Naomi Yoshimura suffered a cervical sprain from today’s match when he took a Pedigree from Daisuke Sasaki and spiked his head into the canvas. He was allowed to go home from the hospital but decided to stay because he still feels numbness in his neck. There is no date yet for his return to the ring and his match against Sasaki on 3rd January has been cancelled.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP UP GIRLS (PRO WRESTLING) PRO WRESTLING WOMEN’S FESTIVAL”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Shibuya GARRET
1. Hinano & Raku Vs Makoto Oishi & Hyper Misao
2. Hikari & Miu Vs Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima
The Up Up Girls (Fake) are making their return to ruin the big day for the real Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) group.
“NEW YEAR’S EVE WRESTLING 2018 ~TOSHIWASHURE! SHUFFLE TAG TOURNAMENT”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Iino Vs Ryota Hama & Antonio Honda
2. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Okabayashi & Yukio Sakaguchi Vs Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hirata
3. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yuko Miyamoto & Konosuke Takeshita Vs Brahman Shu or Brahman Kei & Masahiro Takanashi
4. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Great Kojika & Sammy Guevara Vs Takayuki Ueki & Mike Bailey
5. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Tetsuya Endo Vs Yuya Aoki & MAO
6. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Daichi Hashimoto & Daisuke Sasaki Vs Yoshihisa Uto & Sanshiro Takagi (w/ Hideki Suzuki)
7. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Minoru Fujita & Soma Takao
8. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 1: Ryuji Ito & Yuki Ueno Vs Masashi Takeda & HARASHIMA
9. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #1 Vs Winners Of Match #2
10. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #3 Vs Winners Of Match #4
11. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #5 Vs Winners Of Match #6
12. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Round 2: Winners Of Match #7 Vs Winners Of Match #8
13. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
14. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Semi Final: X & X Vs X & X
15. Shuffle Tag Tournament – Final: X & X Vs X & X
The year ends with this ridiculous card. How many of these matches will be shorter than Floyd Mayweather Vs Tenshin Nasukawa?
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata, Yuki Ueno & Keisuke Ishii Vs Daisuke Sasaki, Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
4. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
5. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
7. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
8. DDT Extreme Title – Boxing Glove Match: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba (w/ Hayato Sakurai)
With the KO-D Openweight Title match cancelled it gets replaced with a 10-Man Tag between DAMNATION and DISASTER BOX. That match was already planned as an 8-Man Tag but now Daisuke Sasaki and Keisuke Ishii have been added to it. Looking at the schedule page on DDT’s official website they are now listing the DDT Extreme Title match as the new main event.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’19”, 04/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino Vs Millie McKenzie & X
2. 3 Way Match: Hyper Misao Vs Yuna Manase Vs Veda Scott
3. Marika Kobashi Return Battle: Marika Kobashi, Mina Shirakawa, Haruna Neko & Pom Harajuku Vs Raku, Hikari, Hinano & Miu
4. Unagi Himawari Debut Match: Saki Akai & YUMI Vs Yuki Kamifuku & Unagi Himawari
5. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Reika Saiki
6. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Riho
7. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Ito
Hyper Misao will take a leave of absence after 5th January for personal reasons. She is taking time off to go on a journey and explore new ways of being a hero. She apologises for the sudden and selfish decision but promises to come back.
DDT “HANDMADE IN JAPAN FESTIVAL WINTER (2019)”, 12/01/2019 Tokyo Big Sight West Hall Music & Play Area
1. Falls Count Anywhere 3 Way Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Yuki Iino Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda Vs MAO & Mizuki Watase
This is happening on the same day as a Monorail Pro Wrestling match.
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.
First of all a very Merry Christmas to everybody! I have an Electric Six Christmas album (yes it exists) playing on loop while I’m trying to finish this post so I can wrap up the blog for the next few days. I keep having to rewrite it with the stories coming out today (there’s now some sort of Ganbare☆Wrestling Vs HEAT-UP thing going on that I’m missing for now). I’m going to enjoy the break before things get busy next week. Last year I felt a general burnout from the DDT family being involved in five Korakuen Hall shows in the space of a week (six in less than two weeks if you include DDT’s Christmas Eve show). There is one less Korakuen event this time around and I’ve already lashed through plenty of busy tours in 2018 so hopefully the energy levels will be good all around.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “THE GOD OF PRO WRESTLING “MY ARMS FELL!” BLURRY CONFESSION”, 27/12/2018 Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall
Well this has gotten awkward. Rumours are going around that Natsumi Maki will be joining Tokyo Joshi Pro soon but she burned a bridge in the process. She was originally advertised to be in the main event of an Actwres girl’Z show in Amagasaki today but was pulled off the card last night. After the opening match Yumiko Hotta told the audience about Maki’s decision to go work with Tokyo Joshi. Hotta then said Maki made this deal without her permission and she cannot forgive her for it. So far neither Maki or Tokyo Joshi have confirmed the rumour of a deal between them. Maki has apologised to the AgZ fans for missing the show.
