Sasadango Vs Yano One Match Show Announced For June

April 25, 2025

DDT/NJPW “ONE-SIDED MATCH ~SUPER SASADANGO MACHINE VS TORU YANO~”, 09/06/2025
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. DDT Pro Wrestling x New Japan Pro Wrestling One-Sided Match: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Toru Yano

Last week New Japan announced that Toru Yano would be holding a press conference on 17th April. Around the same time this news came out, Super Sasadango Machine tweeted that he had an upcoming announcement of his own to make on the same date. It turned out not to be a coincidence because the press conference began with both Yano and Sasadango seated at the table along with management from both New Japan and DDT. Together they announced there will be a one match show happening at Korakuen Hall on 9th June between Yano and Sasadango that will be co-promoted by both NJPW and DDT. The match will air on PPV on both Wrestle Universe and NJPW World. Each company will produce and film the event themselves for their streaming service, which means the match is also a competition to see which company can get more PPV buys.

Sasadango said he is very happy to represent DDT in this special inter-promotional match. He got to wrestle Yano last year as part of his one match show with Sanshiro Takagi. When he lost the match, Sasadango described it as the first time he’s been defeated by an opponent who is a quicker thinker than he is. He wanted a rematch against one of the greatest minds in the world of pro wrestling and is getting it on the big stage. Yano said he wasn’t satisfied with his victory last year because felt like he was exposed by Sasadango’s tricks despite winning in the end. He wants to excel at everything which means he must defeat Sasadango in every factor both inside and out of the ring.

CyberFight Vice President Sanshiro Takagi explained this is a match pitting the names and ideologies of two pro wrestling companies against each other. NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi compared the idea to the “Un Certain Regard” selection of movies from the Cannes Film Festival. It will show certain perspectives of the two companies that an all out promotion versus promotion battle could not portray. CyberFight Director Akito talked about the previous times DDT And New Japan have worked together, including the upcoming entry of MAO in the Best Of The Super Jr. tournament.

Discussions are still needed to decide which company’s ring will be used for the match, which company’s referee will officiate the match and even which company should be named first in the promotional material. If Sasadango is still the DDT Extreme Title by the time the match takes place he would like to defend it against Yano. However he admits it is unlikely he will be able to remain champion for that long. Yano likes the idea and is aware that the Extreme Champion usually gets to decide on the match stipulations.

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Posted by JamieOD

Wrestlers Meet With House Of Representatives

April 15, 2020

Wrestlers representing several pro wrestling companies visited Japan’s House Of Representatives today to meet with Hiroshi Hase. He is a former pro wrestler and more importantly the current Minister For Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The wrestlers requested medical kits to test for Coronavirus as well as compensation towards contracted pro wrestlers for cancelling all of their shows over the epidemic. According to Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani, pro wrestlers are currently unable to receive the compensation benefits that were created in response to the current crisis. Pro wrestling contracts are handled differently compared to other careers so adapting it to the current laws is difficult. Up to now it was left to the companies employing these wrestlers to handle compensation pay and they cannot continue if there are no shows taking place to bring in the money.

Among the wrestlers making the visit were Hiroshi Tanahashi (New Japan), Suwama (All Japan), HARASHIMA (DDT), Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH), Mayu Iwatani (Stardom), Yuka Sakazaki (Tokyo Joshi) and Kyoko Inoue (Diana). Also included were management from the same companies including Kidani, Naoki Sugabayashi (New Japan), Takenori Fukuda (All Japan), Masashi Ishiguro (NOAH), Akira Takahashi (DDT), Katsuhiko Harada (Bushiroad), Tetsuya Koda (Tokyo Joshi) and Taishi Fuwa (Diana).

HARASHIMA said that having testing kits on site can give everyone enough peace of mind to begin holding pro wrestling shows again. Sakazaki explained that in the early days of Corona, DDT and Tokyo Joshi were able to hold empty arena shows in their dojo. But the building the dojo is located in also has a nursery school in one of the upper floors above it. That along with using trains as the form of transportation to get there makes the idea of using the dojo for matches more dangerous.

