DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 4,131 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Keigo Nakamura, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi defeated Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion when Nakamura pinned Yuni with the Running Diving Headbutt (7:37).
2. 6-Man Tag Match Featuring People Connected To Sanshiro Takagi: Toru Owashi, Hisamaru Tajima & Shinichiro Kawamatsu defeated Makoto Oishi, Soma Takao & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa when Kawamatsu pinned Oishi with the Axe Bomber (6:28).
3. Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine defeated Kazuki Hirata with a School Boy (11:53).
4. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Tomomitsu Matsunaga defeated Minoru Suzuki, Shuji Ishikawa & Hikaru Sato when Naya pinned Sato with the Wrist-Clutch Back Drop (12:18).
5. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – Sanshiro Takagi Indefinite Rest Road FINAL ~ Weapon Rumble: Danshoku Dieno (c) defeated Sanshiro Takagi with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (20:54). *V? for Danshoku Dieno.
6. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Survival 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul defeated HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano (c), Aja Kong, Shunma Katsumata & To-y and Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada (17:30).
6a. HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano (c) eliminated Aja Kong, Shunma Katsumata & To-y when Akito pinned Katsumata with a Step Over Toe Hold (8:40).
6b. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul eliminated HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano (c) when KANON pinned Akito after the Freedom Call (15:28).
6c. Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul eliminated Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada when Paul Sasaki submitted Masada with La Mistica Crossface Lock (17:30). *Smile Squash fails in V1. DAMNATION T.A becomes the 56th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions!
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA defeated Masato Tanaka with an Elbow Butt (14:42).
8. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) defeated Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Kotoge when Endo pinned Kotoge with the Burning Star Press (20:37). *V3 for BURNING.
9. Dramatic Dream Match – No DQ Match: El Desperado defeated Chris Brookes with the Pinche Loco on the Barbed Wire Board (22:12).
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Assets Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) defeated MAO with the WR (29:44). *V6 for Yuki Ueno.
The story of MAO running away from The 37KAMIINA has come to an end. He wasn’t able to win the KO-D Openweight Title from Yuki Ueno after all but it still became a happy ending for everyone involved with the group. The two went all out against each other both inside and out of the ring. Over on the ramp Ueno gave MAO the Canadian Destroyer only for MAO to fire back with the same move. Ueno rolled off the ramp afterwards so MAO reached out and helped him back to the ring so the match wouldn’t end by countout. Ueno dodged the Phoenix Splash and used the Jul.2 for a nearfall. Then there was a trade off between Ueno’s Blackout Sleeper and MAO’s Just Face Lock. There was then a battle of Dropkicks with both wrestlers using the move on each other again and again. MAO used the Iai Kick but only got a two count. Instead Ueno got him in the WR to pin him and retain the championship.
After the match Ueno gave MAO a hug. He said that whenever he feels exhausted or loses his confidence, he will look at MAO to become an even better man. He is sure MAO feels the same way about him. Today he is glad he put his life on the line in Sumo Hall to fight MAO for DDT’s greatest championship. However MAO declined to shake Ueno’s hand and he left the ring. Ueno still praised him for being a free spirit and if he can beat somebody like him then he can beat anybody. Ueno then called Shinya Aoki to the ring and nominated him as his next challenger for the KO-D Title. Aoki said that ever since his fight against Kazushi Sakuraba in 2015, the next opponent and place he wanted to get the most is Yuki Ueno in DDT. Hisaya Imabayashi endorsed the challenge and announced the title match will take place on 25th August.
Ueno closed out the day by telling the fans he and DDT will continue to show everyone their dreams in the ring. Ueno left the ring and walked up the ramp where he was suddenly greeted by MAO again. MAO has decided he is no longer running away from home and has returned to The 37KAMIINA! Shunma Katsumata and To-y also appeared alongside them and the four went backstage together. In the hallway they found Konosuke Takeshita waiting for them. He simply gave them a thumbs up and walked away.
Yesterday at a public press conference Chris Brookes and El Desperado agreed that their match today should be held under No DQ Rules. The ring was already armed with a barbed wire board, a fork board and a bunch of plastic cases lying around waiting for the chaos to start. It began with Desperado bringing out two bouquets of flowers and handing one over to Brookes. They then both attacked each other with the bouquets. As the fighting got more intense Desperado busted open Brookes and in return Brookes took out a pair of scissors to cut up his opponent’s mask. Desperado then decided to pull it off and wrestle the rest of the match fully unmasked! A stapler gun was brought in and the two of them stapled each other back and forth all over their bodies. The envelope used for the “DESPE-INVITACIONAL” was also stapled onto them. SCHADENFREUDE International interfered in the match to gang up on Desperado but he fought them off by spraying them with a fire extinguisher. Brookes did the Praying Mantis Bomb but only got a two count while Desperado hit the Mad Splash on top of the barbed wire board for a nearfall. The end came when Desperado gave Brookes the Lip Lock and then dropped him on top of the barbed wire with the Pinche Loco. Brookes said he is frustrated over losing but also happy because he feels so alive after the match. Desperado said he got a great taste of DDT. He does not know if he will ever get another taste but he hopes to do it again some day. However not long after the show New Japan announced that Desperado is taking a leave of absence to recover from injuries. Desperado made it clear on social media that Brookes and the match they had are not at fault for it.
The last few months have seen Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino from BURNING feud with Go Shiozaki across DDT and NOAH. It was all building up to the KO-D Tag Team Titles defence here with Shiozaki teaming with Atsushi Kotoge. Since both Endo & Iino were focused on solely beating Shiozaki, Kotoge became frustrated at being ignored. It was on full show here because Kotoge busted himself open from Headbutting Endo too much! Shiozaki was taken out by Iino’s Lariat leaving Endo to fight Kotoge. Endo gave him a Headbutt of his own before doing the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb for a nearfall. He then finished him off with the Burning Star Press for the victory. Iino said he knew how good Shiozaki’s Chops are with those big arms of his but that doesn’t matter because BURNING won in the end. Endo said they won today because of the support from their fans. He is now considering how interesting it would be if BURNING and TEAM NOAH would team up in the future. Iino wants to fight more opponents from more companies to increase the value of the KO-D Tag Titles.
The busy summer Takeshita is taking part in has gone off to a hot start. Yesterday he beat Yota Tsuji in the opening day of the G1 Climax and today he defeated Masato Tanaka in a battle of the Elbow Smashes. It was a rematch of their KO-D Title bout from March 2020 and this time it was Takeshita who was left standing tall. After duelling Elbow Smashes, Takeshita’s ones were the more powerful. He ended up using the move to break down Tanaka and pin him for the three count. With this result Takeshita will now bring this power with him for the rest of the G1. He wants DDT fans to follow him in the tournament with pride and confidence. Tanaka admitted that Takeshita now has the best elbow strikes in the world but he will take that title back from him soon!
After Smile Squash went through all the effort of rescuing the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles from DAMNATION T.A, they’ve only gone and lost the belts back to them! The belts were on the line in a Survival 4 Way Match with other teams of three looking to win the titles for themselves. The 37KAMIINA & Aja Kong beat up Yasu Urano but were the first eliminated thanks to Akito dodging their attacks and pinning To-y with a Stepover Toe Hold. The champions Smile Squash were then surprisingly next to go. HARASHIMA had MJ Paul pinned with the Somato when KANON pulled the referee out of the ring mid-count. Daisuke Sasaki then attacked everyone with a chair then used the Freedom Call with KANON to pin Akito. Antonio Honda had his working boots on today because he successfully performed a Suicide Dive onto everyone out of the ring. He & Masahiro Takanashi also aided Takeshi Masada until he had to go it alone against Sasaki. Paul gave Masada a German Suplex so Sasaki could pin him for a nearfall. Sasaki then used La Mistica Crossface Lock to make Masada give up.