If this deal is true then Maki working with Tokyo Joshi was most likely going to be a surprise announcement at this Thursday’s show in the new Tokyo Kanda Myojin Hall. I guess Maki would show up alongside a full card reveal for the 4th January where she can make her debut. Maki did announce in August that she would be leaving Actwres girl’Z at the end of 2018 so the questions I’m left with are when was her move to Tokyo Joshi planned and how exactly was this done against Hotta’s wishes? It’s one thing if contract tampering is involved but from what I gather Maki should be free from that. I also get that having your boss’s blessing to join another promotion is important in these circles even if it is not necessary. We just have to wait and see how this shakes out.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno
1. Muscle Offer Match ~ Live Call From The Match Venue! Yearly Fortune Telling Guest Student Booking Competition!!: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Pedro Takaishi Vs Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi
2. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura
4. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka Vs Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda
5. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda Vs Tanomusaku Toba & Keisuke Ishii
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Go Shiozaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita
Go Shiozaki enjoyed his time in the D-Ou Grand Prix and thinks it was a worthwhile experience. He was hesitant to take part at first, fearing it would be a career mistake to get involved. Instead the matches and opponents he got have gone above his expectations. After making it as far as the final he is now motivated to engrave his name in the tournament’s young history. Konosuke Takeshita is also motivated to raise the prestige of the Grand Prix. He cannot deny the match has an element of DDT Vs NOAH to it but he doesn’t want it to be just about that. Shiozaki Vs Takeshita should also be about two of the best wrestlers in Japan facing off against each other. Takeshita will be fighting not for DDT but for himself. The winner gets himself a spot in February’s Sumo Hall main event.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “IT IS THE LAST OF THE HEISEI!”, 31/12/2017 Saitama Super Arena – Community Arena
1. Shivering Armlocker Vs Temporary Manager Of DAMNATION: Takeshi Okada Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. GANBARE NEW ATTITUDE: Shuichiro Katsumura & Kouki Iwasaki Vs Kota Umeda & Mizuki Watase
3. “I’m Determined To Do My Best, Do No Forget Your Talent” Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ken Ohka, Keisuke Ishii & Shuhei Washida Vs Yumehito Imanari, Shota & Mitomi Masayuki
Ganpro ends its year at the RIZIN Martial Arts EXPO. The Ghost of DNA past joins in with Kouki Iwasaki, Kota Umeda and Mizuki Watase all involved in the same match.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “UP UP GIRLS (PRO WRESTLING) PRO WRESTLING WOMEN’S FESTIVAL”, 31/12/2018 Tokyo Shibuya GARRET
1. Hinano & Raku Vs X & X
2. Hikari & Miu Vs Miyu Yamashita & Shoko Nakajima
This event is going to reestablish the Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) group. Each member will be getting a new ring name with new costumes and new entrance music. The two matches will be held on mats due to the venue’s small size.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
4. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
5. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Naomi Yoshimura
Danshoku Dieno has explained his desire to humiliate Daisuke Sasaki as revenge for what Sasaki did to him at “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018”. Getting stripped naked (Dieno is convinced Sasaki made him do it) and locked into a casket can do that to a person. Since Dieno is in no shape to enact revenge by himself, he formed an alliance with Naomi Yoshimura when the youngster returned from his overseas excursion. Yoshimura agreed to go along because he senses bad vibes in current DDT and Sasaki is to blame for it. Dieno & Yoshimura have been constantly taunting Sasaki, mostly regarding his failed “relationship” with Candice LeRae. Sasaki admits he is still in love with LeRae and he’s tried to send flowers priced 5,000 yen to her. While the mindgames have been effecting him negatively, Sasaki got a one up on Yoshimura by attacking him with a chair at today’s show in Koyama.
