tap to the Cross Armbreaker. Aoki didn’t care if he didn’t mesh with Guevara. This is a long tournament for him so starting off with a quick win is a good thing. Guevara couldn’t process what happened, it went by so fast. From his point of view he offered a handshake to Aoki and everything went into a blur from there.

Puma King’s first appearance in DDT could not have gone any better. A clean win over the KO-D Openweight Champion should catch the attention of any DDT fan. Daisuke Sasaki tried to stop King by pulling at his mask but the luchador couldn’t be held down in the Cross Facelock. Sasaki went to the top rope for an Avalanche Pedigree but Puma countered it with a Super Power Bomb for the upset victory. Puma King says DDT has plenty of talented wrestlers and by coming here he can become a world star. Puma King wants to be known all around the world. He was happy to wrestle with Sasaki because they are friends who learned from the same mentor. Sasaki however did not give any interview after the match.

Masahiro Takanashi wanted to put his focus only on Soma Takao but Nobuhiro Shimatani annoyed him from ringside. Takanashi reached his breaking point and attacked Shimatani outside the ring. He then took his DAMNATION sign and attacked Takao with it! When the match went back to normal both wrestlers tried to do the Takatonic to each other. Takao turned the tussle into the Official Endless Waltz but Takanashi stopped it long enough to pin Takao. Afterwards Takao complained about Takanashi not being disqualified for attacking him with the sign.

A strong demand from Kazuki Hirata created a new match for DDT, the Scramble Bunkhouse Musical Match. A pair of Hirata GO! glasses was hung lowly over the ring with the idea that both teams will fight each other for it. Instead Hirata was the only person who ran down to it while everyone else fought with each other around ringside. Hirata later put the glasses on but instead of dancing, he was kicked to oblivion by Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase in time to his music.

With Danshoku Dieno absent and becoming less reliable, DDT is now on the lookout to recruit new comedy wrestlers. They will hold an audition called the New Year’s Day Burst Out Laughing Rumble to find the next Dieno. Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi will be the judges.

Meiko Satomura, Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata will team together on 30th December.

Match #6 for Kota Umeda’s Mad Dog Trial will be Daichi Hashimoto on 3rd January.


DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018” Results

September 23, 2018

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018”, 23/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,279 Fans – Super No Vacancy

0. Under Match: Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda defeated Saki Akai & Yuni when Oishi pinned Yuni with a Sunset Flip (6:17).
0. Under Match ~ Booing 2018 New Member Audition: Mizuhime Saijo defeated Sanshiro Takagi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga by Ring Out (13:04).
Order Of Elimination: Movie Star, Eririn Takagi, Henchin, ONAKIN, ZIMA Yoshida, Pulp Bonjin, Gundan Hitori & Kim Yocchan, 5th Tiger Mask (Self-Named), Big Bear, Monster Halloween, Momo Ne, Lingerie Muto, Sanshiro Takagi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga.
*Everybody passed the audition.
1. Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase defeated Keisuke Ishii & Yuki Iino when Watase pinned Iino with the Back Drop (5:22).
2. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Tanomusaku Toba, Keisuke Okuda & Yumehito Imanari when Takanashi pinned Toba with a Cradle (6:03).
3. Ethan Page defeated Kazusada Higuchi with an Avalanche Power Slam (7:48).
4. Road To Ryogoku! 10-Man Elimination Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine (12:38).
4a. Daisuke Sasaki & Soma Takao eliminated HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi by Double Ring Out (3:58).
4b. Mad Paulie, Nobuhiro Shimatani and Super Sasadango Machine eliminated each other by Triple Ring Out (6:09).
4c. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Soma Takao by Ring Out (9:18).
4d. Tetsuya Endo eliminated Yuki Ueno with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (10:07).
4e. Kazuki Hirata eliminated Tetsuya Endo with the Miracle One Shot Cradle (10:07).
4f. Daisuke Sasaki eliminated Kazuki Hirata with the Cross Facelock (12:38).
5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) defeated Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei when MAO pinned Kei with the Cannonball 450 (9:00).
*V1 for The Moonlight Express.
6. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata defeated Jun Kasai, Sabu (w/ Super Genie) & Kikutaro when Takeshita pinned Kikutaro with the German Suplex (12:33).
7. KO-D Openweight Title – Survival 3 Way Match: Danshoku Dieno defeated Meiko Satomura (c) and Shigehiro Irie (20:01).
7a. Danshoku Dieno eliminated Shigehiro Irie with the Gaydo Clutch (16:09).
7b. Danshoku Dieno eliminated Meiko Satomura with the Danshoku Driver (20:01).
*Meiko Satomura fails in V1. Danshoku Dieno becomes the 67th KO-D Openweight Champion!