While DAMNATION T.A were celebrating in the ring, Ryuichi “Fire” Kawakami appeared at ringside and climbed in to meet them. He had already caused trouble backstage earlier in the day by attacking Yukio Naya after his match. But Kawakami got into the ring to give Sasaki a hug because he is now joining forces with DAMNATION T.A! Kawakami is ready to bring “FIRE DAMNATION” to DDT and Naya is his first target. Sasaki thinks “FIRE DAMNATION” sounds a little lame but he’s happy to have Kawakami on his side.
After spending so many decades fighting for DDT inside and out of the ring, Sanshiro Takagi is finally ready to take an indefinite break so he can focus on his management duties within CyberFight while taking better care of his health. But first he had one more battle with Danshoku Dieno to get through. During the week he pinned Dieno to take the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title away from him but Dieno won it not too long afterwards. Their match here was a Weapon Rumble. One by one weapons selected by the two wrestlers would be brought down to the ring. Takagi’s first weapon was product placement for Yanekabe Shokunin Goods. Dieno countered that with Yoshihiko along with Muscle Sakai as its handler. Takagi then brought out the Dramatic Dream bike. Dieno shocked Takagi by setting up a retirement ceremony for him. Saki Akai came down to the ring and presented him with gifts as well as a heartfelt speech. Takagi was so touched by the gesture he considered to go ahead with retirement but interrupted the ten bell salute so the match would continue. MIKAMI and Poison Sawada JULIE then ran down to be Takagi’s latest weapons. Dieno had allies of his own in the form of Tokyo Joshi Pro! The group of Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Mizuki and Yuki Kamifuku all attacked Takagi with some of their signature moves. But when TJPW GM Tetsuya Koda wanted to get his digs in, Hisaya Imabayashi got mad and attacked him! With them out of the way Takagi brought out his golden ace up his sleeve. He brought in a big star from AEW… Michael Nakazawa! He came out with his body painted completely gold. Who could Dieno have picked in response to this? It was the actual “Golden Star”, the return of Kota Ibushi to DDT! Ibushi gave Takagi the Kamigoye and Dieno waited for Takagi to get back up so he could finish him off with the Lip Lock and Gotch-Style Danshoku Driver.
After the match Dieno told Takagi that it does not matter if he takes a permanent break or is able to come back and wrestle again. DDT will be fine because Dieno will always be here. Takagi thanked Dieno because without him this dramatic situation would have never taken place today. He thought he would never meet Ibushi inside a DDT ring ever again! DDT went through some tough times after Ibushi left them in 2016 but Ibushi was able to rise higher and higher. Takagi believes if he can still get chances to be in the ring with Ibushi then he will never retire! His wish is to fight Ibushi in a singles match again. Ibushi has a request too. Can he come back to DDT some day? Takagi and Dieno both burst into tears and told him yes because he is family. Backstage Takagi told reporters he really wants Kenny Omega to get recover from his health problems too so he can call him again too.
As mentioned above, Naya’s day at Sumo Hall was ruined by a backstage attack by Kawakami after his match. Before that happened things were going great for Naya. He teamed with Jun Akiyama & Tomomitsu Matsunaga to beat the big name outsider trio of Minoru Suzuki, Shuji Ishikawa & Hikaru Sato. Naya also got the pinfall after he gave Sato the Wrist-Clutch Back Drop. The backstage attack happened during the post-match interview. Naya’s partners had already left the room and he was in the middle of talking about how it is up to him to carry DDT’s heavyweight division due to a number of injuries on the roster. That was when Kawakami burst out from behind the interview curtain and attacked Naya with a chair. He demanded to be booked for more DDT shows or else he will blow more people up!
With so much happening up and down the card, Kazuki Hirata and Super Sasadango Machine were determined to make their match stand out and become the most newsworthy. Sasadango used his PowerPoint presentation to tell everyone about how much social media coverage his recent tag match with Hirata, Takagi and Dieno got because so many shocking incidents took place during it. So he begged the audience to retweet everything that happened here and even made a competition where one lucky fan will win a sirloin steak, shrimp and red snow crab that he all bought with his own money! There were many “shocking incidents” that happened during the match. First there was a Thumb War that was won by Sasadango. Then there was a new finishing move that Hirata created called the Ryogoku Bomber except he couldn’t do it right because of a lack of practice. Sasadango also decided to give away Edameme he brought from Niigata because he wants everyone to know how delicious it is. After that, Hirata tried to turn heel and adopt Masahiro Chono’s theme song as his own. However he didn’t have the heart to attack Sasadango with a barbed wire bat along with some unknown masked lackeys so he went back to being a babyface. Sasadango then suggested they both turn heel together and form an nWo style faction. He pulled off his mask to reveal he had already shaved his head and painted on a beard plus forehead scars to look like Keiji Muto! He went to do the Shining Wizard but Hirata dodged it and pinned Sasadango with a School Boy. Backstage Hirata said he wants to continue doing things in pro wrestling that are unprecedented. Sasadango was angry over Hirata “betraying” him but admitted it felt so good to have a packed Sumo Hall chanting Muto’s name at him. He also credited Minoru Suzuki for giving him the haircut before the match.
During the same week where Hulk Hogan made a show of himself in America’s political landscape, his presence was also felt on a smaller scale in Japan thanks to Shinichiro Kawamatsu. The Japanese politician had the Axe Bomber passed down to him by Hogan earlier this year and today he used the move to win his match. Toru Owashi claimed this was the power of the impromptu tag team of himself, Kawamatsu and Hisamaru Tajima. It may not look like it but there is actually a deep bound between the three of them according to Owashi. He was Tajima’s opponent for Tajima’s debut match back in Toryumon. He has also spent a lot of his life living in Sumida Ward which is also the district Kawamatsu is elected in. The point of the match though is that they along with Makoto Oishi, Soma Takao & Munenori Sawa are all connected to Sanshiro Takagi.
The show kicked off with most of the D GENERATIONS class pitted against each other in a 6-Man Tag Match. It came down to Yuni almost beating Keigo Nakamura with a Moonsault. Nakamura recovered to hit Yuni with a German Suplex, John Woo Dropkick and then the Running Diving Headbutt to win the match for his team. Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi both felt that they did their best to make the show start off on the right foot. Nakamura was also happy to win a match by himself in Sumo Hall for the first time. Yuya Koroku feels the need to start aiming higher since it is almost six months since he returned from injury. Ilusion thinks they should all be showing more energy because they are the future of DDT. Yuni said he wants to main event Sumo Hall one day so he will work hard to achieve that.
DDT returns to Sumo Hall on 28th December for “ULTIMATE PARTY 2024”. In previous years DDT’s last supershow on the calendar would take place in November. However the company wants to take a shot at holding a big arena show at the end of the year.
It was announced that Kaisei Takechi will be returning to DDT for his second pro wrestling match on 29th September. The star from THE RAMPAGE made his debut to much fanfare back in February. He sent a video message explaining his decision to compete in another match is because he believes he has the ability to do more in the ring the second time round. He would also like to continue participating more in wrestling after this match takes place.