TOKYO JOSHI PRO “TOKYO JOSHI PRO ’19”, 04/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Special Single Match: Meiko Satomura Vs Reika Saiki
2. TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (c) Vs Shoko Nakajima & Riho
3. TOKYO Princess Of Princess Title: Miyu Yamashita (c) Vs Maki Ito
As mentioned above, I expect the full card for this show to be revealed on Thursday’s show.
BASARA “BASARA 85 ~SHUFFLE~”, 06/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Yasu Urano Vs Masato Kamino
2. Trans-Am ★ Hiroshi & SAGAT Vs Takato Nakano & Tatsuhiko Yoshino
3. FUMA & Yusuke Kubo Vs Takumi Tsukamoto & Jun Masaoka
4. Sento Minzoku Vs Best Stretchmen: Ryuichi Sekine, Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita Vs Best Stretchman V3, Best Stretchman Amazon & Stretchman Man
5. Sparky Vs Aiseki Tag: Ryota Nakatsu & Akiyori Takizara Vs Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka
6. Isami Kodaka Returns To War: Isami Kodaka Vs Naoki Tanizaki
Ryota Nakatsu and Ikuto Hidaka matches seems to happen whenever BASARA hits a milestone. It was the opening match of the debut show and was held again on its one year anniversary. Now it happens again with BASARA’s visit to the reopened Kitazawa Town Hall. While this next match is only a tag bout, Nakatsu gets to find out if he has come any closer to Hidaka’s level.
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 “WRESTLE OYAMA HYOTEI 2018”, 23/12/2018 Tochigi Koyama City Cultural Center
1. 3 Way Match: Mad Paulie Vs Masahiro Takanashi Vs Gota Ihashi
2. Antonio Honda & Veda Scott Vs Makoto Oishi & Kazuki Hirata
3. Soma Takao Vs Mizuki Watase
4. Mike Bailey & MAO Vs Tatsuya Endo & Nobuhiro Shimatani
5. DISASTER BOX Vs ALL OUT!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Yuki Ueno Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
6. Koyama Specialty! Lucky Town Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda
It hasn’t been all doom and gloom for Daisuke Sasaki these last few days. His friendship with Puma King from outside wrestling has become strong enough for the luchador to be allied with DAMNATION for the rest of his DDT tour.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 THE FINAL!!”, 30/12/2018 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
0. Under Match: Mizuki Watase Vs Yuki Ueno
1. Muscle Offer Match ~ Live Call From The Match Venue! Yearly Fortune Telling Guest Student Booking Competition!!: Super Sasadango Machine Vs Antonio Honda Vs Choun-Shiryu Vs Pedro Takaishi Vs Yasu Urano Vs Makoto Oishi
2. Mike Bailey, MAO, HARASHIMA & Kazusada Higuchi Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani
3. Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Meiko Satomura
4. CIMA, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka Vs Akito, Yuki Iino & Kota Umeda
5. Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda Vs Tanomusaku Toba & Keisuke Ishii
6. Daisuke Sasaki & Puma King Vs Naomi Yoshimura & Sammy Guevara
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – Final: Go Shiozaki Vs Konosuke Takeshita
DDt’s busiest period of the year(s?) inside Korakuen Hall kicks off with the D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 final. Go Shiozaki and Konosuke Takeshita battle it out with a KO-D Openweight Title shot at Sumo Hall on the line. Meanwhile the champion Sasaki has trouble in his head with Naomi Yoshimura teasing his way into getting the first KO-D Title shot of 2019. Over in the DDT Extreme Title side, Shinya Aoki got an unlikely challenger in the form of Tanomusaku Toba so they’re both gearing up for their match. #STRONGHEARTS returns to prepare for their KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles defence against ALL OUT with a non-title match. Last but not least Meiko Satomura makes her return to DDT.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI SUPER ~ NEW YEAR BALL SPECIAL! ALL SEATS 2,000 YEN BOX OFFICE!! 2019”, 03/01/2019 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1. Heisei’s Last Back Comparison: El Lindaman Vs Nobuhiro Shimatani
2. 3 Way Tag Match: MAO & Jun Kasai Vs Super Sasadango Machine & Antonio Honda Vs Kazusada Higuchi & Mizuki Watase
3. DISASTER BOX Vs DAMNATION!: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & Yuki Ueno Vs Soma Takao, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Puma King
4. Sake & Tears & Men & Women & Foreigners & Former Wrestlers: KUDO, Yukio Sakaguchi, Masahiro Takanashi & Saki Akai Vs Mike Bailey, Sammy Guevara, Veda Scott & Hoshitango
5. New Year’s Day! Burst Out Laughing! First Laughter Rumble: Kuishinbo Kamen Vs Atsushi Maruyama Vs Gorgeous Matsuno Vs Tiger Mask V (Self-Proclaimed) Vs Hen China (Jury: Sanshiro Takagi & Makoto Oishi)
6. Kota Umeda “Mad Dog” 7 Match Series – 6th Match: Daichi Hashimoto Vs Kota Umeda
7. DDT Extreme Title: Shinya Aoki (c) Vs Tanomusaku Toba
8. KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles: CIMA, T-Hawk & Duan Yingnan (c) Vs Konosuke Takeshita, Akito & Yuki Iino
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sasaki (c) Vs Naomi Yoshimura
DDT’s 2019 opener has three title matches, Kota Umeda squaring off against Daichi Hashimoto and the search for a new comedy wrestler to replace Danshoku Dieno. We also have a match between the two short tempered, short fused and just plain short wrestlers from DAMNATION and #STRONGHEARTS.