The bumpy road towards Sumo Hall took another crazy turn today when Danshoku Dieno reclaimed the KO-D Openweight Title! Dieno used all of his wits to pin both champion Meiko Satomura and enemy Shigehiro Irie in a Survival 3 Way Match to win the belt. Irie was eliminated first when Dieno stopped his Beast Bomber with the Lip Lock. That left Irie defenceless for Satomura to hit the Scorpio Rising. Dieno then rolled Irie over with the Gaydo Clutch to pin him for the three count. Satomura took control of the match until Dieno blocked the Scorpio Rising and hit his own Death Valley Bomb on the champion. From there the Danshoku Driver put Satomura down and out leading to the new champion crowned.

In all his honesty, Dieno never thought he could do it but now he gets to be in the “PETER PAN” main event for the first time in his career! But first he needed to settle his grudge with Irie. He knows that Irie was never the best with words but Dieno understands what Irie wanted ever since his return earlier this year. He knows Irie didn’t like what DDT has changed into and he fought to make his vision of DDT. Irie is a part of DDT and Dieno promises to carry Irie’s vision on his back as champion. Dieno is grateful for what Irie has done so rather than apologise, he wants to thank him instead. Dieno offered out a handshake. At first Irie refused but only because Dieno stuck out his right hand. Irie wanted to shake Dieno’s left hand because it is closer to his heart.

Dieno then called over to Satomura to bury the hatchet with her. He understands what Satomura was fighting for. The KO-D Title is not exclusive to men or women, it is indiscriminate. After today Satomura has a win over Dieno and Dieno has a win over Satomura. Now he wants to shake hands with the rival who he is tied with. Satomura shook Dieno’s left hand then shook hands with Irie as well. All of Dieno’s problems are over. Well, except for the “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” main event…

The Sumo Hall main event is now confirmed to be Danshoku Dieno Vs Daisuke Sasaki with the KO-D Title on the line. When Irie and Satomura left the ring, Sasaki entered to confront the new champion. This is what Sasaki hates about Dieno. He hates how Dieno unexpectedly achieved his dream of main eventing Sumo Hall. Sasaki hates people who talk about their dreams. He is also sick of Dieno being the symbol of DDT. At Sumo Hall, Sasaki wants to make Dieno cry instead. Dieno told Sasaki that the main event of Sumo Hall will exceed his imagination. So if Sasaki wants to take the title from Dieno and replace him as the symbol, he better be prepared!

Hardcore action was promised in the semi-main event. Kikutaro was ready for it because he had both Sabu and Jun Kasai on his team. All he asked was for ALL OUT to avoid touching the right side of his head because he legit just had ear surgery. Konosuke Takeshita chopped the ear and knocked Kikutaro out. Kikutaro had to be carried away from ringside but he eventually returned with his bandages wrapped around his mask. There were a lot of chairs used in the match thanks to Sabu’s valet Super Genie throwing them into the ring whenever Sabu requested one. Sabu put Takeshita through a table with a Top Rope Leg Drop and Kasai hit the Pearl Harbor Splash but Akito & Shunma Katsumata stopped the pin in time to continue the match. Kikutaro set Takeshita up for a Brainbuster but wasted time giving his usual match ending speech to the audience. Takeshita later put Kikutaro in position for the Deadlift German Suplex and he also wasted time speaking to the fans. Kikutaro rolled him over with a Samson Clutch for a nearfall. He then tried the Brainbuster but his back gave out. Takeshita was then able to hit the Deadlift German Suplex for the win.

With that match out of the way, the entire ALL OUT unit stood in the ring to discuss their current form. Yuki Iino says he is ALL OUT but hasn’t gotten used to teaming with the others yet. Takeshita said ALL OUT is now fully resurrected but they have no place on the “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” card with one month to go. If DDT isn’t going to give them a match then maybe they should go on the next episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI” and do something about it. Takeshita was then cut off by the surprise appearance of the STRONG HEARTS! Out came CIMA, T-Hawk, El Lindaman & Duan Yingnan down to the ring. CIMA told Takeshita he watched the match he just had and felt there wasn’t enough fever in the ring. CIMA wants to know if Takeshita is still on a high level. Does he know what real pro wrestling is? The STRONG HEARTS took a midnight flight from Shanghai just to come here today and this is what they had to watch? Well CIMA has news for them. The STRONG HEARTS have their schedule free on 21st October, the same day DDT goes to Sumo Hall. What is ALL OUT going to do about it?