DDT “FIGHTING BEER GARDEN 2024 IN UENO”, 05/07/2024 Tokyo Ueno Park Outdoor Stage
1. Kazuki Hirata & Kazuma Sumi Vs Shinichiro Kawamatsu & Ilusion
2. Jun Akiyama, Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi Vs HARASHIMA, Keigo Nakamura & Yuki Ishida
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku Vs Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Yukio Naya
4. No DQ I Quit Match: Antonio Honda Vs Invisible Leonardo DiCaprio
5. Special Tag Match ~ Unagi Warriors Vs Brahman Brothers!: Sanshiro Unagi & Sayaka Unagi Vs Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
6. The 37KAMIINA Vs DAMNATION T.A?: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs MAO, Daisuke Sasaki & KANON (w/ MJ Paul)
Coming out of yesterday’s show MAO has made the dramatic decision to run away from The 37KAMIINA for the time being. He feels it would be best for him to fight against the group so both he and Yuki Ueno will be at their most motivated heading into Sumo Hall. So for most of July MAO is hopping from unit to unit across DDT in 6-Man Tag Matches against his friends. Out of all the groups he could team up with, DDT is trying him out with DAMNATION T.A first. He is well aware they could stab him in the back but is willing to risk it so he can wrestle against Ueno more often.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2024 TOUR IN ODAWARA”, 07/07/2024 Kanagawa Odawara Arena Sub Arena
1. Chris Brookes & Takeshi Masada Vs Keigo Nakamura & Yuki Ishida
2. Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Soma Takao & Makoto Oishi
3. Odawara City Tourism PR Character Umemaru Pro Wrestling Debut Match: Umemaru, Akito & Yuni Vs Pokotan, Antonio Honda & Kazuma Sumi
4. The 37KAMIINA Vs. D.O.A?: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs MAO, Jun Akiyama & Danshoku Dieno
5. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Kazuki Hirata
6. Special Single Match: HARASHIMA Vs Yukio Naya
7. Sanshiro Takagi Indefinite Rest Road ~ Special 6-Man Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Vs Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku
Next MAO will try teaming with D.O.A. It’s a trio full of wildcards so maybe it is a better fit than it looks on paper.
DDT “ROAD TO PETER PAN 2024 TOUR IN SHINJUKU”, 10/07/2024 Shinjuku FACE
1. KANON 5th Anniversary Match ~ Special Single Match: TAKA Michinoku Vs KANON
2. Special Single Match: Yuki Iino Vs Go Shiozaki
3. The 37KAMIINA Vs SCHADENFREUDE International?: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs MAO, Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda
Then MAO gives SCHADENFREUDE International a shot. This should be the only other unit in DDT where he feels at home. There’s another show on the schedule this month so MAO might get a chance to team with BURNING or whatever’s currently left of Harimao.
Actually, maybe not with BURNING. Their focus is on preparing to defend the KO-D Tag Team Titles against TEAM NOAH. After a few clashes that happened in both DDT and NOAH recently, Yuki Iino has demanded a singles match against Go Shiozaki to prove who is better.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24”, 20/07/2024 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Wakana Uehara, Toga & Runa Okubo Vs HIMAWARI, Shino Suzuki & Haru Kazashiro
2. Chika Nanase Vs Kira Summer
3. Mei Suruga Vs Uta Takami
4. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Yuna Manase, Mahiro Kiryu & Kaya Toribami
5. Yuki Kamifuku Vs Nao Kakuta
6. Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh Vs Mizuki & Emi Sakura
7. Special Single Match: Aja Kong Vs Shoko Nakajima
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Suzume & Arisu Endo (c) Vs Yuki Arai & Moka Miyamoto
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Miu Watanabe (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
This is the complete lineup and match order for “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’24”. The show has Emi Sakura, Mei Suruga and Yuna Manase calling by for some standout matches on the undercard. Sakura is teaming with Mizuki after they were opponents at “GRAND PRINCESS ’24” back in March. Together they take on 121000000. Suruga meets Uta Takami for the first time. She might end up reacting to Takami the same way everyone else reacts to her.
DDT “WRESTLE PETER PAN 2024”, 21/07/2024 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. Keigo Nakamura, Yuki Ishida & Kazuma Sumi Vs Yuni, Yuya Koroku & Ilusion
2. 6-Man Tag Match Featuring People Connected To Sanshiro Takagi: Toru Owashi, Hisamaru Tajima & Shinichiro Kawamatsu Vs Makoto Oishi, Soma Takao & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa
3. Special 6-Man Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki, Shuji Ishikawa & Hikaru Sato Vs Jun Akiyama, Yukio Naya & Tomomitsu Matsunaga
4. Special Single Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Kazuki Hirata
5. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles – Survival 4 Way 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Akito & Yasu Urano (c) Vs Daisuke Sasaki, KANON & MJ Paul Vs Aja Kong, Shunma Katsumata & To-y Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Antonio Honda & Takeshi Masada
6. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Endo & Yuki Iino (c) Vs Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Kotoge
7. Special Single Match: KONOSUKE TAKESHITA Vs Masato Tanaka
8. Sanshiro Takagi Indefinite Rest Road FINAL ~ Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi Vs Super Sasadango Machine
9. Dramatic Dream Match: El Desperado Vs Chris Brookes
10. KO-D Openweight Title – Goodcom Assets Presents: Yuki Ueno (c) Vs MAO
Ten matches takes up this year’s “WRESTLE PETER PAN”. In what will be Sanshiro Takagi’s final match for the time being, he faces his longtime rival Danshoku Dieno in the dreaded Weapon Rumble where mystery weapons are added every couple of minutes. The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles are now being defended in a Survival 4 Way Match. Smile Squash has to defend the belts against DAMNATION T.A, SCHADENFREUDE International and The 37KAMIINA with Aja Kong as their long awaited third member. We even get friends of Takagi taking part in their own match. It includes Munenori Sawa and I think the first ever DDT appearance of Hisamaru Tajima.
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FOUR: WHEN GOOD DOGS DO BAD THINGS”, 18/04/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa 60 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Special Tag Team Match: Baliyan Akki & Sayaka Vs MAO & Chie Koishikawa
2. Special Single Match: Masashi Takeda Vs Death Worm
3. Special Tag Team Match: Rina Yamashita & Drew Parker Vs Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi
BAKA GAIJIN + FRIENDS “VOL. FOUR: WHEN GOOD DOGS DO BAD THINGS”, 18/04/2023 Tokyo ARENA Shimokitazawa 60 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Special Tag Team Match: Baliyan Akki & Sayaka defeated MAO & Chie Koishikawa when Akki pinned Koishikawa with the Labyrinth (14:22).
2. Special Single Match: Masashi Takeda defeated Death Worm with a Big Scissors Choke (9:26).
3. Special Tag Team Match: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Rina Yamashita & Drew Parker when Takanashi pinned Parker after the HOD (24:31).
Another month, another Baka Gaijin + Friends show that almost destroyed the venue. Drew Parker teamed up with Rina Yamashita to take on CDK in a main event that was not a death match but featured smashed plastic boxes and even firecrackers! Masahiro Takanashi set off the firecracker on top of a plastic box only to see Chris Brookes gets smashed through it instead of Parker. However Takanashi used his knees to block Parker’s Swanton Bomb from a stool. CDK then brought their opponents together and tied them up in The Hair Of The Dog to score the pinfall on Parker. After the match Parker asked Yamashita for a singles match some day down the line.
Death Worm’s opponent this month was Masashi Takeda. The death match wrestler attacked Worm with chairs and then took out his big pair of scissors. Right when he was about to use them, Takayuki Ueki interrupted the match telling Takeda he shouldn’t be fighting with Death Worm. Instead Ueki tried summoning the spirit of Death Worm to speak on its behalf. It took a few tries but Ueki got the message through, despite somehow sounding like Antonio Honda. Takeda and Worm hugged it out until Worm turned the hug into a Backslide Pin for a nearfall. Worm and Ueki teamed up to stab Takeda in the head with skewers. But Takeda rolled out of the way of Worm’s Body Press, attacked Ueki and pressed the scissors into Worm’s mouth until Worm gave up.