GANBARE☆WRESTLING “DO IT ON YOUR OWN HANDS 2019”, 06/01/2019 Kitazawa Town Hall
1. Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Keisuke Ishii (c) Vs Shuichiro Katsumura
2. Special Single Match: Yumehito Imanari Vs Minoru Fujita
With Ken Ohka defeated, Yumehito Imanari is now left leading the wounded Ganbare☆Wrestling against Minoru Fujita and Sento Minzoku. Imanari calls Fujita an “A Class War Criminal” who he must defeat. Fujita meanwhile is disappointed in Ganpro’s stunted growth and is struggling to find a reason to stick around. Maybe Imanari can give him a reason.
Shuichiro Katsumura previously fought and lost to Keisuke Ishii for the Independent World Jr. Heavyweight Title back in June. After winning Ganpro’s MVP award yesterday, Katsumura now wants another chance.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN NAGOYA”, 15/12/2018 Nagoya City Mid-Sports Center 313 Fans – Super No Vacancy
1. Puma King & Mizuki Watase defeated Kota Umeda & Yuki Ueno when King pinned Ueno with La Casita (11:14).
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Akito (6) defeated MAO (4) with the Perfect Figure 4 Leg Lock (8:43).
3. Nagoya Specialty! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ultimo Dragon, Toru Owashi & Keisuke Okuda defeated Makoto Oishi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazuki Hirata when Okuda pinned Hirata with a PK (10:22).
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Soma Takao (4) defeated Mike Bailey (6) with the Gin And Tonic (12:39).
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Shinya Aoki (8) defeated Tetsuya Endo (6) by TKO with a Front Neck Lock (8:13).
6. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Konosuke Takeshita (c) (8) defeated Sammy Guevara (6) with the Fable (11:37). *V2 for Konosuke Takeshita.
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (6) defeated Kazusada Higuchi (6) with the Crossover Facelock (16:41).
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Go Shiozaki (10) defeated HARASHIMA (6) with the Strong Arm Lariat (22:50).
A Block
1. Go Shiozaki (10)
2. Kazusada Higuchi (6)
-. HARASHIMA (6)
-. Akito (6)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (6)
6. MAO (4)
-. Puma King (4)
The final for the D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 is now set. In the main event of today’s show, Go Shiozaki defeated HARASHIMA to win the A Block uncontested. HARASHIMA had him stunned with a Standing Somato but was cut off with a Lariat. Shiozaki finished him off with the Go Flasher and then the Strong Arm Lariat to win.
The other A Block wrestler scrapping for the top spot was Kazusada Higuchi although his chances were difficult from the onset. He needed to beat Daisuke Sasaki and hope that HARASHIMA would beat Shiozaki to cause a three way tie with the direct confrontation rule cancelling each other out. Sadly for Higuchi he was put in danger after an Avalanche Pedigree from Sasaki. Then when Sasaki applied La Mistica Cross Facelock Higuchi was in even more danger. It was all over when Sasaki switched the move into the Crossover Facelock, getting the submission win and knocking Higuchi out of the tournament.