Hase thanked the wrestlers for giving him their views on the matter and agreed on the measures along with further consultation. He told the wrestlers to continue working hard when the time comes for pro wrestling shows to be held again.

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Ibushi’s Health Problems Revealed

November 2, 2015

sugabayashi-takagi

After a week long absence from the ring attributed to illness, a press conference was held to discuss the current and future status of Kota Ibushi. Both Sanshiro Takagi and Naoki Sugabayashi were in attendance since the news effected both DDT and New Japan. It was explained that at midnight on 24th October Ibushi picked up a high fever that forced him to be taken off of DDT’s Korakuen Hall show the next day. The illness also cancelled an autograph signing for his new book. During the summer Ibushi had been feeling numbness in the left side of his body. He was sent to a doctor for a check-up and diagnosed with a herniated cervical disc. The decision was made that Ibushi will not be wrestling for either company until he has healed from his injury. According to Takagi, Ibushi has decided not to go under surgery as part of his treatment. There is no time given for how long his recovery will take but Takagi reckons he will be gone until the start of 2016 at the earliest.

In DDT, Ibushi is one half of the KO-D Tag Team Champions with Daisuke Sasaki. Takagi announced that the titles will be vacated and he does not want to interfere with Ibushi’s daily life while he recovers. He wants Ibushi to completely recover and will wait for his return if he has to. Takagi also apologised to Ibushi’s fans for the inconvenience. Sugabayashi said Ibushi’s contract with New Japan which is about to run out will be renewed and he will wait for his return to the company.

On the DDT side of things this injury comes at a bad time. With Ibushi and KUDO both out of action for the time being that is two big absences in the main event scene. HARASHIMA is still there to carry the load as he always does, it’s too early to tell if Yukio Sakaguchi is a draw as the KO-D Openweight Champion, I have no idea how much mileage is in another Danshoku Dino push and Isami Kodaka will be busy with BASARA and his outside bookings. While DDT has done a great job in the last 12 months introducing and debuting new wrestlers, the younger generation hasn’t been fully embraced by the fans judging by the Dramatic General Election results. With a big Sumo Hall show booked for March next year they need something big and if Ibushi hasn’t recovered by then it will put a big dent in that plan. They better pray to whatever deity that can protect HARASHIMA from getting injured.

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Posted by JamieOD

Kenny Omega To Leave DDT, Joins New Japan

October 3, 2014

kenny-omega-njpw

An emergency press conference was held by DDT today to announce Kenny Omega will finish working for the company in October and will be permanently transferring over to New Japan. Due to changing circumstances DDT is now signing its roster to 6 month contracts instead of year long contracts. During negotiations Omega said he wanted to work for New Japan and was determined to move. NJPW president Naoki Sugabayashi said he was surprised when he heard about Omega’s proposal but immediately started discussions with other New Japan staff to sign him. A deal was struck between DDT and New Japan to let Kenny finish up his remaining dates with DDT.

Kenny said he has often wrestled in New Japan, usually in the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament, but always felt like he was just a guest. He thinks New Japan has the best wrestlers in the world and he wants to prove he is the best Junior Heavyweight. Leaving DDT will be painful and he will feel lonely without them but he is at his physical peak. He will be disappointed if he could never reach his limit at 100%. Kenny confirmed he is not signing a dual contract like Kota Ibushi (who has signed a new one year contract with NJPW). He needs to put all of his focus on New Japan if he wants to be successful.

DDT president Sanshiro Takagi told the press he respects the will of his wrestlers as to why he is allowing Kenny to transfer between companies. Ibushi did not want to leave DDT entirely for New Japan so a deal was made for him to sign two contracts with the goal of boosting both companies. Because Kenny had so much desire to wrestle for New Japan, Takagi would not stop him from leaving.