The opening match featured Chie Koishikawa, MAO dressed as Chie Koishikawa, Baliyan Akki dressed as Chie Koishikawa and Sayaka dressed as Chie Koishikawa.
The non-wrestling part of the show was a talent contest between Munenori Sawa and Antonio Honda. Sawa’s talent was drawing fruit while Honda sang a song. The fans couldn’t decide on a winner so the contest ended in a draw.
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium 804 Fans
1. Four Beasts Of Fate Gathered In Sekigahara ~Special Tag Match~: Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa defeated Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie when Ishii pinned Kodaka with the Isamiashi Zan (13:42).
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Takaiwa Army: Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa & 5th Black Tiger when Maeguchi pinned Tiger with the Tyson Splash (14:00).
3. Ganpro Specialty 6-Man Tag Match Match: Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE defeated Onryo, YuuRI & Lingerie Muto when HARUKAZE pinned YuuRI with the Flame Spear (9:13).
4. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Eruption: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga defeated Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani when Watase pinned Sakaguchi with an Elbow Butt (15:22).
5. Special Single Match: Sayaka Unagi defeated Yuna Manase with the Jomon Toppa (12:59).
6. Special Single Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Shuichiro Katsumura with the Gotch-Style Piledriver (21:45).
7. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Shota & Soma Takao defeated Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi when Shota pinned Brookes with the Gannosuke Clutch (23:09).
8. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) defeated Ken Ohka with the Lariat (19:25). *V1 for Yumehito Imanari.
Today Ganbare☆Pro reached Ota Ward Gymnasium to hold the biggest event in its nine year history. The two men most important to the promotion faced off in the main event. On the one side is Ganpro’s founder Ken Ohka, the man who created the company in the hopes of making his own major sports league. His opponent is the first person to stand by him during Ganpro’s creation. Yumehito Imanari was just a member of DDT’s video team who wrestled on a part time basis. Today he was headlining Ota Ward Gym as the defending Spirit Of Ganbare Champion. The two fought each other knowing it was the most important match of their lives. Ohka relied on the Flame Spear but it was Imanari’s use of the Lariat that ended the match with his arm raised in the air and a successful first title defence.
After the match Imanari said when he became a pro wrestler he embarrassed himself a lot. But it is that shame that led him to the treasure he has now. He said Ganpro is necessary in the wrestling world because there is nowhere else where you can put your life on the line in such a muddy atmosphere. If you ever have a hard time, look at Ganpro! Ohka didn’t cry when he lost. He laughed instead. He doesn’t understand why because it should be the opposite. At 45 years of age he believes he still has room to grow. He wants to work hard with the younger wrestlers and continue his work to make pro wrestling into a major sport. The attendance of 804 fans today is considered a success and is going to inspire Ganpro when they decide on their next big goal.
The other important matches on the show were built around matches where Ganpro wrestlers fought outsiders. The tag team battle between ROMANCE DAWN and CDK was Ganpro’s top tag team taking on the notorious duo found in DDT and ChocoPro. CDK did some cheating throughout the match. Early on Chris Brookes taped Soma Takao to a dolly and rolled him away from ringside, leaving Shota fighting in a 2 on 1 disadvantage. Takao was able to get freed and return to the ring. Brookes also grabbed HARUKAZE and Gorilla Pressed her out of the ring onto everyone below. Later Masahiro Takanashi pulled the referee out of the ring to break up Shota’s Frog Splash on Brookes. Shota was then hit over the head with the Asia Dream Tag Team Title belt but he kicked out of the pin. ROMANCE DAWN was able to get the win out of nowhere when Shota countered the Praying Mantis Bomb into the Gannosuke Clutch, pinning Brookes for the victory. Shota said he is ready to go for a rematch while Takao was happy to win in his hometown with his friend. Brookes is making demands for a singles match. He wants to go one on one. But not against Shota, he is demanding a match against HARUKAZE! Takanashi backs up the idea and suggested they do a tag match if HARUKAZE has a tag partner.
Fans were allowed to cheer which meant everyone got to shout “Kaze Ni Nare!” during Minoru Suzuki’s entrance. But when it was time for his match to begin, the cheers and chants were for Ganpro’s own Shuichiro Katsumura. The match was filled with strikes and submission holds with a little bit of chair usage from Suzuki. He broke out of the Ninja Choke and dropped Katsumura with the Gotch-Style Piledriver to win the match. In a rare act of sportsmanship, Suzuki shook Katsumura’s hand and left to ring to give his opponent the spotlight. He even later admitted to enjoying the match! Katsumura said getting the match he always wanted is no big deal and he will continue to wrestle for Ganpro.
Emotions ran high for Yuna Manase’s match against Sayaka Unagi. The two have history together that recently mutated into Unagi holding a grudge. Their only previous singles match happened early in Unagi’s career and the loss to Manase has haunted her ever since. She showed erratic behavior at a press conference for the match by biting Manase’s chest. She did the same here when the match began. The match continued to heat up with Manase throwing Lariats. But Unagi broke through her defences and got the three count after hitting the Jomon Toppa. After the match Unagi confessed that she does not hate Ganpro and she does not believe Manase is on her last run. She learned about the fun and freedom of pro wrestling from Manase so she’s not going to let her quit so easily. They also now have a 1-1 record against each other. Unagi believes she will one day become the top wrestler in Stardom and the world of pro wrestling. When she does she will look for Manase so they can have the rubber match.
Ganpro’s previous experiences with Eruption have ended with the DDT unit bullying them. Yukio Sakaguchi in particular has been a pain in the back for Mizuki Watase to deal with. It ended up causing Watase to shave his own head after he dropped the fall to Sakaguchi in a Ganpro Vs Eruption match at “CYBERFIGHT FESTIVAL 2022”. Today was Watase’s shot at redemption when he teamed with Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga against the same trio of Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani. He finally got his day in the sun when he pinned Sakaguchi with an Elbow Butt to the face. Once Sakaguchi got over the shock of defeat, he gave Watase a congratulatory pat to the body and left him to celebrate with his team.
The advertised 3 Vs 2 Handicap Match turned into a 6-Man Tag Match on short notice. Munenori Sawa wasn’t around so in his place was Lingerie Muto as an active participant in the match! Ganbare Tamagawa thought he was going to get a hero’s welcome for his first Ganpro appearance in years. He even created a new move for the occassion called the Ganbare☆Pro Elbow. Instead he got booed. YuuRI on the other hand got loads of streamers thrown at her, leaving her in tears of joy because she debuted during the pandemic and never experienced an audience response like this. The ring was also filled with ecto dust whenever Onryo did something with Nobuhiro Shimatani. In the end, HARUKAZE was the one to win the match when she pinned YuuRI with the Flame Spear.
After nine months wrestling for Ganpro, Tyson Maeguchi finally gets his first direct win! The opportunity came when Tatsuhito Takaiwa accidentally hit 5th Black Tiger with a Lariat. Kouki Iwasaki then gave Tiger a Vertical Drop Brainbuster and left him for Maeguchi to finish off. Maeguchi did so with a Diving Body Press taught to him by Kota Ibushi. He now believes this is the end of Taison Maeguchi: the weak pro wrestler. From this day forth he is Taison Maeguchi: the strong pro wrestler! Next up he would like to aim for a championship. Takaiwa said this is not the end of him or his Takaiwa Army because he is still looking to understand the Ganbare Spirit.