When that match was over Danshoku Dieno & Naomi Yoshimura appeared. Yesterday they put forth the challenge for Sasaki to defend the KO-D Openweight Title against Yoshimura on 3rd January. Today they wanted his answer. Sasaki said no. He wants to defend the title against Nobuhiro Shimatani instead! Yoshimura knocked Shimatani out with a Lariat and Dieno told Sasaki his choice was now out of action. Yoshimura then told everyone that while he was in America he found out everyone over there knows that the champion of DDT is some pathetic long haired man who was dumped by Candice LeRae. He also heard that LeRae received flowers from this loser and she threw them away. Sasaki lost his temper and got into a fight with Yoshimura. The two were pulled apart with Sasaki yelling he will kill Yoshimura and that he did spend 5,000 yen on flowers for LeRae. Dieno laughed and told Sasaki if he wants to get his hands on Yoshimura, he should give him the title shot on 3rd January.
Meeting Shiozaki in the final is Konosuke Takeshita. The B Block was all to play for with each of the three matches today determining someone’s fate. Takeshita beat Sammy Guevara to seal his place in the final. He ends with the same amount of points as Shinya Aoki but goes through via the direct confrontation tiebreaker because Takeshita beat Aoki in their block match.
Speaking of Aoki, he was able to kill off Tetsuya Endo’s chance of qualifying for the final. Endo gave him a Northern Lights Suplex but Aoki held on and applied a Front Neck Lock, choking Endo out.
Last but not least in the B Block, Mike Bailey failed to advance when he lost to Soma Takao. Once again Takao seems to be unaware over the tournament schedule. When he found out he didn’t qualify for the final, Takao asked if any of the other DAMNATION members made it even the ones who weren’t in the Grand Prix like Shimatani, Mad Paulie and Shuji Ishikawa. But maybe what Takao can fairly ask for is a KO-D Tag Team Titles shot since he just beat one of the champions.
There was one more Grand Prix match on the show with nothing to play for other than pride. Akito defeated MAO to finish above him by two points. MAO is keeping his head up because he got a win over HARASHIMA in the tournament. Akito used the tournament to experiment with his wrestling style and he has no regrets with how he performed. The big question he asks himself is whether or not he improved his standing in the lead up to ALL OUT challenging for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Titles.
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN NAGOYA”, 15/12/2018 Nagoya City Mid-Sports Center
1. Kota Umeda & Yuki Ueno Vs Puma King & Mizuki Watase
2. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Akito (4) Vs MAO (4)
3. Nagoya Specialty! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Ultimo Dragon, Toru Owashi & Keisuke Okuda Vs Makoto Oishi, Masahiro Takanashi & Kazuki Hirata
4. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Soma Takao (2) Vs Mike Bailey (6)
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Tetsuya Endo (6) Vs Shinya Aoki (6)
6. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Konosuke Takeshita (c) (6) Vs Sammy Guevara (6)
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Daisuke Sasaki (4) Vs Kazusada Higuchi (6)
8. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: HARASHIMA (6) Vs Go Shiozaki (8)
In A Block the only wrestlers left standing are Go Shiozaki, Kazusada Higuchi and HARASHIMA. A win or draw for Shiozaki means he wins the block. HARASHIMA needs to beat Shiozaki and also needs Higuchi to lose to Sasaki. Meanwhile Higuchi needs to beat Sasaki and needs HARASHIMA to beat Shiozaki.
B Block is more wild. Shinya Aoki, Tetsuya Endo, Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara and Mike Bailey all have a chance to qualify depending on a wide range of results. Aoki needs to win and have Takeshita lose/draw. Endo needs to win and have Guevara lose/draw. Takeshita needs to win and have Endo and Bailey lose/draw. Guevara needs to win and have Bailey and Aoki lose/draw. Bailey needs to win and have Endo Vs Aoki end in a draw.
Naomi Yoshimura is back as Danshoku Dieno’s new ally to take down Daisuke Sasaki. Dieno wants Yoshimura to challenge for the KO-D Openweight Title but Sasaki already has his hands full with other ideas for challengers. Yoshimura will be on this show waiting for Sasaki’s answer. Dieno said that the youngster was on an excursion of Hell and came home to Japan as an Evangelist Of Love. Yoshimura confirms that by saying the most important thing he learned in America was peace. Together Dieno & Yoshimura will give Sasaki plenty of Love & Peace!
DDT “D-OU GRAND PRIX 2019 IN YOKOHAMA”, 14/12/2018 Yokohama Radiant Hall 187 Fans
1. 3 Way Tag Match: KUDO & Antonio Honda defeated Toru Owashi & Kazuki Hirata and Akito & Yuki Iino when KUDO pinned Hirata with a Backspin Kick (7:51).
2. Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, Mad Paulie & Nobuhiro Shimatani defeated Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Umeda, Mizuki Watase & Makoto Oishi when Endo pinned Watase with the Swivel Torture Rack Bomb (8:10).
3. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: HARASHIMA (6) defeated Puma King (4) with the Somato (9:37).
4. Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title – D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Konosuke Takeshita (c) (6) defeated Soma Takao (2) with the Fable (14:21). *V1 for Konosuke Takeshita.
5. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Masahiro Takanashi (4) defeated Shinya Aoki (6) with a School Boy (1:01).
6. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – A Block: Go Shiozaki (8) defeated MAO (4) with the Strong Arm Lariat (15:04).
7. D-Ou Grand Prix 2019 – B Block: Mike Bailey (6) defeated Sammy Guevara (6) with the Flamingo Driver (19:57).
A Block
1. Go Shiozaki (8)
2. Kazusada Higuchi (6)
-. HARASHIMA (6)
4. Akito (4)
-. MAO (4)
-. Daisuke Sasaki (4)
-. Puma King (4)
The penultimate show in the D-Ou Grand Prix group stages saw the A Block get whittled down to a few while the B Block was blown wide open. The main event was a rare one for DDT as a Canadian and an American were the two headliners. Mike Bailey and Sammy Guevara wouldn’t stop swearing at each other until Yukinori Matsui yelled “Important Match!” at them. They went all out from there with Moonsaults, Canadian Destroyers and Shooting Stars aplenty. Speedball ended up on top thanks to the Flamingo Driver. Bailey told Guevara after the match that he has the worst attitude, but he also has the best heart. MAO ended the show by telling Bailey to do his best in the final days of the Grand Prix.
Sadly for MAO he won’t be able to join Bailey in the chase for the final. Go Shiozaki eliminated MAO from contention. Shiozaki admitted he didn’t expect to be overwhelmed by MAO’s pace. But that’s the beauty of pro wrestling, to have two styles like theirs mesh.
In the most bizarre match of the tournament Masahiro Takanashi pulled every out of the box trick he could think of to beat Shinya Aoki in just over a minute! First, three fake Takanashis entered the ring. They were Baliyan Akki, Yumehito Imanari and Shota in disguise. Aoki beat them up until the real Takanashi appeared dressed as a referee and took Daisuke Kiso’s place. Aoki didn’t know what had happened and dropped his guard when Takanashi gave him a referee order. That allowed Takanashi to give him an Inside Cradle but Aoki countered it into an Armbar. The fake Takanashis jumped on the ring apron to distract Aoki while the real Takanashi placed a mannequin arm into his shirt. Aoki fell for the trap and grabbed the fake arm, pulling it out completely. He was then pinned with a School Boy. Takanashi is pleased that he has ended his tournament run with two victories. That’s one more than he got in the previous Grand Prix.
Konosuke Takeshita finds himself still in the running thanks to his win over Soma Takao in a first time singles match between the two. The occasion was special enough to make Takao drop his lies about being undefeated throughout the group stage. Although he was still bitter enough to claim he kicked out of the Fable at two.
It’s close but HARASHIMA is still alive in A Block. He doesn’t know the details of how he needs to qualify other than winning his final match tomorrow. Puma King did well against him but he fell to the Somato like so many others have in the past. He still leaves the tournament with his head held high by showing everyone he can handle many styles from Japan, America and Mexico.
After a brief absence since regaining his memory, Danshoku Dieno appeared after Match #2 to confront Daisuke Sasaki. A shocked Sasaki asked Dieno how he escaped from the casket he locked him in at Sumo Hall. Dieno explained the casket had an escape hatch underneath which he used just before he lost his memory. When Dieno got his memory back he went looking for footage of their KO-D Openweight Title bout. After watching it over and over he came to the conclusion that Sasaki is to blame for making Dieno get naked during the match! Dieno wants revenge and also a chance to regain the KO-D title but he is in no physical state to do it for now. So instead he found someone who will give Sasaki the beating he deserves. Out came Naomi Yoshimura returning from his overseas excursion from Hell! Sasaki said he had already decided on his next challenger. He was then distracted by the chain Yoshimura was wearing. Sasaki asked if it was made out of plastic. Next thing you know, Yoshimura decks Sasaki with a Short Arm Lariat! Sasaki was too unconscious to answer the challenge so Yoshimura told everyone he will wait for an answer at tomorrow’s show in Nagoya.