Takeshita sees where this is going. ALL OUT Vs STRONG HEARTS at Sumo Hall. A tag match would be fun but Takeshita wants something else. He wants to fight CIMA one on one! CIMA couldn’t believe the nerve of this kid calling him out. CIMA has been living in this ring for 21 years. Is Takeshita really prepared to wrestle him? We’ll find out because CIMA accepted the challenge! T-Hawk then took the microphone and demanded the remaining wrestlers in the two units face off in a 6-Man Tag Match. Three versus three is the perfect amount for him. Akito said there was no reason to refuse so that match is on too. Interim GM Tetsuya Koda announced both matches for 21st October in Sumo Hall. Takeshita then pointed out the next episode of Maji Manji is being held in Shibuya in two days time and he wants a special match there. El Lindaman suggested a full ALL OUT Vs STRONG HEARTS 8-Man Tag Match so that every DDT fan and STRONG HEARTS fan could enjoy it. That match was agreed to. Takeshita noticed how STRONG HEARTS are going around the Japanese wrestling scene doing whatever they want. When they come to DDT, ALL OUT will be there to face them!

The Moonlight Express were lulled into a false sense of security when The Brahman Brothers started off their match offering handshakes. The Brahmans then spat water at the Express and attacked them to start the match. Buckets of water were placed around ringside and the two teams threw the buckets at each other and the audience. Mainly the audience. The Brahmans did their bowling ball suitcase spot but Mike Bailey & MAO recovered to do the Skylab Hurricane on Brahman Kei. They attempted the Michinoku Tornado Driver but it was stopped when Brahman Shu blinded both of them with black ink mist. The Brahmans took out a stop sign and tried to hit MAO with it but Kei ended up hitting Shu. MAO then popped a balloon in front of Kei’s face. The balloon turned out to be filled with powder and it blinded Kei! MAO & Bailey climbed the same top rope and together jumped off in different directions. Bailey Moonsaulted outside onto Shu while MAO jumped into the ring to hit the Cannoball 450 on Kei, pinning him to earn a successful defence of the KO-D Tag Team Titles. After the match as the Brahmans were leaving they said they gained new memories today. They also called the Midnight Express crazy! That means a lot coming from them.

Super Sasadango Machine had to reveal a secret to explain why he was teaming with DISASTER BOX today. He lifted up his mask to reveal he is Muscle Sakai! Sakai was a member of the original DISASTER BOX back in 2006 so that’s why he was out here teaming with the modern version. The eliminations in the 5 Vs 5 match mostly consisted of ring outs. Soma Takao blinded HARASHIMA with red mist. That allowed DAMNATION to easily eliminate HARASHIMA and also Toru Owashi at the same time. Sasadango sacrificed himself to eliminate Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani with him when all three were Dropkicked off the ring apron. Kazuki Hirata then evened the teams down to two each when he snuck onto the apron and knocked Takao to the floor with a Sliding Kick. Tetsuya Endo put DAMNATION back in the lead by pinning Yuki Ueno with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb. Hirata surprised Endo by pinning him with the Miracle One Shot Cradle, bringing the match down to Hirata and Sasaki. Hirata did what he could to pin Sasaki including attempting the Mad Splash. Sasaki blocked the splash with his knees and put Hirata in the Cross Facelock to make him submit. Sasaki wins the match as the sole survivor for DAMNATION! Backstage Sasadango told DISASTER BOX he will continue to support them because they are no good at studying their opponents.

Ethan Page made a statement in his return to Japan by beating Kazusada Higuchi. The power versus power match ended when Page gave Higuchi an over shoulder Power Slam from the top rope for the pin.

Keisuke Okuda announced at the beginning of the show that he is now a a full time member of the DDT roster starting today. He had his excuses for being on the losing team against Shuten-dōji. He’s fine teaming with Tanomusaku Toba because he knows how good he is with gloves on. It was Yumehito Imanari that was the weak link according to Okuda. Looking ahead to his new status, Okuda wants to face Yukio Sakaguchi in more matches.

The Philosopher’s Stomp from Jason Kincaid followed by the Back Drop from Mizuki Watase gave RENEGADES the victory in the show opener.