The show opened with a barnburner between four wrestlers linked together through a time before Ganpro even existed. Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie, Isami Kodaka and Shuji Ishikawa smashed each other to pieces until somebody reached their breaking point. That came when Kodaka hit Ishii with the Isamiashi Zan. Even when the match was over tempers were flaring. Kodaka said he is the top wrestler of BASARA and Ishikawa is the top wrestler of All Japan. He thinks Ishii and Ganpro haven’t grown at all in the decade that passed since Union Pro closed down. Ishikawa was in a happier mood and congratulated Kodaka on his 20th anniversary in wrestling. He explained he can’t be at Kodaka’s 20th Anniversary show because he has a booking with AJPW on the same day.
The new Ganbare☆Joshi signing is Yoshiko Hasegawa! The former Actwres girl’Z wrestler left the business at the end of last year after dealing with a neck injury. However after a year and seven months since her last match, she will re-debut for Ganpro on 13th August. She calls it her re-debut because she is starting again from scratch. Part of the reason is because Ganpro does mixed gender matches and she wants to take part in them to get stronger. She is also currently still getting treatment on her neck but assures everyone she will be ready to wrestle again on 13th August.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~KOBE PERFORMANCE~”, 25/06/2022 Kobe Art Center
1. Hikari Noa Vs Mahiro Kiryu
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Haruna Neko Vs Kaya Toribami
3. Yuka Sakazaki, Raku & Arisu Endo Vs Yuki Aino, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Arai
4. Maki Itoh Vs Pom Harajuku
5. Miyu Yamashita & Moka Miyamoto Vs Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
6. Shoko Nakajima & Suzume Vs Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
Tokyo Joshi Pro visits Kobe Art Center for the second time this year.
Yuki Aino, Yuki Kamifuku & Yuki Arai have all noticed what they have in common. Their team is called Yukichans!
DDT “DRAMATIC DREAM TOUR 2022 IN YOKOHAMA”, 25/06/2022 Yokohama Radiant Hall
1. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya Vs HARASHIMA & Hideki Okatani
2. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Akito “Cochin” Nishigaki Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Soma Takao
3. DAMNATION T.A Vs The Iyasareru!: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda
4. Naomi Yoshimura Vs Yuya Koroku
5. BURNING Vs Eruption!: Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba (w/ Naomi Susan) (c) Vs Yuki Ueno, MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toi Kojima & Shinya Aoki
The identity of Chris Brookes’ tag partner on 3rd July will be revealed during tomorrow’s show. The clues so far are it is a foreign wrestler but, to my surprise, it is not somebody Brookes is already an acquaintance with. So that means it is not Drew Parker or a Kid Lykos or like 90% of the British wrestling scene for that matter. Brookes himself is trying to find out before the show takes place and is badgering Sanshiro Takagi online to at least send him a LINE message about it. Takagi has also said it is not Joey Janela making an early appearance, meaning it is a sign there are more foreign wrestlers coming to DDT this year.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TJPW CITY CIRCUIT ~FUKUOKA PERFORMANCE~”, 26/06/2022 Fukuoka Nishitetsu Hall
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Kaya Toribami
2. 3 Way Match: Rika Tatsumi Vs Yuki Kamifuku Vs Raku
3. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Miu Watanabe, Pom Harajuku & Yuki Arai
4. Hyper Misao Vs Arisu Endo
5. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Suzume & Haruna Neko
6. Shoko Nakajima & Yuki Aino Vs Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh
On Sunday TJPW returns to Hakata for the first time in three years.
DDT “KING OF DDT 2022 FINAL!!”, 03/07/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Dark Match: Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani Vs Toru Owashi, Soma Takao & Toi Kojima
0. Dark Match: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON Vs Yuji Hino & Yuki Ishida
1. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: Yuki Ueno Vs Naomi Yoshimura
2. King Of DDT 2022 – Semi Final: Kazusada Higuchi Vs Jun Akiyama
3. Yuki “Sexy” Iino, Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Akito “Cochin” Nishigaki Vs Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya
4. Masahiro Takanashi & HARASHIMA Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
5. Special Tag Match: MAO & Shunma Katsumata Vs Chris Brookes & X
6. KO-D Openweight Title – King Of DDT 2022 – Final: X Vs X
The four remaining wrestlers in King Of DDT gave their thoughts going into the final rounds. Yuki Ueno wants to use his skills to spread DDT across the world and this tournament is his chance to do that. Naomi Yoshimura credits his size advantage for getting through the first two rounds. He is also letting those results speak for themselves rather than fighting on behalf of the people he has defeated like the others. Kazusada Higuchi wants to win the vacant KO-D Openweight Title and become DDT’s symbol of strength while he waits for Tetsuya Endo to return. Jun Akiyama just said now is the time for DDT to show their strength and he will lead the charge.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22”, 09/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Moka Miyamoto Vs Juria Nagano
2. Aja Kong, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku Vs Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
3. Miu Watanabe Vs Willow Nightingale
4. Hikaru Shida & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu
5. International Princess Title: Maki Itoh (c) Vs Alex Windsor
6. Riho & Arisu Endo Vs Mei Suruga & Suzume
7. Special Single Match: Thunder Rosa Vs Miyu Yamashita
8. Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Saki Akai & Yuki Arai
9. Princess Of Princess Title: Shoko Nakajima (c) Vs Rika Tatsumi
Rika Tatsumi is excited for her main event match because she gets to fight on the stage of her dreams. She wants to make Shoko Nakajima feel the same way and have a crazy match for the Princess Of Princess Title. Tatsumi is hoping to discover a side of herself she has never seen before. Nakajima senses TJPW is getting momentum and she wants to stay at the forefront of it. She can tell Tatsumi wants to be in the same position so she is really looking forward to the match.
A fresh new challenge has appeared for The Magical Sugar Rabbits, even if there is something vaguely familiar with it. I don’t know, I can’t help but feel like I’ve seen this scenario develop three times already… Yuka Sakazaki thinks the Princess Tag Team Titles are characterized by a wide variety of matches and Mizuki wants to make them even more valuable. Reiwa AA Cannon are fitting opponents for those reasons because it is two high profile women teaming together. Yuki Arai feels blessed to be surrounded by wonderful senpais and wants to make the most out of her opportunities. Winning the Tag Titles is not her ultimate goal in wrestling but is part of the process. Saki Akai thinks she needs to get to know Arai better because this will only be their third time teaming together. Their opponents have been strongly bonded together by friendship for years!
GANBARE☆PRO “WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium
1. Ganpro Specialty 3 Vs 2 Handicap Match: Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE Vs Onryo & YuuRI (w/ Ippanjin Munenori Sawa)
2. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Takiawa Army: Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi Vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa & 5th Black Tiger
3. Ganbare☆Pro Wrestling Vs Eruption: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga Vs Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani
4. Four Beasts Of Fate Gathered In Sekigahara ~Special Tag Match~: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie Vs Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa
5. Special Single Match: Yuna Manase Vs Sayaka Unagi
6. Special Tag Match ~ CDK Vs ROMANCE DAWN: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi Vs Shota & Soma Takao
7. Special Single Match: Shuichiro Katsumura Vs Minoru Suzuki
8. Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Title: Yumehito Imanari (c) Vs Ken Ohka
An unusual opening match has been added to the card. On paper it was 3 Vs 2 with Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE on one side against Onryo & YuuRI. However Onryo & YuuRI will be joined by a third person. Munenori Sawa will be in their corner. He’s been officially retired from pro wrestling for years now but he’ll find some excuse to get physically involved in the match without breaking his commitment to stay retired.
BASARA “BASARA 196 ~ITCHI DANKETSU~”, 10/07/2022 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Isami Kodaka 20th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Isami Kodaka & Takumi Tsukamoto Vs Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka
Just a little over a week before Isami Kodaka holds his 20th Anniversary show, he is having a special tag match with Ikuto Hidaka involved.