DDT “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI #14”, 14/08/2018 Shin-Kiba 1st RING 240 Fans – Super No Vacancy
0. NO TV Match: Soma Takao defeated Mizuki Watase with the Sorarina (7:22).
0. NO TV Match: Ryan Davidson & Facade defeated Toru Owashi & Nobuhiro Shimatani when Davidson pinned Shimatani with the Davidson Driver (8:25).
1. Akito & Gota Ihashi defeated Yuki Ueno & Yuki Iino when Akito submitted Iino with a Modified Leg Lock (7:23).
2. Kazusada Higuchi, Kouki Iwasaki & Meiko Satomura defeated Sanshiro Takagi, Makoto Oishi & Cherry when Satomura pinned Oishi with the Scorpio Rising (7:05). *Meiko Satomura wins Makoto Oishi’s Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Gauntlet.
3. KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi defeated Danshoku Dieno & Antonio Honda when KUDO pinned Honda with the Diving Double Knee Drop (9:07).
4. Road to King Of DDT 2018 3rd Round 4 Way Tag Match: Daisuke Sasaki & Tetsuya Endo defeated HARASHIMA & Mike Bailey, Yukio Sakaguchi & MAO and Keisuke Ishii & Kazuki Hirata when Endo pinned Hirata with a Swan Dive 450 Splash (10:20).
5. RENEGADES Vs DAMNATION!: Shigehiro Irie & Jason Kincaid defeated Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie when Irie pinned Paulie with the Beast Bomber (19:20).
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dieno defeated Shigehiro Irie (c) with the Gaydo Clutch (1:37). *Super Sasadango Machine gives his Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Contract to Danshoku Dieno. Shigehiro Irie fails in V1. Danshoku Dieno cashes in his Right To Challenge Gauntlet. Danshoku Dieno becomes the 65th KO-D Openweight Champion!
Today’s episode sparked plenty of changes in the DDT landscape. There was the planned roster switch-up freshening up some of the units but some added surprises completely changed the course of as we head towards the King Of DDT finale. Things seemed normal during the main event. Shigehiro Irie made his first appearance in DDT since his latest US tour and after the title loss incident in Ohio he had the KO-D Openweight Title with him safe and sound. He and Jason Kincaid were victorious over Shuji Ishikawa & Mad Paulie but it was a close call. Irie kicked out of a Double Choke Slam and the Reverse Splash. It was only when he hit a desperate Beast Bomber to Paulie that he was able to win the match. Ishikawa said he got to have a strong match after spending time away from DDT. He told everyone when he is the Triple Crown Champion he would like to face Irie again.
When DAMNATION left the ring, Meiko Satomura came out with her eyes set on Irie. With the yellow Right To Challenge Gauntlet in her possession, Satomura challenged Irie to a title match on the 28th August episode of “DDT LIVE! MAJI MANJI”! An exhausted Irie got up and accepted the challenge. But when they were about to shake hands, Danshoku Dieno interrupted them with important news. Producer Dieno will not accept Irie Vs Satomura as the next KO-D Title match because the next title match will happen right now! Dieno then suddenly pulled out the blue Gauntlet belonging to Super Sasadango Machine. A video played on the screen of Sasadango announcing that he is giving his Gauntlet to Dieno as a gift. It now belongs to Dieno and he is cashing it in straight away!
The match began and Dieno immediately gave Irie the Danshoku Driver several times. Irie kicked out of them and fought back. He hit the Beast Bomber but when Irie went for the pin, Dieno caught him in the Gaydo Clutch and pinned him! Danshoku Dieno is the new KO-D Champion! A furious Irie had to be held back by the rest of RENEGADES until they finally got him to leave the ring. He still tossed a chair from the front row at Dieno as he was leaving. Dieno taunted Irie by telling him what he did today was all in the rules. Dieno waited so long and played the good boss all this time so he could pull this off. This plan was why Dieno did not enter King Of DDT this year. He may be the weakest champion of any wrestling company right now but that doesn’t matter. He is going straight to the main event of “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2018” as the champion! Just one problem. Meiko Satomura is still here with the last Right To Challenge Gauntlet (more about that below) and her intention to challenge the champion on 28th August still stands. She told Dieno she will win the KO-D Title, defend it against Irie and then defend it at the main event of Sumo Hall!