When asked about whether or not Omega will continue the Golden Lovers team with Ibushi, Omega said they now wrestle in different divisions. Omega is sticking with Jr. Heavyweight while Ibushi has recently become a heavyweight. Omega says he has no choice but to find a new partner if he was to focus on tag team wrestling. He does wonder if he and Ibushi will eventually team together again in New Japan though. He was asked if there was a unit he wants to join. Kenny said he considered joining Bullet Club but they don’t suit him. For now his goal is to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title as soon as possible.

Kenny’s last words for his fans is they should continue supporting DDT. To the fans of New Japan, he wants to show them more of his style of wrestling. He also wants to make new fans out of people who have never seen him before. Omega’s match for DDT will be at the 26th October Korakuen Hall show. It will be himself and Ibushi against Danshoku Dino and Konosuke Takeshita in a Falls Count Anywhere match. There is no date set yet for his first New Japan match.

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Kota Ibushi Signs With New Japan, Also With DDT

October 7, 2013

ibushi-njpw-ddt

The day many New Japan fans have been waiting for (and I have been somewhat dreading) has finally happened. Kota Ibushi has signed a contract with New Japan! He is now a full time member of the New Japan roster. However in what may be a first for Japanese wrestling, Ibushi will also continue to be under contract with DDT. So Ibushi will be wrestling for both companies. His NJPW contract lasts for one year, as it traditionally is for every New Japan wrestler while his DDT contract lasts for another three years.

It is interesting how this deal came about. New Japan chairman Naoki Sugabayashi has attempted to sign Ibushi in the past but could never convince him to jump ship. In fact he even admits that if this happened decades ago he would have paid a lot of money to steal him from DDT. Fortunately New Japan and DDT have a good relationship and Sugabayashi realises the potential Ibushi has if he wrestles for both promotions. Sugabayashi recently made an official offer to Sanshiro Takagi and even then Takagi had to convince Ibushi to take the deal! Ibushi says he loves DDT and does not want to leave the company but after a deal was made to wrestle for both he finally agreed. For now Ibushi will exclusively wrestle for New Japan and DDT but offers for appearances in other promotions could still be considered.

However, Ibushi did not get everything he wanted from the deal. His request to have Michael Nakazawa continue to be in his corner for the New Japan matches has been repeatedly turned down. Takagi even joked that he will force Ibushi to go out to the ring alone if he has to. But Sugabayashi did offer to send Captain New Japan over to DDT so he would become Captain DDT. Hey it could be worse. They could send over YOSHI-HASHI.

In DDT it will be business as usual for Ibushi and he will still be available for the crazy stuff like the Falls Count Anywhere matches that take place outdoors. He will not change his style for New Japan and wants to focus on the Junior Heavyweight division and win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title from Prince Devitt. He also wants to face wrestlers he has never fought before. His schedule will increase because he will also appear on New Japan’s tours. Both New Japan and DDT will work together to avoid any double bookings if the companies are hosting events on the same day.

Ibushi’s first match as a New Japan wrestler will be at Sumo Hall on 14/10 for the “KING OF PRO-WRESTLING” iPPV. He teams with Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma to face Prince Devitt’s BULLET CLUB faction.

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Kota’s Contract Conflict

November 6, 2012

Kota Ibushi got himself into an awkward situation today when he unintentionally crashed a press conference held by New Japan to promote their upcoming PPV on 11/11. The conference included a contract signing for the IWGP Jr. Title Match between champion Low Ki and challenger Prince Devitt. However, Ibushi entered the room before either wrestler and sat down at the table. When Devitt, Low Ki and New Japan president Naoki Sugabayashi entered they were surprised to see Ibushi greeting them. Ibushi explained he was here to sign the contract for his rematch with Low Ki. Sugabayashi tried to explain that the contract wasn’t for him. Ibushi sighed with disappointment but cheered up when Sugabayashi said that when this match is over, Ibushi will be able to compete for the next title shot. Ibushi tried to seal the president’s promise with a pinkie shake but Sugabayashi redirected the offer of gratitude to his interpreter Mr. Nishizawa. Ibushi then left the room and was escorted out of the building.

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Posted by JamieOD