DDT “SUMMER VACATION 2022 TOUR IN NAGOYA”, 16/07/2022 Aichi Nippon Gaishi Sports Plaza 3rd Stadium
1. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON (c) Vs Masahiro Takanashi, Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda
Now that DAMNATION T.A’s run as KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles has gone past their little detour, it’s time for their first title defence. A merger of CDK & The Iyasareru makes up the team of challengers.
GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “CLOCKWORK GAKE NO FUCHI 2022 ~GAKE NO FUCHI VS PROMINENCE~”, 04/01/2022 Shinjuku FACE 147 Fans
1. Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes defeated Suzu Suzuki with the Praying Mantis Bomb onto the Coffin (22:25).
2. Special Single Match ~ Gake no Fuchi Rules: Risa Sera (105 pts) defeated Miyako Matsumoto (0 pts) by Points Victory (14:28).
3. Special Hardcore Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & SenoSister Mao Inoue Vs Mochi Miyagi & Akane Miura ended in a No Contest when Shunma Katsumata interfered (11:45).
4. Gake no Fuchi Vs Prominence Full Scale Battle! No DQ Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Risa Sera, Mochi Miyagi, Akane Fujita & Suzu Suzuki (w/ Hiragi Kurumi) defeated Miyako Matsumoto, Chris Brookes, Shunma Katsumata & SenoSister Mao Inoue (w/ SenoSister Mao & Ippanjin Munenori Sawa) when Sera pinned Matsumoto with the Diving Double Knee Drop onto the Ladder (15:26).
Today was the first event for Prominence since the freelance group’s inception. They were invited by Gake no Fuchi Joshi for a full-scale inter-promotional battle on one of the most important dates of the Japanese wrestling calandar. Four matches pitting different members of the two groups against each other filled out the card.
Up first was Chris Brookes against Suzu Suzuki in a Hardcore Match. The match featured chairs, ladders, thumbtacks, a board full of forks sticking out and most striking of all, a coffin! Brookes won in the end by putting Suzuki through the coffin with the Praying Mantis Bomb. Suzuki still gave him the middle finger afterwards.
Next up was former colleagues Miyako Matsumoto and Risa Sera taking each other on under Gake no Fuchi Rules. The match would get interrupted with mini-games where points are scored. The ringside seconds Munenori Sawa and Hiragi Kurumi would get dragged into the fun with some of the games on offer, like a sumo bout for example. The match was finally called to an end after Sera put Matsumoto in a Giant Swing for 22 rotations. She was given 100 points for it making the final score Risa Sera – 105, Miyako Matsumoto – 0.
Match #3 was turned into a Hardcore Tag Match after strong requests from almost everyone involved. MAO did his SenoSister impersonation gimmick alongside the real SenoSister Mao. His weapon attacks kept hitting Sanshiro Takagi by mistake, causing Takagi to betray Gake no Fuchi and join Prominence’s side! Akane Fujita poured out a box of block toys in the ring and Mochi Miyagi gave MAO a Lou Thesz Press onto them. Takagi was ready to finish him off with the Himawari Bomb when suddenly Shunma Katsumata ran out and attacked the Prominence team! He had previously been accused by Prominence of stealing their ideas for death match weapons so today he came to confront them over it. The Hardcore match was called off and Matsumoto added Katsumata to her team for the main event.
The big finale was an all out battle between Gake no Fuchi Joshi and Prominence. Katsumata and Fujita had a swordfight with swords made out of toy blocks. Matsumoto jumped out of the ring to put Sera through a table at ringside. SenoSister Mao got involved by diving off the top rope onto everyone below. But in the end Prominence took over and Risa hit a Diving Double Knee Drop onto Matsumoto with a ladder to win the match.
The show ultimately ended with Prominence as the winners. Takagi called today a really great show and offered Prominence to distribute their future events on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. Mao encouraged a beaten Matsumoto to make Gake no Fuchi Joshi a rival promotion to Prominence from now on. Matsumoto then announced her new year’s resolution is to get Gake no Fuchi Joshi to Korakuen Hall and ultimately Sumo Hall!
“NEW YEAR’S WRESTLING 2021 ~TOSHIWASURE! SHUFFLE 6-MAN TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2021 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1A: Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka Vs Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & X
2. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1B: Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa Vs HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo
3. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1C: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Sekifuda & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu)
4. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Round 1D: MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie Vs Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Jun Kasai
5. MUSASHI, Daisuke Kanehira, Takafumi & Tatsuya Hanami Vs Takuho Kato, Kosuke Sato, Hideki Okatani & Yuki Ishida
6. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1A Vs Winners Of Match 1B
7. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Winners Of Match 1C Vs Winners Of Match 1D
8. 3 Way Tag Match: Abdullah Kobayashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Jaki Numazawa & Antonio Honda Vs Danshoku Dieno & Kankuro Hoshino
9. Toshiwasure! Shuffle 6-Man Tag Tournament – Final: X, X & X Vs X, X & X
Team Saiyuki – Akito, Daisuke Sekimoto & Jun Kasai Ikemen’s – Soma Takao, Yuya Aoki & Shuji Ishikawa I Dream Of Twins, Lizards And Naomi – Naomi Yoshimura, Kota Sekifuda & Brahman Kei (w/ Brahman Shu) Three Brothers Kawaii – Chris Brookes, Takuya Nomura & X I’ll Do It!! – Kazusada Higuchi, Ryuji Ito & Shiro Koshinaka Deadlifters – Konosuke Takeshita, Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen Ugo Association – MAO, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Shigehiro Irie LEFTOVERS – HARASHIMA, Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo
The tradition of wrestling on New Year’s Eve is always a busy one. DDT and Big Japan along with a gang of wrestlers sprinkled throughout the indies close out 2021 over in Korakuen Hall.
BASARA “NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOW”, 31/12/2021 Tokyo Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR
1. Lil Kraken Vs Yasu Urano
2. Tsutomu Oosugi, Banana Senga & Daiki Shimomura Vs FUMA, Yusuke Kubo & Fuminori Abe
3. Jacket Match: Ryota Nakatsu Vs Daichi Kazato
4. Isami Kodaka, Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & Takato Nakano Vs Takumi Tsukamoto, SAGAT & Masato Kamino
5. Battle Royal: X Vs X
Meanwhile BASARA have their own little end of year show going on at Oji BASEMENT MONSTAR.
DDT “DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY OPENING SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 3000 YEN BOX OFFICE!!”, 03/01/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
2. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Soma Takao, Gota Ihashi & Yuki Ishida
3. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Toui Kojima
4. Special Mixed Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & Saki Akai Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Maya Yukihi
5. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Pokotan
6. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuki Ueno
7. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Hideki Okatani
8. HARASHIMA & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Naomi Yoshimura
9. DDT 25th Anniversary Opening Memorial Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Shinya Aoki
The match order is official. Konosuke Takeshita Vs Shinya Aoki is the headliner, a few units get mixed together for tag matches, Chris Brookes gets to deal with the returning Pokotan, previous tag partners Saki Akai and Maya Yukihi are now against each other and the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles have to be defended by four people.
GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “CLOCKWORK GAKE NO FUCHI 2022 ~GAKE NO FUCHI VS PROMINENCE~”, 04/01/2021 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes Vs Suzu Suzuki
2. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & SenoSister Mao Inoue Vs Mochi Miyagi & Akane Fujita
3. Special Single Match ~ Gake no Fuchi Rules: Miyako Matsumoto Vs Risa Sera
4. Gake no Fuchi Vs Prominence Full Scale Battle! No DQ 8-Man Tag Match: Miyako Matsumoto, Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes & (w/ Ippanjin Munenori Sawa) Vs Risa Sera, Mochi Miyagi, Akane Fujita & Suzu Suzuki (w/ Hiragi Kurumi)
This is the first challenge for Prominence since their inception. Risa Sera is close with Miyako Matsumoto and Miyamoto was even considered to be recruited for Prominence during its inception. However Matsumoto turned down the invitation out of loyalty to Gake no Fuchi, CyberFight and Sanshiro Takagi. It must be noted that Matsumoto is NOT a CyberFight employee.
When Suzu Suzuki originally debuted, people kept saying she reminded them of Matsumoto. She felt insulted by that and after holding in her feelings for so long, she will take her anger about it out on Chris Brookes. She isn’t sure how to deal with the height difference but thinks if she can beat a big man with big moves then she cane become a big woman in the ring.
Mochi Miyagi thought she would be taking on the Mao from SenoSister and was looking forward to it. Then she found out it is actually the wrestler MAO and she now wants a explanation. On the bright side she is looking forward to fighting Takagi and making him scream squeal. She isn’t the only person targeting Takagi.
Akane Fujita has accused Shunma Katsumata of stealing all of her ideas for death match weapons. She has proof of using block toys and acupuncture mats as weapons in her own matches before Katsumata used them in DDT. She isn’t facing Katsumata on this show so she will target Takagi instead because he is the DDT president.
Last but not least, Hiragi Kurumi admits she doesn’t know what she is going to do at the show. She isn’t able to wrestle at the moment so she is only advertised to accompany the rest of Prominence for the main event. She knows Munenori Sawa is doing the same so she guesses she will have to deal with him one way or another.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2022 WINTER ~KOBE PERFORMANCE~”, 08/01/2022 Kobe Art Center
1. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1A: Pom Harajuku & Mahiro Kiryu Vs Moka Miyamoto & Yuki Arai
2. Kobe Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Shoko Nakajima Vs Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Yuki Kamifuku
Will Mizuki enter her hometown of Kobe as the Princess Of Princess Champion?
Kaya Toribami is expected to have her return match on this show. She has spent the last few months in Budapest, Hungary away from wrestling.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI 2022 WINTER ~OKAYAMA PERFORMANCE~”, 09/01/2022 Okayama Convention Center
1. “Futari wa Princess” Max Heart Tournament – Round 1B: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta Vs Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami
2. Okayama Special 6-Woman Tag Match: Nodoka Tenma, Yuki Aino & Shoko Nakajima Vs Miyu Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe
The next day will Tokyo Joshi Pro will be in Okayama for The Bakuretsu Sisters homecoming show.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE FINAL ROUND OF 2021 ~I HOPE THERE ARE LOTS OF HAPPY AND FUN THINGS TO DO NEXT YEAR~”, 27/12/2021 Tokyo Itabashi Green Hall
1. Maki Itoh Vs Arisu Endo
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Nodoka Tenma Vs Mahiro Kiryu
3. Shoko Nakajima & Haruna Neko Vs Marika Kobashi & Suzume
4. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Hikari Noa Vs Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku
5. Miyu Yamashita, Yuki Kamifuku & Nao Kakuta Vs Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto
The show has already happened as I write this so I’ll be getting to the results ASAP. Just wanted to include the lineup as part of catching up for the sake of it.
DDT “DDT 25TH ANNIVERSARY OPENING SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 3000 YEN BOX OFFICE!!”, 03/01/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno, Yuki “Sexy” Iino & Yumehito “Fantastic” Imanari Vs Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Toui Kojima
2. Yusuke Okada Vs Yuya Koroku
3. Kazusada Higuchi Vs Hideki Okatani
4. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yukio Sakaguchi & Yuki Ueno
5. HARASHIMA & MAO Vs Tetsuya Endo & Naomi Yoshimura
6. KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles: Toru Owashi, Antonio Honda, Kazuki Hirata & Yoshihiko (c) Vs Sanshiro Takagi, Akito, Soma Takao, Gota Ihashi & Yuki Ishida
7. Special Mixed Tag Match: Shunma Katsumata & Saki Akai Vs Masahiro Takanashi & Maya Yukihi
8. Special Single Match: Chris Brookes Vs Pokotan
9. DDT 25th Anniversary Opening Memorial Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Shinya Aoki
Every match on this show will have a 15 minute time limit. Jun Akiyama will also be on commentary instead of wrestling.
One day after defeating Yuji Okabayashi on DDT’s final show of the year, Konosuke Takeshita is looking for new challenges in 2022. When Takeshita returned home after yesterday’s show, he already saw pictures on social media of Okabayashi already in the gym doing leg exercises. That inspired him to start training again too. Nobody came out after the match to challenge Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Title which is why he is going out there to seek opponents. First up is Shinya Aoki for a special singles match celebrating DDT’s 25th Anniversary. It’s been two and a half years since their last singles match together and a lot has changed for both of them since then.
Newly freelanced Maya Yukihi will be appearing in DDT for several dates in January. She is also booked for the 7th January and 22nd January events.
Hideki Okatani has unexpectedly volunteered to join Eruption! He approached Kazusada Higuchi after yesterday’s show with the request. He wants to join because there are wrestlers from his class and below that are joining units while he had nothing after Junretsu disbanded. Both Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai approve of the idea but Higuchi wants to find out if Okatani is ready to join them. They will have a singles match so Higuchi can judge him firsthand.
A decision was made by DDT to turn the KO-D 8-Man Tag Team Titles back into the KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Titles. DDT made the decision in reaction to the lifting of restrictions allowing bigger crowds to gather in one place. However the current champions are not allowed to add a 5th member and must defend the titles in a 4 Vs 5 Handicap Match. The DDT Variety Team are the current champions but have not yet been told about the change in rules. If there is any chance the champions have of retaining the belts it is because Sanshiro Takagi has for some reason put together a team of challengers that do not want to work with each other.
GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “CLOCKWORK GAKE NO FUCHI 2022 ~GAKE NO FUCHI VS PROMINENCE~”, 04/01/2021 Shinjuku FACE
1. Hardcore Match: Chris Brookes Vs Suzu Suzuki
2. Special Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & SenoSister Mao Inoue Vs Mochi Miyagi & Akane Miura
3. Special Single Match ~ Gake no Fuchi Rules: Miyako Matsumoto Vs Risa Sera
4. Gake no Fuchi Vs Prominence Full Scale Battle! No DQ 8-Man Tag Match: Miyako Matsumoto, Sanshiro Takagi, Chris Brookes & (w/ Ippanjin Munenori Sawa) Vs Risa Sera, Mochi Miyagi, Akane Fujita & Suzu Suzuki (w/ Hiragi Kurumi)
The full Gake no Fuchi Joshi Vs Prominence card has been revealed. Old friends and allies are coming to Miyako Matsumoto’s aid against the brand new deathmatch group. SenoSister Mao Inoue is MAO pretending to be Mao from SenoSister. Matsumoto will be providing her unpredictable match rules against Risa Sera and when all is said and done there will be one last match pitting both sides at their fullest against each other.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2022 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 1”, 09/01/2022 Osaka 176BOX
1. Akito Vs Yuki Ishida
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Yuji Hino & Yuya Koroku
3. 3 Way Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata Vs Antonio Honda & MAO
4. Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima Vs Chris Brookes, Kazusada Higuchi & Hideki Okatani
5. Special 6-Man Tag Match: HARASHIMA, Naomi Yoshimura & Yukio Naya Vs Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Bodyguard
6. Osaka Specialty Special Single Match: Konosuke Takeshita Vs Yusuke Okada
Two Osaka wrestlers have their first singles match against each other when Takeshita faces Yusuke Okada.