The DNA Draft and resulting roster reshuffle took place at the start of the episode. It was already decided that Daiki Shimomura would join BASARA and Kouki Iwasaki would join Ganbare☆Wrestling. Rekka also announced he will be leaving Japan for a while so he will not be transferring to another brand. The remaining DNA wrestlers were given the chance to nominate the group or unit they wished to join and it would be up to those groups to accept them or not. Some of the obvious moves were made first. Mizuki Watase chose RENEGADES (side note: Ryan Davidson has also joined the unit) and Shunma Katsumata picked ALL OUT. No surprises there. MAO wants to continue teaming with Mike Bailey so he picked the default DDT Sekigun group. Yuki Ueno also picked DDT. Naomi Yoshimura didn’t pick anybody. Instead he will go wherever he wants, whenever he wants. Konosuke Takeshita of all people asked him to join ALL OUT instead. Yoshimura declined because he has no motivation to fight with them. He’d rather fight against them. Yuki Iino asked if he could join ALL OUT. Akito wasn’t convinced so he would use their match later as an audition. Kota Umeda chose to stick with DDT. He will be on the same side as his old unit Shuten-dōji and he wants to set a fire under his former older brothers. Nobuhiro Shimatani declared himself the leader of DAMNATION but Daisuke Sasaki said the unit doesn’t need him. Shimatani then nominated Tokyo Joshi Pro but their producer Tetsuya Koda outright refused him. Shimatani went back to DAMNATION and promised to find a beautiful blonde woman for Sasaki, cook delicious meat for Mad Paulie, handcraft a new ring costume for Soma Takao, give Tetsuya Endo a better haircut than the one he currently has and teach new songs to Shuji Ishikawa. Sasaki finally gave in and inducted Shimatani into DAMNATION, but only as a temporary manager. Good enough!
In the middle of the draft, T2Hide announced they are splitting up. Kazuki Hirata is doing well without them although he protested the decision. HARASHIMA approached Toru Owashi and asked him to reform Disaster BOX, their old unit from the 2000s. Owashi liked the idea but they needed a third member to make them a unit. They nominated Yuki Ueno. He has no idea what Disaster BOX is or how important they are in DDT’s history but ok, he’ll join them instead of the default DDT side.
Now all of that craziness has been touched upon, let’s get into the rest of the show. The eight remaining King Of DDT participants met in an 4-Way Tag Match. Some of the pairings were unusual and led to a mix up. MAO & Mike Bailey were on two different teams but in the heat of the action they worked together to wipe out a few of the other wrestlers with a Double Moonsault to the outside. Kazuki Hirata tried to continue his miracle run by going straight at Tetsuya Endo with Cradles but in the end he was pinned by Endo with a Swan Dive 450 Splash. Despite winning the match, Endo says he does not feel any momentum from today’s result. That stuff means nothing when you’re only in the Quarter Finals.
Judging from his earlier performance on the episode you wouldn’t have thought Dieno would end up as champion by the end of it. He got into his usual shenanigans with Antonio Honda against KUDO & Masahiro Takanashi. Honda’s double Gongistune backfired when KUDO & Takanashi grabbed both of his hands and made Honda poke himself in both eyes. They then finised him off with the Takatonic followed by the Diving Double Knee Drop.
It turns out the Right To Challenge Gauntlet rules do apply overseas. Meiko Satomura apologised to the fans for losing the red Gauntlet during her recent visit to America for the Mae Young Classic. I’d go into more detail about the possible consequences for that but it veers into spoiler territory and I’m not in the mood to get into arguments about that right now. To make up for it Satomura made it her goal today to win another Gauntlet so she can challenge for the KO-D Title. Good thing she was in a match against the holder of the yellow Gauntlet Makoto Oishi. Satomura pinned Oishi with the Scorpio Rising and now holds the last remaining Right To Challenge Gauntlet in Japan. Before this match Sanshiro Takagi said if his team won then he would set up the Meiko Young Classic, a tournament for all women wrestlers over the age of 40. Meiko Satomura is 38.
Iino impressed ALL OUT enough in his match to be accepted into their unit. He hit Akito with the Spear but Akito grabbed onto Iino’s leg and pulled him down into a Leg Lock to make him submit.
There was an extra special guest appearing on the show this week. Rintaro Oyaizu from Season 2 of The Bachelor Japan greeted everyone and very quickly attracted attention from several wrestlers. Cherry, Yuna Manase, Yuki Kamifuku and Maki Itoh all entered the ring wanting to woo Oyaizu. They all agreed to fight each other in a 4 Way Match on 28th August with the winner getting a date with The Bachelor.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 