The New Member Audition for Booing 2018 gave a spotlight to many low level pro wrestlers from across the independent wrestling scene. Sanshiro Takagi and Tomomitsu Matsunaga took part in the match both as participants and as judges. We had Movie Star using a rubber swimming ring to trap his opponents, Gundan Hitori walking around Korakuen singing into a Coke bottle, Monster Halloween carrying a chainsaw down to the ring and even a surprise appearance from Lingerie Muto. The final four were Takagi, Matsunaga, Muto and Ehime Pro joshi wrestler Mizuhime Saijo. Muto climbed the ropes to do the Moonsault but he slipped and bounced out of the ring. Takagi and Matsunaga ended up on the ring apron when they missed an attack on Saijo against the ropes. Saijo then grabbed her water gun and sprayed the two Booing wrestlers until they fell down to the floor. Saijo was declared the winner!

With the Battle Royal portion of the competition over, Sanshiro Takagi announced the judging results. Everyone passed! Their prize is a spot on “ALL DOIN”, a special event for indie wrestlers taking place at Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 9th November. Takagi then introduced the executive chairperson for the show. He is the student wrestling legend MEN’S Teioh! His role is to help everyone prepare for the show. Teioh was dismayed over the amount of shit being given to him but he knows he can find a diamond in there somewhere.

Yuni had Makoto Oishi pinned with a Hurricanrana but Antonio Honda poked him in the eyes with a Double Gongitsune Strike. Oishi then flipped Yuni over to pin him for the three count.

DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018 ~FALL WRESTLING CULTURE FESTIVAL~”, 21/10/2018
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

0. Mina Shirakawa DDT First Participation War! Tokyo Joshi Pro 6-Woman Tag Match: Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Kamifuku & Mina Shirakawa Vs Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Shoko Nakajima
0. Time Difference Battle Royal: Gorgeous Matsuno Vs X
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Tanomusaku Toba & Keisuke Okuda Vs Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Michael Nakazawa Vs X
2. The World’s Crazy Couple Battle: Makoto Oishi & Misaki Ohata Vs Joey Ryan & Laura James
3. ALL OUT Vs STRONG HEARTS! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Akito, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Iino Vs T-Hawk, El Lindaman & Tian Yunan
4. The Difference In 27 Years Of Age! Representative Director And President (48 Years Old) And Belonging Wrestler (21 Years Old) Waste Blood Washing Conflict Play – Final Settlement Weapon Rumble!: Sanshiro Takagi Vs MAO
5. Will You Eat Or Be Eaten!? Giant Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Andreza Giant Panda
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo & Mad Paulie (c) Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno
7. Dramatic Dream Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs CIMA
8. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki

Meiko Satomura and Maki Ito will be on the card. Guys like HARASHIMA, Kasai and the RENEGADES are currently missing too.


BASARA And DDT Hit Korakuen This Weekend, ALL DOIN Entries, Hashimoto At Maji Manji

September 20, 2018

BASARA “BASARA 78 ~LUYANG NO HOKO~”, 21/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Special Dark Match ~ Shit Boss, Remember To Hurry! Season 2: Gouma Ryu Vs Yasu Urano
1. Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man Vs Daiki Shimomura, Akiyori Takizawa & Takato Nakano
2. Yusuke Kubo & SAGAT Vs Manabu Hara & Jun Masaoka
3. Cielo Presents Special 6-Man Tag Match: FUMA, Trans-Am ★ Tanaka & Trans-Am ★ Ryuji Vs Don Fujii, Ryuichi Sekine & Fuminori Abe
4. Yoga Vs Aikata! Tag Showdown!: Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Osamu Nishimura Vs Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita
5. Takumi Tsukamoto 9th Anniversary Memorial Match: Takumi Tsukamoto & Toru Sugiura Vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Tatsuhiko Yoshino
6. Hardcore Cage Match: Isami Kodaka Vs Masashi Takeda
7. Union MAX Title: Naoki Tanizaki (c) Vs Ryota Nakatsu

For the last two months Ryota Nakatsu has faced off with Naoki Tanizaki many times in preparation for this show. From winning the 2018 Heaven Summit ~Itadaki~ to defending BASARA from the invading Dove Pro wrestlers led by Tanizaki, Nakatsu has been through plenty of struggles in the lead up to Korakuen Hall. Now is his golden chance to become the Union MAX Champion!