BURNING gets a little bit of assistance from Bodyguard.
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2022 TOUR IN OSAKA DAY 2”, 10/01/2022 Osaka 176BOX
1. Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima Vs Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku
2. Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida
3. HARASHIMA & Toru Owashi Vs Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani
4. Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Naya
5. Special Tag Match: Danshoku “Dandy” Dieno & Yuki “Sexy” Iino Vs Bodyguard & Kazuki Hirata
6. Osaka Specialty Special 6-Man Tag Match: Konosuke Takeshita, Yuki Ueno & MAO Vs Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & Akito
The next day Bodyguard gets to deal with Pheromones for the first time. Good luck with that, buddy!
DDT “SWEET DREAMS! 2022 ~ULTIMATE TAG LEAGUE 2022 OPENING ROUND~”, 30/01/2022 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. DDT Universal Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Minoru Fujita
The original plan was for Daisuke Sasaki Vs Minoru Fujita to happen in October. Fujita fell ill with covid and spent weeks in the ICU in no condition to wrestle so Sasaki defended the DDT Universal Title against Isami Kodaka instead. After Sasaki beat Masahiro Takanashi yesterday he demanded that Fujita be his next challenger no matter what condition he is in. Fujita accepted, knowing that he is nowhere near his physical best but still confident he can beat Sasaki. Just like Takanashi, he is fighting for the pride of ChocoPro!
GAKE NO FUCHI JOSHI PRO “GAKEPPUCHI INFINITE TRAIN 2021”, 05/02/2021 Saitama Wrestle Butokan 50 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Gake no Fuchi Joshi Vs Pocchari Joshi Full-Scale Competition – Gake no Fuchi Rules: Yumehito Imanari & Yuna Manase (3,003 pts) defeated Miyako Matsumoto & Chris Brookes (3 pts) when Manase pinned Matsumoto with the Suzuki Dynamic onto a chair (37:15).
The first Gake no Fuchi Joshi event of 2021 had big stakes attached to it. Miyako Matsumoto announced that the losing side in the only match of the show would be forced to disband their promotion. Ippanjin Munenori Sawa had promised the owner Sanshiro Takagi that Gake no Fuchi would continue for 1,000 years so he was here to support Matsumoto today.
Before the match took place, there was the matter of Gold Karen auditioning to join Gake no Fuchi as the promotion’s first trainee. She was nervous when she introduced herself but said her favourite wrestler is Himeka Arita from Stardom and then sang “Imitation Gold” by Momoe Yamaguchi. Afterwards, Matsumoto made her decision and rejected Karen’s audition because there was no heart in her performance. However every pro wrestler starts their career by losing so she’ll get another chance. After intermission Karen gave her audition another go and sang “Blue Coral Reef” by Seiko Matsuda. Matsumoto rejected her again and repeated her earlier reasoning word for word.
With that out of the way, it was time for Gake no Fuchi Joshi Vs Pocchari Joshi. The loser must disband stipulation was music to Chris Brookes’ ears because he would do anything not to team with Matsumoto again. He wanted to replace her with Toui Kojima who was perfoming tasks at ringside but Daisuke Kiso refused to allow it.
The two teams were told to each sing a song before the match began. Yumehito Imanari decided to sing Jushin Liger’s theme song for some reason. Next, Matsumoto sang her new song but didn’t notice Brookes laying down on his back behind her for Imanari to get an easy three count. Matsumoto wouldn’t accept the result and demanded a restart. Yuna Manase grabbed Brookes in a Wristlock and he instantly gave up for another quick finish. Matsumoto demanded another restart and told Brookes she would destroy his residence card if he doesn’t try to win. Brookes did what he was told and they attacked Pocchari Joshi to start the match properly.
Gake no Fuchi rules were in effect which means a bunch of minigames took place as the match progressed. It was also further explained that the winner of the match is whoever has the most points at the end, not from who pins who. Manase got a few points in a Ryogoku Style Sumo Match against both Matsumoto & Brookes. Matsumoto and Imanari then had a rap battle. Manase joined in and it somehow led to her and Matsumoto creating profiles for a dating app to see who would get more hits. Meanwhile Brookes beat Imanari in a game of Tetris that was being played on the big screen.
There was a comedy face-off which Imanari won using impersonations. A 4 Way Gake no Fuchi Boxing Challenge saw everyone don the gloves and punch each other out until Matsumoto accidentally punched Kiso in the face to get disqualified. One of the most regular games made a comeback when Brookes won the Gake no Fuchi Kiso Flag round. However he won it by Super Kicking Kiso so there was no referee to count any pins. Shota was forced to take Kiso’s place. He begun to count Matsumoto’s pin on Manase but stopped and Clotheslined her instead! He wants to destroy Gake no Fuchi! Suddenly, Sawa ran into the ring and delivered Dragon Screws to Shota, Imanari and Manase. He made a promise to Takagi that Gake no Fuchi Joshi would last for 1,000 years and he will live up to it!
The match went back on track with Brookes pressing Manase down on the ropes and holding a rubber strap to her mouth. Matsumoto pulled the strap and pulled it towards the back of the room. Manase was able to let go of the strap on her end causing it to snap into Matsumoto. They tried repeating the trick with Sawa taking Matsumoto’s place and this time Manase ducked and it snapped into Brookes instead. Brookes took out two tables and set them up at ringside as a launch pad for a plastic case attack with Matsumoto sitting in it. The plan didn’t work and Matsumoto crashed onto the floor. Imanari then threatened Brookes with a stapler and stapled a flyer for this Sunday’s DDT show onto Brookes’ head.
Shota and Sawa were still at ringside so the match kind of turned into a 6-Man Tag. Sawa blinded Shota with a party popper and placed him on one of the tables outside the ring. Matsumoto then climbed the ropes and, using Kiso to keep balance, put Shota through the table with a Diving Body Press. Sawa went for the Irabu Punch on Imanari but he ducked and Sawa knocked out Brookes instead. Determined to save Gake no Fuchi, Matsumoto continued fighting and hit Imanari over the head with a chair. He wouldn’t go down until he was kicked below the belt. Manase jumped in and hit Matsumoto with a Lariat. She then did the Suzuki Dynamic onto the chair to get the winning pinfall.
The result should have brought and end to Gake no Fuchi Joshi but Imanari & Manase had regrets over the decision. Pocchari Joshi wants to do more crazy matches against Gake no Fuchi because the two sides have a relationship like the moon and the sun. Matsumoto began to cry and said she surprisingly feels much better now despite losing. She will accept the stipulation and close down Gake no Fuchi. She thinks she might find a partner on the dating app she used earlier. Shota began to prepare a retirement ceremony for the promotion when suddenly Sanshiro Takagi appeared!
Takagi thanked Matsumoto for all of the hard work she did and admitted he thought she only had a 5% chance of winning today. However, he also reminded Matsumoto that she has a trainee now. Back in the 90s, Takagi was part of a company called PWC that closed down out of the blue. Out of desperation he created DDT. What if Gake no Fuchi Joshi closes down today and Gold Karen launches her own company to replace it? Then she would have her own DDT! It is Matsumoto’s responsibility to nurture her new student otherwise she is just running away from reality. Matsumoto said she wants to continue Gake no Fuchi and won’t split it up when it has so many new members. Brookes tried to protest being included but Takagi ignored him. Matsumoto promised Gake no Fuchi will be immortalized forever as long as there is still one of her still around! She asked for her theme music to play but instead got the Kamen Rider BLACK RX song instead. Shota sang along to it to close out the show.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 