DDT “ROAD TO RYOGOKU 2018”, 23/09/2018
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

0. Under Match: Makoto Oishi & Antonio Honda Vs Saki Akai & Yuni
0. Under Match ~ Booing 2018 New Member Audition: Eririn Takagi Vs ONAKIN Vs Kim Yocchan Vs Gundan Hitori Vs 5th Tiger Mask (Self-Named) Vs ZIMA Yoshida Vs Mizuki Saijo Vs Big Bear Vs Henchin Vs Pulp Bonjin Vs Momo Ne Vs Monster Halloween Vs Movie Star (Judges: Sanshiro Takagi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga)
1. KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Tanomusaku Toba, Keisuke Okuda & Yumehito Imanari
2. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Ethan Page
3. Keisuke Ishii & Yuki Iino Vs Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase
4. Road To Ryogoku! 10-Man Elimination Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani Vs HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Super Sasadango Machine
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Kasai, Sabu & Kikutaro Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Shunma Katsumata
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Mike Bailey & MAO (c) Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
7. KO-D Openweight Title – Survival 3 Way Match: Meiko Satomura (c) Vs Shigehiro Irie Vs Danshoku Dieno

The winner of the main event is guaranteed to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Daisuke Sasaki in the main event of “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. This three way grudge has Meiko Satomura wanting to beat Shigehiro Irie, Irie wanting to beat Danshoku Dieno and Dieno wanting to beat Satomura.

The Moonlight Express has become familiar with the Brahman Brothers over the late summer. The Brahmans earned their KO-D Tag Team Titles shot by beating the Express at this year’s campsite match. MAO has also been showing off his crazy side every chance he gets. I don’t think they can get a van up to the 5th floor of Korakuen though.

Don’t let the addition of Kikutaro to the Special 6-Man Tag Match fool you. He can get wild with the best of them if he has too.

Let’s try and discover some of the entries in the ALL DOIN dark match. Eririn Takagi (no relation to Sanshiro Takagi) is from the W.I.N. amateur group in Tokyo. He is described as a top class social wrestler with a nice looking Northern Lights Suplex. ONAKIN is from SWS Student Wrestling in Tokyo. His nickname is Mr. Dropkick. When he started wrestling his favourite wrestler was Roman Reigns and he did the Superman Punch. Now his favourite is Shinichiro Tominaga. ONAKIN’s goal this year is to become an invincible champion. Kim Yocchan & Gundan Hitori once teamed together for a KO-D Tag Titles match back in 2010 when Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa were defending the belts anywhere outside. Hitori is from CWP (Come On Wrestling Party) in Kanto. The group also uses the name COWPER for some of its events. The 5th Tiger Mask in this match is sadly not Minowaman. This one is a chubby looking Tiger Masked fella from Nagano. ZIMA Yoshida is freelancer nicknamed “The Volk Han Of Adachi-ku”. Mizuki Saijo is a joshi wrestler from Ehime Pro Wrestling. Pulp Bonjin is a masked wrestler also from Ehime Pro. Bonjin holds grudges against people who waste paper tissues. Momo Ne is a joshi wrestler from Hokkaido. Monster Halloween is an nkw throwback to all of the monster costume gimmicks from the 90s hardcore promotions. I haven’t been able to find clear information about Big Bear, Henchin and Movie Star.

DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #18”, 25/09/2018
Shin-Kiba 1st RING

1. Yuna Manase Vs Maki Ito
2. Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Sanshiro Takagi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
3. HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Yuki Ueno Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Antonio Honda & Keisuke Okuda

Daichi Hashimoto appears on a full fledged DDT show for the first time. He’s been on DDT shows before that were co-promoted with Big Japan (New Year’s Eve shows and charity events after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake) but this is his first go around on DDT proper.

DDT “BEST WESTERN LARIAT SERIES 2018 ~REBORN~ BATTLE OF CORAL”, 30/09/2018
Tokyo Best Western Rembrandt Hotel Tokyo Machida

1. Shigehiro Irie, Jason Kincaid & Mizuki Watase Vs Kazusada Higuchi, Antonio Honda & Tanomusaku Toba
2. Tetsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Takanashi Vs Akito & Keisuke Ishii
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Maki Ito
4. Please Spend A Wonderful Time With Delicious Meals And Gorgeous Dance: Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata
5. Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao & Mad Paulie Vs Mike Bailey, MAO & Ethan Page
6. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: HARASHIMA & Yuki Ueno Vs Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata

The Best Western Lariat Series returns. Last year the series was a 12 month long tour of Best Western Rembrandt Hotels consisting of two shows total. You read that correctly. Looks like there was only room for one show on the schedule this year.